This book focuses on managing return and risk in modern financial institutions. The central theme is that the risks faced by managers and the methods... and markets through which these risks are managed are becoming increasingly similar, whether an institution is chartered as a commercial bank, a savings bank, an investment bank, or an insurance company. Although the traditional nature of each sector's product activity is analysed, a greater emphasis is placed on new areas of activities such as asset security, off-balance-sheet banking and international banking.

Companies expect managers to use financial data to allocate resources and run their departments. But many managers can't read a balance sheet, wouldn't... recognize a liquidity ratio, and don't know how to calculate return on investment. Worse, they don't have any idea where the numbers come from or how reliable they really are. In Financial Intelligence, Karen Berman and Joe Knight teach the basics of finance--but with a twist. Financial reporting, they argue, is as much art as science. Because nobody can quantify everything, accountants always rely on estimates, assumptions, and judgment calls. Savvy managers need to know how those sources of possible bias can affect the financials and that sometimes the numbers can be challenged. While providing the foundation for a deep understanding of the financial side of business, the book also arms managers with practical strategies for improving their companies' performance--strategies, such as "managing the balance sheet," that are well understood by financial professionals but rarely shared with their nonfinancial colleagues. Accessible, jargon-free, and filled with entertaining stories of real companies, Financial Intelligence gives nonfinancial managers the financial knowledge and confidence for their everyday work. Karen Berman and Joe Knight are the owners of the Los Angeles-based Business Literacy Institute and have trained tens of thousands of managers at many leading organizations. Co-author John Case has written several popular books on management.

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 understanding of the basics of financial management and measurement, along with hands-on activities to practice what you are reading. You'll discover:Why the assumptions behind financial data matter- What income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements really reveal- How to use ratios to assess your venture's financial health- How to calculate return on your investments in your enterprise- Ways to use financial information to do your own job better- How to instill financial intelligence throughout your teamAuthoritative and accessible, Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs empowers you to "talk numbers" confidently with colleagues, partners, and employees-- and fully understand how to use financial data to make better decisions for your business.

As an HR manager, you're expected to use financial data to make decisions, allocate resources, and budget expenses. But if you're like many human... resource practitioners, you may feel uncertain or uncomfortable incorporating financials into your day-to-day work.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 HR experts.Drawing on their work training tens of thousands of managers and employees at leading organizations worldwide, the authors provide a deep understanding of the basics of financial management and measurement, along with hands-on activities to practice what you are reading. You'll discover:· Why the assumptions behind financial data matter· What your company's income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement really reveal· Which financials may be needed when you're developing a human capital strategy· How to calculate return on investment· Ways to use financial information to better support your business units and do your own job· How to instill financial intelligence throughout your teamAuthoritative and accessible, Financial Intelligence for HR Professionals, empowers you to "talk numbers" confidently with your boss, colleagues, and direct reports -- and understand how the financials impact your part of the business.

While trillions of dollars came and went in the stock market boom of the 1990s, the image of 'every man and woman a CEO' may turn out to be the era's... lasting legacy. Business news, once reserved to specialized papers or sections of the larger news of the day, came to the forefront in cable television and in cultural images of how ordinary people, through the internet and other avenues could not only master their financial life, but move money and equity around with the ease of a financial titan. "Financialization of Daily Life" looks at how this transformation occurred, and how it is just now becoming a significant, and troubling, aspect of our political and cultural life. Randy Martin takes us through all of the aspects of our 'financialization'. He examines how the shift in economic life arose not only from changes in culture, but also from new policy priorities that emphasize controlling inflation over promoting growth. He offers a close reading of self-help literature that teaches parents how to rear financially literate children and to instruct adults in the fundamentals of fiscal management. He examines just what a society that treats financial investment as a national past time really looks like, and how that society is transforming the world. In a country rocked by scandals in accounting and banking, the identification ordinary citizens make with, and the risk with which they engage in, the stock market calls into question the very basis of our economic system. Randy Martin spells out in clear terms the implications our financial doings - and undoing - have for the way we organize our lives, and, especially, our money. Author note: Randy Martin is Professor of Art and Public Policy and Associate Dean of Faculty and Interdisciplinary Programs at New York University. He is the author and editor of seven books, including, most recently, "On Your Marx: Rethinking Socialism and the Left".

Making sure that your nonprofit is going to be around long-term requires financial leadership. This means creating a financial vision for your... organization and planning how you’ll get there. Financial Leadership for Nonprofit Executives gives you the framework, specific language, and processes to lead with confidence. With it, you’ll learn how to protect and grow the assets of your organization and accomplish as much mission as possible with those resources. The good news is you don’t have to be a trained accountant, earn an MBA, or have run a for-profit business in another lifetime. You already have many of the skills it takes to be a financial leader. This useful guide makes the process understandable and doable. You’ll find clear, logical steps to learn how to get accurate financial data—in a format you can understand; use financial data to evaluate your organization’s health; plan around a set of meaningful financial goals; and communicate progress on these goals to your staff, board, and external stakeholders. You’ll also find five foundational financial leadership principles; three overarching questions every financial leader needs to be able to answer (and where to find those answers); two fundamental budgeting principles; and five steps to building a strong annual budget. At the end of each chapter is an evaluation tool. You can rate how your organization is doing relative to the component of financial leadership covered in each chapter. Each attribute is scored as being red, yellow, or green. “Red” items are below standard and require immediate attention; “yellow” items are widely practiced though not generally ideal; and “green” items are considered best practice. Over time, as you and your partners on the board and staff move the organization toward “green” in each of these areas, you will create an environment in which financial leadership can flourish.

The language of businessIn order to understand how your business is performing right now and to evaluate, assess, and devise new strategies to boost... future performance, you need information. Financial statements are a critical source of the information you need.In direct and simple terms, Richard A. Lambert, Miller-Sherrerd Professor of Accounting at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, demystifies financial statements and concepts and shows you how you can apply this information to make better business decisions for long-term profit. You will learn to use and interpret financial data; find out what we can learn from Pepsi, Krispy Kreme, General Motors, and other companies; learn how to evaluate investment strategies; and apply your financial know-how to develop a coherent business strategy.

"From the best of his comic and satiric works to the best of his Gothic works . . . a remarkable literary achievement--perhaps one of the most... remarkable of the nineteenth century."--G. R. Thompson, from the Introduction