Customer Reviews

Finance for Managers (Harvard Business Essentials)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This one of the volumes in the new Harvard Business School Essentials Series. Each offers authoritative answers to the most important questions concerning its specific subject. The material in this book is drawn from a variety of sources which include William J. Bruns, Michael J. Roberts, and Robert S. Kaplan as well as Harvard Business School Publishing and Harvard ManageMentor®, an online service. Each volume is indeed "a highly practical resource for readers with all levels of experience" but I think those who have only recently embarked on a business career will derive the greatest benefit.

This volume explains the basic concepts of finance to managers who are not financial managers. As Richard Luecke notes in the Introduction, "Knowing how to finance assets, forecast future cash flows, maintain a budget, determine which operations are profit generators and which are not, and judge the real economic merits of different investment opportunities will help you stay in business and turn a profit." Samuel L. Hayes served as subject advisor to Luecke, writer of this and other books in the Harvard Business School Essentials Series and author or developer of more than 30 other books as well as several dozen articles.

There are ten chapters followed by an Appendix: Activity-Based Budgeting. (More about that material in a moment.) Each chapter is introduced by a list of "Key Topics" to be covered in it. For example, in Chapter 5, the focus is on start-up financing, financing current operations, financing growth, establish a proper match of assets with financing, and typical financing arrangements. Obviously, all of this material may seem basic (if not self-evident) to the experienced financial manager but keep in mind that the material was carefully selected for managers who are not financial managers.

One of the most informative discussions is provided in the Appendix when brief but sufficient attention is given to "Developing Cost Drivers" and more specifically to activity-based budgeting (ABB) and how it differs from activity-based costing (ABC). Less experienced non-financial managers are frequently asked to prepare a report which, more often than not, involves a budget or at least a cost analysis. A basic understanding of ABB and ABC will guide and assist the completion of that task. Whereas ABC starts with the cost of resources, allocates these costs to activities, and then allocates these costs to products and/of services, ABB starts with the planned product or service, estimated sales volume, and mix and comes up with the requisite activities to produce the mix and volume.

Financial managers as well as non-financial managers who supervise other non-financial managers should seriously consider providing copies of this book to those who currently do not understand "how to finance assets, forecast future cash flows, maintain a budget, determine which operations are profit generators and which are not, and judge the real economic merits of different investment opportunities" which will help [their organization] stay in business and turn a profit." Of course, younger executives need not wait for such provision. Published as a paperbound volume and priced attractively, Finance for Managers would be a modest investment for them to make in their own careers.

I bought this book to rehash some of the necessary and critical financial concepts learnt in school. Objective was to a. Make informed decision with knowledge of some finance terms (like top-line growth) B. Make more familiarity with the standard yet not so frequently used financial tools (like cash flow statement).

The book does reasonably well to fulfill these criterion with and optimal degree of satisfaction. Nice organization, one chapter flows onto next one and examples related to one business entity (fictitious yet realistic) run through. Numerical examples explaining the basic as well as relatively difficult financial concepts are easy to understand and make a good reading.

This trend continues pretty much throughout the book except in few chapters. I would actually point out two chapters where details and flow are not as lucid. The chapters explaining Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) (Chapter 9: Time value of Money) and Budgeting process (Chapter 7: Budgeting) lacks the depth even at a conceptual level and does not help the reader to form a clear impression of the topics. I would say it in some cases it presents too less a detail (ex. definition and explanation of IRR) and it some cases it tries to present too much (Budgeting process/type and factors consideration)
Overall a good buy and definitely nice value for money!

Explains the basics, not so detailed that a novice can't follow it. If you're already a finance manager (as opposed to a manger without a finance background), I suggest something a little more advanced.

"Finance for Managers" is short and clearly-written. It's a good book for non-business people (like me) who want to be smarter readers of business and economic news. However, it strikes me as too elementary to be of value to real non-financial managers (the supposed audience), who studied business at college and already know the basics of discounted present value, ratio analysis, the risks and rewards of leverage, and so forth. The good thing about "Finance for Managers" is that it NEVER goes beyond the bare basics. But that's also the bad thing.

For those who have never studied finance but need to understand the basics, this is by far the best book available: intelligent, concise, and easy to understand. I recommend it to my consulting clients (entrepreneurs and small-business owners in creative industries), and use it as a framework and primary resource in an undergraduate course in finance for designers. Students often prefer this to a conventional textbook, as it highlights the most important aspects of financial understanding and management, presents the material in a very accessible style with concrete examples, and de-emphasizes mathematical aspects.
I hope Harvard will update this book with a new edition, as their more-recent "Understanding Finance" provides insufficient depth.

This book is an excellent primer or refresher course on the basics of finance and accounting in business. This book is clearly not aimed at finance or accounting folks working in business today as the presented material is far too high level and basic. However, if it has been some years since you have dealt with this material in school, if you have always been on the periphery of this material at work, or if you have never encountered these subjects, then this is a great book to get you going.

The very thought of the subject matter might make some sleepy, but credit to the authors for covering this subject in a short, concise, and relevant way. To the extent that a book of this type could be considered a "page turner" I think this book is it. The subjects are covered using every day language in an efficient and quick moving manner. You never get bogged down in any one subject or esoteric detail and there is nothing academic about the writing style.

On the back cover of the book it is mentioned that the Harvard Business Essentials is designed to provide "comprehensive advice"... While this is clearly marketing speak, it is still quite untrue. There is nothing comprehensive about this book so folks should be careful about taking the Harvard name and the notion of "comprehensive advice" as if this is some sort of definitive text on the subject of finance in business. The material is at the level of the most basic introductory course and if you go in understanding this and desire something to either get you going on the subject or refresh your memory from long ago study, I think this book will fit the bill nicely.

The book contains a number of good articles, introducing some important, basic accounting and finance concepts for non-financial managers. The chapters on Financing Operations and Growth, Budgeting, Practical Tools for Management Decisions and Valuation Concepts were the most informative and relevant. Others, like Taxation and The Time Value of MOney were too simplistic. An OK book if you have limited time to devote to the subject, but it really won't do much more than introduce you to some useful vocabulary, so you won't feel completely intimidated when dealing with your finance staff.

For non-financial managers or supervisors, this is a clear cut, easy to understand terminology book that makes a very difficult subject quite easy to navigate and understand.

If your knowledge of Financial Management is limited or shallow this is your book: Clear, direct, brief, full of examples and easy to read.

A really excellent reference book to keep handy. Gives a great overview of key finance concepts and is easy to follow. It was well worth the price and the time spent reading it.