Financial Intelligence, Revised Edition: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean

This book was absolutely amazing! I took about a year of accounting courses in college, but never quite learned the intricacies of financial statement analysis. I wanted to learn not only about corporate finance, but also how to analyze financial statements. Thus, my search was on. After researching book stores and reading forums online, I learned about this book, which I looked up on Amazon.com. I love books that get straight to the point, so when I saw that this book covered corporate financial management and financial statement analysis in under 300 pages, I was in! I purchased the book from Amazon and I read it in about two weeks. I literally could not put it down. The authors speak like human beings and actually make math and finance fun and interesting. In those two weeks alone, I not only gained a better understanding of accounting, but I learned how to evaluate investments and make management decisions based on company finances. The book covers income statement analysis, balance sheet analysis, cash flow statement analysis, performance ratios, a bit of inventory management (like a financial intro to lean), and advanced capital expenditure analysis through concepts like discounted cash flow analysis. This book took me from feeling like I'd never understand certain things, to being able to discuss finance like an executive manager. I'm not kidding either, the book dives straight in and explains everything in a no nonsense approach. Financial Intelligence acted like a learning springboard for me by providing a foundation for me to read deeper into finance. I 100% recommend this book to anyone looking for a place to begin their finance studies.

Short chapters. Easy to read and understand.

Managerial Finance concepts explained in easily understandable manner with well illustrated simple examples. Highly recommended book.

Financial Intelligence stands out because it never assumes the reader just wants to memorize financial terms. It constantly asks why you should care. Every chapter explains not just what a concept is, but why it matters in real business decisions. This approach made the learning process meaningful and engaging. It’s rare to find a finance book that respects your time and intelligence while also making the material so accessible. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to go beyond surface-level understanding.

This book was one of the books I read in college, while studying Business Management & Leadership. In fact, it was one of the textbooks. I should read it again and use it as a reference when needed.

This was exactly what I was looking for! The best financial book I've ever read for non-financial managers. It really helped my understanding of corporate finance. I think very helpful for a small business owner as well to understand their business and starting thinking like a big business when making important financial decisions. It's important to note that this is not an accounting book (as the authors stated) and details of charts of accounts are left out. That said, it was clearly stated what the purpose was and it nailed it. I've purchased the book for my son who is in college studying business and was confused by his professors - I think it will help him clear things up. I plan on buying more for my colleagues. As crazy as it sounds, it was hard to put down - I just kept wanting to read more as it explained all the voodoo finance so well. Every business owner, sales rep, manager or anyone wishing to understand how finance is used for decision making should buy this book.

Great book highly recommend

A lot of these reviews are saying that it's very basic. It is not. It is basic but ends up telling you a lot of very good information for investing, and creating and analyzing income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Anyone who has a job should read this book. Managers and executives should definitely get this book to be financially intelligent. This book will help any college of business student taking a finance class out as well. Small business entrepreneurs would benefit from this book. I'm taking a finance class in my undergraduate class now. This is a $20 book worth $3000 of a class that you could read in less than a week.

Really great book to start digging into finance world, in my case I have been into production my all working time and now move into leadership needed to understand the income statement

Highly recommend. The book lays out the key concepts of financial statements and its components, why being able to learn how to read financial statements is important, and how to actually read them. This is excellent for those who have basic understanding of finance / accounting and want to take it to the next level.

Avant de prendre un cours en compta (US GAAP) et de finance en MBA ou EMBA, lisez ce livre. Le meilleur livre en finance que j'ai lu jusqu'à présent.

Great!

Best book for non-financial people