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Finance for Non-Financial Managers

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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.

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

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534 people want to read

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5 stars
78 (23%)
4 stars
133 (39%)
3 stars
102 (30%)
2 stars
14 (4%)
1 star
9 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
51 reviews1 follower
March 17, 2025
Too much oscillation between insight and fluff.

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...
Profile Image for Oussama.
38 reviews
August 29, 2012
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.
Profile Image for William Anderson.
134 reviews25 followers
January 19, 2019
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
Profile Image for Nancy.
163 reviews
May 21, 2023
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.
Profile Image for Exevion Book Club.
26 reviews
January 23, 2024
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.
Profile Image for Đạt Tiêu.
49 reviews21 followers
March 14, 2018
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.
17 reviews1 follower
June 13, 2019
For REAALLYYYY BEGINNERS
Profile Image for AA.
3 reviews
June 14, 2020
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.
Profile Image for Johanna.
584 reviews
December 24, 2020
A good look into finances and how they work for those of us that aren’t in finance.
Profile Image for Vanessa.
42 reviews1 follower
November 12, 2018
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.
Profile Image for Hassan Alamri.
21 reviews
April 14, 2018
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.
Profile Image for Juliandra.
20 reviews16 followers
March 16, 2011
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.
6 reviews
April 9, 2015
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.
Profile Image for Sharon.
237 reviews7 followers
June 1, 2012
Great resource to get the basics on reading corporate financial statements and some cost accounting.
Profile Image for Eric Hurst.
4 reviews4 followers
January 10, 2013
Good overview. A few decent in-depth dives with regard to various accounting reports. Would recommend.
Profile Image for Aleh Piatrou.
60 reviews5 followers
January 7, 2013
Книга хороша для начинающих. К сожалению книги подобного типа в русском переводе встречаются редко.Только полноценные талмуды для финансовых директоров и бухгалтеров.
Profile Image for Joe Nuttapong.
77 reviews2 followers
May 14, 2021
Recommend for all financial and non-financial students who are interested in this field. Text-like but easy to digest.
Profile Image for Michael Ross.
46 reviews
July 25, 2019
Good book for people wishing to gain a baseline knowledge of finance.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews

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