Understanding Finance ; Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Explains the essential concepts of finance--budgeting, forecasting, and planning--to managers who are not financial managers. "Understanding Finance" contains relevant information on how to: understand what the three basic financial statements and ratio analysis tell about a company's financial health; develop and track a budget; and assess an investment opportunity.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Mentors' Message: Why Understand Finance? (p. ix)
• Understanding Finance: The Basics (p. 1)
• Understanding Financial Statements (p. 3)
• Accounting methods (p. 5)
• The income statement (p. 6)
• The balance sheet (p. 9)
• The cash flow statement (p. 12)
• Using Financial Statements to Measure Financial Health (p. 15)
• Profitability ratios (p. 17)
• Operating ratios (p. 18)
• Liquidity ratios (p. 19)
• Leverage ratios (p. 20)
• Other ways to measure financial health (p. 21)
• The Budget Process (p. 25)
• Understanding top-down and bottom-up budgeting (p. 27)
• Preparing a budget (p. 29)
• Articulating your assumptions (p. 31)
• Quantifying your assumptions (p. 34)
• What Is Cost/Benefit Analysis? (p. 39)
• Steps of cost/benefit analysis (p. 41)
• Net return and payback period (p. 43)
• Net present value and internal rate of return (p. 45)
• Breakeven analysis (p. 49)
• Sensitivity analysis (p. 51)
• Estimating unquantifiable benefits and costs (p. 53)
• Tracking Performance (p. 55)
• Tracking the performance of an investment (p. 56)
• Tracking your budget (p. 58)
• Tips and Tools (p. 61)
• Tools for Understanding Finance (p. 63)
• Test Yourself (p. 67)
• Answers to test questions (p. 70)
• Key Terms (p. 73)
• To Learn More (p. 89)
• Sources for Understanding Finance (p. 93)
• Notes (p. 95)