Romancing the Balance Sheet: For Anyone Who Owns, Runs or Manages a Business

by Anil Lamba

There is no such thing as a non-finance person. It is an error to think that finance management is limited to the Finance Department alone. In fact, it is happening right through the organization-for every action you take impacts the bottom line of your company. Read this book to understand what Profit really means and how Inventory and Sales impact it. Learn to read Balance Sheets and deploy Funds intelligently. Make the most efficient use of your Working Capital and discover the simple secrets of Marginal Costing, Leverage and Funds Flow. Written in a simple conversational style, Romancing the Balance Sheet will teach you all the intelligent ways of Good Financial Management.

Genres: Finance, Business, Nonfiction, Economics, Personal Finance, Accounting, Money

260 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Abhishek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of many things that highlights a yawing gap between the industry practice and the education system, probably the most important is the Financial Literacy. The mystifying nature of finance while repulses an individual, on the other hand the life that people enjoy who have mastered the skill envies most. If there is a desire within an individual, the teacher shows itself.

This book will not only change one's view about the finance, but also will bring a perspective towards life in such a way that managing finance irrespective for a company or own business or personally would become an experience of a lifetime! Amazingly well written in a Jargon free manner which suits a person who wants to learn the finance. Although the setup is quite basic in nature, but its amazing how the basic grasp of the concepts then allows one to critically observe a lot of things.

All in all, if you ever have thought, "I would love to learn finance, if only it was a little easy" This is the book for you!! Dr. Lamba #Respect!

[Hrishikesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beginner's book that is not technically very advanced - which is exactly what I wanted. Clear, crisp writing that cuts away at jargon (which is a euphemism for BS) and sticks to core concepts. A fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed. My sole complaint is that at in a couple of places, the book indulged in (what in my opinion were unnecessary) formulae.

[JP Douma · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good textbook that simply explains what the balance sheet is all about. Clearly written and for me a great book to refresh my memory.

[Badal Babu Bhattarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

Mr. Lamba knows what he is talking about. Being a chartered accountant, he is well versed in accounting and finance concepts. And in this book he explains things in layman's terms. If you have slight interest in reading Balance Sheets, and mastering costing and finance fundamentals, this is for you.

[Siddharth Tripathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you ever see a balance sheet and wonder if all the mathematics you learned is really helping you or not ?

Can you look at the balance sheet and determine the financial health of the company ?

Can you recommend changes in processes that will bring about a greater PV ratio or will let salespersons of your company make better decisions without running everything through you ?

Do you want to be in a position that can help the company you run or the company you work for take better decisions financially ?


Yes. No. No. Yes.

If that is the sequence of answers you need to read this book.

6/5 is my rating.

Very lucid. Not dense at all. Loved it

[Trilok Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

the book does the justice to the title and i am impressed with the way things have been put in this book.

[Goutham Jayaprakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will help anyone to jog their accounting learnt in school.
Essential book for an owner of a business.
Very simply written for everyone to understand.

[Chriskelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is brutal. Do not recommend!

As a CPA, I'm a big fan of business books that purport to make financial information accessible for non-financial types. I think that's one of the most important roles of a financial person.

Professor Lamba here, makes a hash out of deconstructing financial statements for the unitiated.
Forget that he flips order, and misreports Liabilities and Assets in violation of IFRS and US GAAP.
Forget that he

Dislike this book for the egregious errors such as (p. 64) "How do organizations raise funds? There's only one way: when an organization needs money, it borrows."
Fail.

or how about this howler...(p. 129) 'When reserves increase, the net worth of the shareholder goes up." This is wrong. Before the financial reader thinks that the author is referring to Book Value, the Next Sentence is "Consequently, the book value of the shares also goes up." The second sentence is true. The first is stupid.

Q: Why give this book any stars at all?
A: In fact, chapter 10 on breakeven analysis provides great examples to help the reader think well about contribution margin, marginal cost, and other important business concepts that are not emphasized enough imo. This chapter is well done.

"Professor" Lamba should stick to his cost accounting, and leave the financials to others.

[Mariya Kapasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for every professional who plays a role—big or small—in building, running, or supporting a business.

Coming from a non-finance background, I found Romancing the Balance Sheet to be an incredibly accessible and insightful guide to understanding one of the most critical documents in any business: the balance sheet. Anil Lamba does a commendable job of breaking down complex financial concepts into relatable, real-world scenarios that stick with you.

This book is not about creating a balance sheet—it’s about reading, analysing, and interpreting it to assess the financial health of an organisation and make informed decisions. It equips you with the tools to look beyond the surface and truly understand what the numbers are saying.

Honestly, it almost pains me that I read this book so late in my professional journey. But I’m truly glad I finally did—because now I see how this knowledge can influence strategy, operations, and long-term business planning.

If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, manager, or just someone looking to build financial literacy to grow in your career, this is a fantastic starting point.

[Ritwik Awasthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

TL;DR - Must read for everyone, irrespective of whether you are a finance/non-finance person.

I've read a couple of beginners' books on finance and accounting (mostly in my course curriculum) but no other author comes close to Anil Lamba in explaining finance in crisp and simple non-jargonized language. The concepts of accounting, financial management, marginal costing, etc. are also selected very carefully and explained thoroughly with simple examples.

Loved the book. Would recommend to anyone who wants to learn the basics of finance.

[Vibhor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tried reading this book a couple of years back but didn’t finish it for some or the other reason. Then this year again sometime highly recommended me to read this book as it would be very relevant to me now as I’m an entrepreneur. I’m glad they did. What an excellent book it was. Explains how to read the financial statements from scratch, and then explains how to gain actionable insights from it too. I wish they taught all in B-schools, but unfortunately they don’t (at least not in India). Highly recommended especially for entrepreneurs.

[Nirmal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of what the books says can be condensed in 50 pages. Nevertheless it is an enlightening read for someone without finance background.

[Anshul Sood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does a great job of simplifying concepts that are actual quite simple yet seem intimidating.

Great read for anyone remotely interested in leading a financial astute career.

[Dhruv Kaith · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Less is bad, more is worse!"

[Pranjal Pande · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable, and covers key points that a lot of tech business owners tend to overlook

[Ankush Chander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great crash course on finance for layman. Reminds me of the "Head First" series I used to read in college to help myself understand complex topics.
A must read for entrepreneurs, startup employees or any person who aspires to contribute in a successful business.
It imparts a basic commonsense and clear conscience around the flow of money through the organisation so that one can make financially intelligent decisions in day to day actions that is aligned with success of the organisation.

[Nitin Bhatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good introduction to the world of Balance sheets and P&L statements and how to make some inferences related to companies.

[Avnish Anand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I studied finance in business school and really struggled. So much so that I never tried to work in finance. I could never figure out some of the fundamental concepts of a balance sheet or a cash flow statement.

Now as business leaders I have to look at these as part of my job. Given my past experiences I was struggling. On the suggestion of a colleague, I picked up Anil Lamba’s book.

This book has significantly ( that’s an understatement) improved my understanding of these financial fundamentals and principles. I can finally start to make sense of the balance sheet and cash flow statement. But more than that I think I am now financially literate. I can now understand the financial health of a company.

All the concepts are lucidly explained in a step by step manner with sufficient examples. I wish I had read this book in college.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand how to make sense of these financial reports and improve their understanding of business finance.

[Madhav · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a terrific finance primer for a newbie. The presentation is illustrative and easy to follow, and all the exemplified concepts are simplistically understandable. It would be a good starting point for anyone who is interested in finance and wants to take up a career in the same in future.

[Nadeem Shaikh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for those who think that finance is a tough morsel that one can swallow...nicely clearing the basic of accounting and finance terminology in a clear and lucid language...

[Jeevan Koneti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good start for any beginner in search of a good book to understand Finances

[Ram M Srinivas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 49th book I am completing for this year. The book has a quote "For anyone who owns, runs and manages a business" but I felt it is not the correct statement. The book is not for someone who is related to business, it is a good guide which can be used by anyone who has the willingness to understand finance.
The first chapter states that financial management is important to all the departments except finance and the justification provided for that was good. The first chapter with such contradictory statements enhanced the willingness to learn.
Being from a non-finance background, the book has given several insights. It has provided more clarity on how to understand a balance sheet. The most favorite part of the book was the explanation on the leverage effect. It was good with easy understanding. The little boring part of the book was the funding statement.
Overall the book is not definitely a one time read since you need to refresh it again and again in real-time to effectively utilise the book. The book has a lot of examples, colourful tables, bigger texts which will give different experience rather than a normal text book. The financial knowledge is mandatory for all to self realise and to use it effectively.
Rating 4/5

[Vivek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooter: A jargon free novice friendly look at accounting concepts

Whether you are a beginner or someone looking to refresh your concepts, found this as a great guide book to get your basics right in accounting right from the concept of double bookkeeping to examining a balance sheet and making sense as an investor or an owner of it all. Using simplifed examples that help set the foundations and philosophy around terminologies rather than filling them up with all the corner cases and exceptions which make the world of accounting complicated, Anil Lamba makes it easy to digest and assimilate these concepts. Whilst it states that its targeted towards entrepreneurs , I'd say anyone dealing with money would find this a good read to understand the world of business from a purely accounting perspective and why profits and cash flows are a nuanced that can't be derived from simple mathematics.

[Boney Antony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was in my library for a long time. It's only once I started pursuing a foundation course is Human Resources, as part of which Finance was a graded subject with project work and assessments, that I actually started reading this book in earnest.
Profit and Loss Statements, Balance Sheets, Cash Flow..etc were words that made me sweat and still do. Looking at those documents makes my head spin. 'Romancing the Balance Sheet' has made me appreciate some basic elements of Finance and, to some extent, demystified it.
After reading, I am actually looking forward to spending more time learning about Finance and being able to grapple with numbers with a bit more confidence.
This was the first of many re-visits and re-reads. Thank you Anil Lamba for breaking it down as much as it seemed possible, and making it all interesting to a financially illiterate individual.

[Hariharan · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a qualified Chartered Accountant, I picked up Romancing the Balance Sheet expecting fresh insights or practical depth in financial management. Unfortunately, the book offers extremely rudimentary concepts—definitions of assets, liabilities, and basic ratio analyses—that are already well-understood by anyone with formal training in finance or accounting.

The tone is simplified to the point where it might benefit a complete novice, but it adds no real value for professionals. There is little to no exploration of nuanced topics, real-world application, or advanced insights that could enrich financial decision-making in a business context.

If you're just starting out or come from a non-finance background, this might be a decent primer. But for finance professionals, especially CAs or CFAs, this book is overly simplistic and not worth the time.

[Vedika · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you can hold a conversation with numbers, when you can talk to figures and make them talk back to you, when financial statements begin to lose their mystery, it is then and only then that you can begin to romance numbers.

A good book to understand the fundamental principles of costing and financial management. This almost felt like a little revision of my CA Intermediate syllabus. The funds flow analysis chapter was one I really enjoyed going through and understanding.

The first rule of Good Financial Management: Never invest your money without ensuring that the assets you acquire can generate a return which is at least equal to the cost of your capital.
The second rule of Good Financial Management: Invest your money in such a way that the assets will generate an inflow of funds before the liabilities demand an outflow.

[Mo Nadeem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author - Anil Lamba

Genre- Business/ Management

This book's explanation about balance sheet is very unique. Complete jargon free langauge with practical illustrations, one of the best books on finance out there,even if you know about balance sheets, it would be a great refresher. After you read this book, you'll come to know about details you didn't notice while analysing the balance sheet and the impact it can have on your business.I believe this book should be a part of the B-School curriculum.

It's not just about accounting, but financial management. This book is not those typical boring academic books which will put you to sleep. Anil Lama's style of writing kept me intrigued throughout.

[Aayu Bajaj | paintinbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anil Lamba has hit a home-run with Romancing the Balance Sheet. Financial literacy is simply the most important yet ignored subject especially in the younger peeps. Everyone wants to learn and perfect the basics but it seems so daunting to start.

This book really makes a child’s play of all the Accounting Jargons and explains the concepts vividly and precisely. Filled with easy to follow illustrations, Anil demystifies balance sheets, cash flow statements and touches upon the golden rules of investing. The same examples run through multiple chapters which really help connect the different facets of a company’s finances together.

This book is really a perfect primer for non finance peeps and the definition of Accounting for Dummies.

[Abhijit Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you can hold a conversation with numbers, when you can talk to figures and make them talk back to you, when financial statements begin to lose mystery, it is then and only then that you can begin to romance numbers."

Being able to simplify and explain the overtly (and often unnecessarily) jargonized world of finance is no easy task. Being able to retain the attention of a reader when explaining new concepts isn't easy either.

And this book does this perfectly. I've scoured the existing literature, and believe me, when I say this, this book will be counted among the best books in the world of not only finance but general management as well.

[Kaustubh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a combination of Financial Accounting, Cost Accounting, Financial Management and tries to explain the financial essence of businesses in the background that one must be aware of. This book simplifies it too much to miss out important concepts. It does not discuss important balance sheet ratios, financial leverages as seen by financial management, and so many other topics. Maybe the author wants readers to subscribe to his other courses / books.
Regardless, this book filled some knowledge gaps and there was definitely some value addition.