Companies expect managers to use financial data to allocate resources and run their departments. But many managers can’t read a balance sheet, wouldn’t recognize a liquidity ratio, and don’t know how to calculate return on investment. Worse, they don’t have any idea where the numbers come from or how reliae they really are.
In Financial Intelligence, Karen Berman and Joe Knight teach the basics of finance—but with a twist. Financial reporting, they argue, is as much art as science. Since nobody can quantify everything, accountants always rely on estimates, assumptions, and judgment calls. Savvy managers need to know how those sources of possie bias can affect the financials—and they need to know that sometimes the numbers can be challenged.
While providing the foundation for a deep understanding of the financial side of business, the book also arms managers with practical strategies for improving their companies’ performance—strategies such as “managing the balance sheet” that are well understood by financial professionals but rarely shared with their nonfinancial colleagues.
Accessie, jargon-free, and filled with entertaining stories of real companies, Financial Intelligence will help nonfinancial managers be smarter and more confident in their everyday work.
PART ONE THE ART OF FINANCE (AND WHY IT MATTERS)
1. You Can't Always Trust the Numbers
2. Spotting Assumptions, Estimates, and Biases
3. Why Increase Your Financial Intelligence?
Part One Toolbox
PART TWO THE (MANY) PECULIARITIES OF THE INCOME STATEMENT
4. Profit Is an Estimate
5. Cracking the Code of the Income Statement
6. Revenue: The Issue Is Recognition
7. Costs and Expenses: No Hard-and-Fast Rules
8. The Many Forms of Profit
Part Two Toolbox
PART THREE THE BALANCE SHEET REVEALS THE MOST
9. Understanding Balance Sheet Basics
10. Assets: More Estimates and Assumptions (Except for Cash)
11. On the Other Side: Liabilities and Equity
12. Why the Balance Sheet Balances
13. The Income Statement Affects the Balance Sheet
Part Three Toolbox
PART FOUR CASH IS KING
14. Cash Is a Reality Check
15. Profit =Cash (AndYou Need Both)
16. The Language of Cash Flow
17. How Cash Connects with Everything Else
18. Why Cash Matters
Part Four Toolbox
PART FIVE RATIOS: LEARNING WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE REALLY TELLING YOU
19. The Power of Ratios
20. Profitability Ratios: The Higher the Better (Mostly)
21. Leverage Ratios: The Balancing Act
22. Liquidity Ratios: Can We Pay Our Bills?
23. Efficiency Ratios: Making the Most of Your Assets
Part Five Toolbox
PART SIX HOW TO CALCULATE (AND REALLY UNDERSTAND) RETURN ON INVESTMENT
24. The Building Blocks of ROI
25. Figuring ROI: The Nitty-Gritty
Part Six Toolbox
PART SEVEN APPLIED FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE: WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
26. The Magic of Managing the Balance Sheet
27. Your Balance Sheet Levers
28. Homing In on Cash Conversion
Part Seven Toolbox
PART EIGHT CREATING A FINANCIALLY INTELLIGENT DEPARTMENT (AND ORGANIZATION)
29. Financial Literacy and Corporate Performance
30. Financial Literacy Strategies
31. Financial Transparency: Our Ultimate Goal
Part Eight Toolbox
Appendix: Sample Financials
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Authors
附上英文简介和目录
对“附上英文简介和目录”的回应
《财务智慧》热门书评
-
穿越数字 - 读《财务智慧》有感
18有用 1无用 Smilebox 2010-03-08
对于公司里面大多数非财务人员来说,财务部门是一个让很多人感到陌生的一个部门。虽然每个人都要和这个部门打交道,但是很少有人知道财务部门的同事每天在干什么,更不清楚他们每次拿出来的那些数据表明了什么,对我们的工作有什么帮助?从来都没有人知道,甚至对于大多数管理人员来说财务部门也不乏是一个神秘的部门。这就...
-
不能总是相信数字
8有用 0无用 Alicia 2012-10-23
第一部分 财务艺术及其重要性1.会计和财务的艺术就是一门用有限的数据尽可能精确地描述公司经营业绩好坏的艺术。财务报表上的数字牵涉了方方面面的假设和估计。2.分清假设、估计和偏差。面对一份报表,常存这些问题:这些数字包含哪些假设?这些数字中有估计的成分吗?这些假设和估计引起的偏差是什么?产生的影响有哪...
-
财务入门必读书
6有用 0无用 卡卡 2011-08-06
这本书和《财务是个真实谎言》,阅读顺序我弄反了,应该是先看这本,再看《谎言》。前者是手把手教你如何看报表,后者是在理解报表基础上对财务更深刻点儿的认识。这是哈佛与商务合作的经管系列书籍之一。但并不是为财务的专业人员写的,而是非专业的管理和其他各级员工。作者提出一个概念:非专业人员懂一点儿财务知识并能...
-
道理很简单,
3有用 0无用 梦飞花 2011-12-01
我曾经很不知天高地厚地考过CPA,而且还知难而上的挑战了会计和财管。两本教材加起来一共有1000多页吧,不过内容概括起来,也就这本书里的这些了。中国人编教材的方式真的和美国人不同。财务管理头几章的运营成本及其相关概念,杜邦分析法,我在书的靠后的地方看见。会计讲了半天极力用科目绕晕你之后才开始讲的利润...
-
很好的三表入门书
2有用 0无用 zpmad 2012-12-22
没学过财务类课程的读三表总有那么几层障碍:1.专有名词不懂,定义记不住2.不清楚三表如何关联3.哪些地方容易出猫腻,如何炼得火眼金睛这本书就是用来解决这些问题的一本极好入门书。该书一针见血地指出财务的科学性与艺术性:1.所谓艺术性就是那些容易出猫腻的地方,比如折旧摊销、费用资产化、应收账款、无形资产...