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Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs: What You Really Need to Know About the Numbers
by
Using the groundbreaking formula they introduced in their book Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean, Karen Berman and Joe Knight present the essentials of finance specifically for entrepreneurial managers.
Drawing on their work training tens of thousands of people at leading organizations worldwide, the authors provide a deep ...more
Drawing on their work training tens of thousands of people at leading organizations worldwide, the authors provide a deep ...more
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Paperback, 262 pages
Published
September 9th 2008
by Harvard Business Review Press
(first published March 25th 2008)
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Start your review of Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs: What You Really Need to Know About the Numbers
This volume offers a new edition of a book first published (entitled Financial Intelligence) in 2006. Although the focus in this second edition is on entrepreneurs, the material provided will help all managers to develop the entrepreneurial mindset to which Welch refers, and, to acquire a highly-developed financial intelligence quotient (FIQ). Moreover, they can then do everything they possibly can to develop a high-level of FIQ among others at all levels and in all areas of their organization.
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The topic is meh, and this is not an accountant's book. Exercises at the end to practise. Context, and sensitization to what the numbers really mean and why they are important, as well as how and why they are modified by accountants, CEOs, CFOs, and the implications. Good to read if you're owning, or thinking about starting a business - you'll need to think about this at some point.
Need some more real-hand practice though. Would combine with case studies or list of interesting case studies (À la ...more
Need some more real-hand practice though. Would combine with case studies or list of interesting case studies (À la ...more
I was amazed to learn how little I knew about accounting and financial terms and yet how accessible they were once I saw them in context. This book enables anyone to quickly get up to speed on the key financial metrics of their business.
If you know finance, this is not a useful book. But if you have no formal finance or accounting training, this is a nice book. It's explicitly geared towards entrepreneurs and helps you understand what parts of typical financial statements are useful to you, and why. I found it to be a pretty good book. I would have like to have seen a little more, and a little clearer explanation, on ROI calculations. Overall though for an entrepreneur who isn't a business major, it's worth reading.
Good book to understand the basics on Financial statements, important ratios, and how they will be used. They are very well explained in Layman's terms. It is useful for someone who doesn't know all these. I already knew most of the things described. Hence that 3 star.
Jan 11, 2013
Nancy
added it
Got me acquainted with the basics of company financials. Well written, because it's so easy to understand.
A very simple clear introduction to the art of accounting in the context of running a small business. Well written, great book.
I read this book because it was recommended by Josh Kaufman (The Personal MBA) for further reading on finance. When I was reading the chapter on finance in The Personal MBA. I find it difficult to grasp. I actually took a long time to finish that chapter but my interest in the topic didn't fade because I know its importance in a business.
I would say that this book provides a good introduction to finance. The authors presented financial concepts in a way that is easy to follow and understand. ...more
I would say that this book provides a good introduction to finance. The authors presented financial concepts in a way that is easy to follow and understand. ...more
Financial Intelligence For Entrepreneurs is exactly what the title claims. This book is hands down the best book I’ve read for understanding the numbers in your business. The author is careful to explain and define various facets of your financials that you should understand. The book covers topics like P&L statements, cash flow, balance sheets, ratios, and everything else you could need. The author tells you how to analyze, evaluate, and maximize your finances. The back of the book has
...more
Must read
We often take financial principles for granted, and assume that everyone working in an organization would be well aware of these. However, it really often is not the case. This book lays out the fundamental principles of reading financial statements and understanding the basics. The message of the book is clear: finance isn't a science, but an art; and knowing every assumption behind the numbers will make you realize what is actually going on
We often take financial principles for granted, and assume that everyone working in an organization would be well aware of these. However, it really often is not the case. This book lays out the fundamental principles of reading financial statements and understanding the basics. The message of the book is clear: finance isn't a science, but an art; and knowing every assumption behind the numbers will make you realize what is actually going on
I would say that it's a book that compliments The McGraw-Hill 36 hour course for non financial managers. I think that the basic examples are better explained there and personally I found that book more engaging. After that, this complements it well with real-world examples of book cooking, how to make decisions, what the ratios tell you, etc.
Suitable for newbies in financial as all terminologies are explained very clearly and easy to understand. The book also explains the business aspects of financial ratios in a logical way which are very useful and easy to remember.
Highly recommend for entrepreneurs or anyone who is new in finance but want to learn more about it.
Highly recommend for entrepreneurs or anyone who is new in finance but want to learn more about it.
Necessary Numerals
This book is an excellent resource for the layman who desires to have a working knowledge of accounting practices. You will be able to examine all the financial documents necessary to run a business and to do that with confidence. Worth the money and time.
This book is an excellent resource for the layman who desires to have a working knowledge of accounting practices. You will be able to examine all the financial documents necessary to run a business and to do that with confidence. Worth the money and time.
For reasons I can’t quite explain this book turned on some finance and accounting lights that had been off in my brain. Really great overview of what an entrepreneur should focus on in startup finance.
Takes the scare away on understanding the numbers.
A good book to understand more about financial statements for entrepreneur. Even as investor, it's very very good.
Good as a refresher or primer, in $ but still relevant to UK GAAP
Excellent introduction for non-financials people such as engineers, technicians etc.
A crash course for any entrepreneur on understanding the numbers
This is a very clear and concise way to understand financial statements from basically any business. I'm a little more savvy for it (but not ready to be an entrepreneur at all)
Great book. Easy to read and informative. I've devoured it in 3 days
It's weird to say this about book on finance, but this book is a page turner!
The recipes?
- It doesn't try to make you an accountant
- It focuses on 'juicier' part of finance, e.g. how to cook your book
And as a bonus, you've got to learn *the* fundamental principle of accrual accounting:
- The Matching Principle
Which explain on why we can cook a book
The recipes?
- It doesn't try to make you an accountant
- It focuses on 'juicier' part of finance, e.g. how to cook your book
And as a bonus, you've got to learn *the* fundamental principle of accrual accounting:
- The Matching Principle
Which explain on why we can cook a book
Loved it. Quick read and full of goodness on every page.
A must read for anyone who wants to understand the financial side of a business.
Finance is a part of our daily lives, yet so little emphasis is placed on financial education during an individuals life as a scholar, a student, an employee or employer. This leads to a person feeling rather hobbled and distressed once faced with the inevitable financial responsibilities of being an adult.
I believe that this book should be mandatory reading from a high school level. This book is so well written and easy to understand that I found myself not being able to put it down. It took me ...more
I believe that this book should be mandatory reading from a high school level. This book is so well written and easy to understand that I found myself not being able to put it down. It took me ...more
Since I'm exploring this whole "entrepreneurial mindset", I felt it was important to bolster my finance knowledge from that perspective. There are so many personal finance styled books to choose from, and I kicked around a few titles before purchasing this one.
One of the reasons I chose it is because it's mentioned in the recommended reading list in The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business. That book was very comprehensive while at the same time being concise and accessible, and I felt I ...more
One of the reasons I chose it is because it's mentioned in the recommended reading list in The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business. That book was very comprehensive while at the same time being concise and accessible, and I felt I ...more
This book's a great introduction to business accounting, and I imagine the person who would benefit the most is a small to mid size company either struggling with the cash flow (business should be sound, but difficult to keep cash in the bank at all the right times) and/or someone bringing an accountant. Something to keep on the shelf for a quick refresher before meeting with an accountant to remember exactly which ratio you'll be discussing. Also wish this was a reference book when I took
...more
This book is very helpful and well written for people who don't know anything about finance. (This volume focuses on entrepreneurs but no matter who you are, it's so worth a read to understand finance thing.) Only thing to be sure is "many numbers on the statement reflect estimates and assumptions." So have to understand it and to be intelligent to asses those numbers for running healthy business or even your personal finance.
A clear and solid introduction to basic financial concepts, with many concrete examples. Since the book is focused on owners of small businesses, it focuses on showing the meaning of the many metrics and reports presented by the authors, an approach that can be useful even for those outside the book's main target demographic.
It was really an eye opener..However since i was reluctant to take pen and paper and workout the exercises,i wouldn't say i made full use of it.But now i have a reference material to relay on in case of need.Its a must have in every manager's shelf.
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