Financial reports speak their own language, and managers without a strong finance background often find themselves bewildered by what is being said. Finance for NonFinancial Managers helps managers become familiar with essential financial information, showing them how to "speak the language of numbers" and implement financial data in their daily business decisions. In addition, it clarifies how and why financial decisions impact business and operational objectives.
Pros: This book can be picked up by someone with zero financial experience and they will walk away more informed. There are business examples from history to more effectively illustrate core concepts.
Cons: It really holds your hand. I think the author could have assumed their readers would know the basic principles of a loan or revolving credit. As it stands there are whole chapters that are fluff if you have personal finance aptitude. This could be a pro for the right reader. There are "tooltip" icons that are meant to grab your attention and direct you to a short blurb or example. These are largely useless, they just repeat what the text in between them says and the icons themselves are so vague looking and unintuitive no meaningful connection can quickly be made. They read like stock PowerPoint icons and damage the transmitting of content.
Category examples: A stack of books for "key terms". An upside down hat for "tricks of the trade". Ok David Blaine. A clapperboard is "for example".
Seven icons are too many to memorize and they just muddy the reading. Took me ages to finish, if you want a better book and understand the basics, read this one: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
The book is very good at the beginning, it answers its promise of introducing finance for non financial managers very clearly, but not completely , since the last few chapters deal with subjects that has nothing to do with introducing anything new, like how to Finance the business, annual budgeting, strategic planning or even tracking accrual data to improve production lines and maintenance !!
I was real served during the first chapters, and wished that the last ones too had the same amount of new definitions of the financial mechanisms.
My expectations when starting this book were that it would be focused more on elements on departmental budget planning and other peripheral finance concerns for managers that didn't work directly within financial departments, that was not the case. Finance for Non-Financial Managers is a complete though glancing overview of all aspects of finance that affect a company and that a financial manager would be concerned with. In that regard it is a great introduction to jargon, as well as a communication guide for working with your companies comptroller. I would recommend this as well to any one considering starting a business
This was recommended to me by a CPA. I wanted to understand more about accounting and financial practices. Although it was jam packed with useful information, it was still dry (I guess no way to make accounting exciting) and hard for me to grasp and retain info. (I am much more a "word" person as opposed to a "math" person. LOL.) In the end, I skimmed most of it and honestly, probably retained very little. Of course, this could be more a reflection of my intellect and less a reflection on the author:-) He does a thorough job of boiling down accounting and gives many examples to illustrate each concept. I just thank God I have CPA's in my family to rely on. lol.
Great for current or aspiring leaders who feel they need to develop their understanding of basic P&L, budgeting, forecasting, cash flow and balance sheets or budding entrepreneurs. I found it very helpful with working examples and scenarios to aid understanding. The chapter summaries ("manager checklists") are also good to shortcut some of the topics. This will make a decent reference book moving forwards. Quite a long read and I missed out the areas that are less relevant to me at the moment.
From chaper 1 to chapter 7, basically, it's like other popular finance books. From chapter 8 on, it shows some interesting points about expense accounting, business planning, annual budget strategy, and capital funding.
The book provides good understanding of the Financial Accounting but it doesn’t go into Managerial Accounting. I studied the latter from different other sources.
This is a good book for someone who is new to the world of business finance. It provides simple explanations of key concepts and outlines how they apply to managers and business leaders. I would recommend it for anyone looking to get a basic understanding. However, it does not go into much detail, so I would recommend looking for a more comprehensive guide if anyone is looking to try anything actionable.
I found this book very great for non-financial folks. It simply takes you to the next level through summarizing all the financial subjects you would need in your career. Including financial statements, profitability ratios, budgeting, investment decisions, cost accounting, raising the cash, .. and even more. 5 out of 5 with no question.
Error on page 55 "The Income Statement: The Flow of Progress" Figure 4-1. The Wonder Widget income statement table has an error. The number $24,000 appearing under 'Income Before Expenses' should not be there.
All in all, it's a good book, which explains some important financial terms. It gives one a clearer picture on the financial system. I think it's just a beginning, further reading is required even after reading the book.
Книга хороша для начинающих. К сожалению книги подобного типа в русском переводе встречаются редко.Только полноценные талмуды для финансовых директоров и бухгалтеров.