HBR Guide to Finance Basics for Managers Book

Section 1 Finance Basics Don't Be Afraid

Finance Quiz: Do you know the basics? 5

The Key Financial Statements: Learn your way around a balance sheet, an income statement, and a cash flow statement. 9

The Fundamental Laws of Business: Get a grip on any company, regardless of size or location. David Stauffer 33

Section 2 Making Good Decisions and Moving those Numbers

Using Statements to Measure Financial Health: Interpret what the numbers mean through ratio analysis. 43

Grow Your Profits by Streamlining Your Business: Three ways to simplify for profitability Jamie Bonomo Andy Pasternak 57

Working Your Assets to Boost Your Growth: Focus your supply chain on customers' needs-and increase your return on invested capital. Miles Cook Pratap Mukharji Lorenz Kiefer Marco Petruzzi 63

Profit ≠ Cash (and You Need Both): Here's why it's critical to understand the difference-especially for a growing company. Karen Berman Joe Knight John Case 73

Why Cash Matters: It helps you see what's going on now, where the business is headed, and what senior management's priorities are likely to be. Karen Berman Joe Knight John Case 83

Your Balance Sheet Levers: Closely manage days sales outstanding and inventory-and have more cash at your disposal. Karen Berman Joe Knight John Case 87

What's Your Working Capital Model? A Case Study: Lessons learned from Dow Jones, a business that transformed itself without going hat-in-hand to investors John Mullins Randy Komisar 95

Learn to Speak the Language of ROI: Get your ideas and projects funded even when money is tight. John O'Leary 105

Practical Tools for Management Decisions: How to analyze costs and benefits, estimate ROI, calculate how quickly you'll recoup an investment, and more 113

Sections 3 The Limits of Financial Data

What the Financial Statements Don't Tell You: Keep a sharp eye on nonfinancial data, too-and avoid the missteps of Merrill Lynch and BP. John Case 127

The Five Traps of Performance Measurement: What they are-and how to steer clear of them Andrew Likierman 139

Finance Quiz: How much have you learned? 153

Glossary 159

Index 169