Foundations of Financial Management

by Stanley B. Block, Geoffrey A. Hirt, Bartley Danielsen

Foundations of Financial Management has built a loyal following due to its strong real-world emphasis, clear writing style, and step-by-step explanations that simplify difficult concepts. The text focuses on the "nuts and bolts" of finance with clear and thorough treatment of concepts and applications. In addition to completing the textbook revisions, Block, Hirt, and Danielsen also revise all end of chapter problems and complete the solutions themselves. The authors know what works and what doesn't work for students, and they have consistently maintained a high quality textbook that is responsive to the demands of the marketplace.

Genres: Textbooks, Business, College, School, Nonfiction

736 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I survived my Finance class this semester!

[fc7reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have rated this book three stars in an attempt to be fair. For me, this reading was a nightmare. I had to slog through every page. Having said that, it really isn't appropriate to blame the authors for that. The book is well written and, overall, nicely done. I simply do not enjoy the subject matter. I found myself consuming this book only because it is the required text for a course I'm taking. In fairness to the authors, despite my lack of enthusiasm for the subject, I found most of the writing accessible and digestible. Considering that I have spent my entire life avoiding accounting, finance, and economics, that's quite a compliment.

[Charlie Beals · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheesh. Glad I'm not going into finance...so many thing to remember and know.

[Carly Zimmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book for Financial Management Graduate level class.

[Jeffrey Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

For an introductory level textbook, Block, Hirt and Danielsen did well in presenting a lot of information in one volume. The case studies were superb and very helpful, however, a lot of the text came up with conclusions that didn't make sense to the beginning reader. I found myself often asking the question "Why is that an acceptable answer?" when comparing two different companies in things like NPV and ratios. The answer is "because this is (that) we go with Company A." However, this makes an assumption that the student knows what a good industry ratio is or can make a proper evaluation to reach the same conclusion. As a student of finance, I want to know WHY do we select one company over the other. Don't just give us the equation, show us the math, and then select one over the other when we don't have the context in which to make a proper analysis. My critique would be unjustified if it was an isolated case, but it happens repeatedly throughout the book, which only served to add to confusion where there shouldn't have been any with an extra paragraph explanation.

The financial calculator and Excel spreadsheet calculations were worthless in the main body of text. Though the information can and probably is useful to some students, placing it in the main body of text just made it counterproductive. Should have been added as a sidebar instead so that way those who it applies to can find the information easily, while those of us who do not need it can just skip it without missing critical information in the text.

As I stated earlier, the sidebar case studies made this book practicable for students. There is a lot of great information inside the main body if you can pick it out between the finance calculator and spreadsheet formulas, and the case studies made the material more impactful through real world examples.

Another area that is both good and bad are the problems at the end of each chapter. The problems are well written and pertinent to the learning outcomes from each chapter. However, there is no answer guide at the back of the book from which a student can check his/her work. Many times I found myself wondering if I calculated something correctly with no way of checking my work. This is a detriment.

That being said, for the 16th edition of the book I would recommend the following changes:
- Add a paragraph explanation whenever the narrative chooses between Company A and Company B explaining why the choice was made and what the proper industry average or criteria is in making that decision (provide the context).
- Eliminate the financial calculator and excel spreadsheet information from the main narrative and place in sidebar separate from the main text.
- Add a section in the back of the book with the answers to each of the summary questions in each chapter.

What I appreciated about the volume was that it was progressive in nature. Once I mastered the material in the early chapters (especially Chapter 2 regarding ratios) it made the material in the later chapters easier to understand. The content itself is good and I learned a lot when I didn't have to deal with wading through spreadsheet valuations. The summary questions were helpful.

[Ashlee Weber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read for school.

[Amanda J]

Read as part of my MBA program. A very dry textbook, but it has the fundamentals. I actually referred back to it during other classes because it provides the nuts & bolts better than some other finance textbooks.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had the book but the teacher did not use it.

[James Conroy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a financial accounting book how interesting could it really be! It was good for what it was

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is okay but I would not have passed the class without the website. If I had to choose, I would stick with the website since it came with an electronic version of the textbook.

[P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I would sell it back when the class was completed however it has so much useful info that I am sure I will need to refer back to, I think it is in my best interest to hold on to it.

[Renita · Rating 1 out of 5]

poorly written and developed book.