Financial Statements: A Step-By-Step Guide to Understanding and Creating Financial Reports (Paperback)

by Thomas R. Ittelson (Author) "Many non-financial managers have an accounting phobia...a financial vertigo that limits their effectiveness..." (more)
Key Phrases: manufacturing startup, period including transactions, income from operations, Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Finally, a resourceful and unique primer on financial statements that uses a creative and different approach to explain every kind of financial report a small business owner or manager needs to succeed. Through an unique visual approach, this book leads users to a clear understanding of how business scores are kept and how to interpret the results.From balance sheets, cash flow statements and income statements, learn how to understand the basic elements that will pave the way to achieving financial success.

From the Back Cover
Amazon readers love this five-star title:

"Buy this book first."
"Perfect for budding entrepreneurs!"
"Makes a complicated subject seem like child's play."
"A masterpiece for non-financial managers."
"The best book available on the subject."
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Career Press; 1 edition (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564143414
• ISBN-13: 978-1564143419
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Books > Business & Investing > Accounting > Financial
  #9 in	Books > Business & Investing > Finance > Corporate Finance
  #35 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > Accounting

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply The Best!, August 26, 2006

By	climbhigh - See all my reviews

A solid foundation is critical to understanding concepts. So you'd think most books would spend a lot of time ensuring and clarifying the basics, right? Wrong! Simply not true! Most of the accounting/finance books just don't get into clarifying the very basics - the confusing array of terms used, how they fit together, what they actually mean in a realworld setting, etc.

This book - a must on every managers shelf - adds value by providing clear and consise definitions and relates them visually. The chapter on connections ties a lot of information together with such ease. Above all the step by step examples go a long long way into clarfying any remaining confusion you'd have. Its very easy to read. You'd probably finish it over a weekend. So its tremendous bang for buck.

Clearly the first introductory book one should read. There are plenty of good books for the next level (IMHO).

**_Simply go get it - read it. Enjoy the clarity in your decision making. Highly recommended._**

Here is a list of books that might also help.
Introductory level:
1. Financial statements (Thomas Ittelson, this book)
2. How to use financial statements: A guide to understanding the numbers (James Bandler)
3. How to read a financial report: wringing vital signs out of numbers (John A. Tracy)

Next Level:
4. Financial Statement Analysis: the investors self study to interpretting & analyzing financial statements, revised edition (Charles J. Woelfel)
5. Analysis For Financial Management (Robert C. Higgins) - This is one excellent book.
6. Techniques Of Financial Analysis: A Modern Approach (Eric A. Helfert)
7. Finance & Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers (Steven A. Finkler)

MBA Level:
7. The Analysis And Use Of Financial Statements (Gerald White, Sondhi, et. al) - dense reading (plus the plain format of this version of the book is sure to make you fall asleep. Hats off to you if you can read this book cover to cover. :).)
8. Also Corporate Finance: theory and practice (Damodaran) has a very good advanced level introductory chapter. Pick it up at a library and ...

If you had to buy 1 book:
I'd recommend - #1 above.

If you could buy 2 books (over time):
I'd recommend - #1 and #5 above.

If you could buy 3 books (for an in depth managerial understanding):
I'd recommend - #1, #5 and #6 above.

#7 - has a decent cd of spreadsheets for ready use (proforma cash flows, ledgers, etc; very handy)

Good luck!

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Financial Statements for Dummies!, April 14, 2004

By	M Kramer (United States) - See all my reviews

I've been buying from Amazon.com for at least 5 years but this is my first review. I am 3/4 of the way through Ittelson's book and I want to write this review while my enthusiasm is still burning white hot.

Ittelson has a gift that few experts have. He anticipates all my newbie/beginner stupid questions. Here I am on page 169 wondering why paying payroll taxes doesn't show up on the Income Statement. Sure enough, right after I've wondered to myself why there is no transaction on the Income Statement, I see his note explaining that these payroll tax expenses were put on the Income Statement when the goods were shipped, "not when the actual payment is made."

As soon as the little voice in my head asks, "But why did they do it *this* way?" Ittelson gives me the answer.

I give Ittelson a lot of credit for this. After you've studied something for years, as he clearly has, it's often almost impossible to see the subject with the eyes of a beginner. Believe me, I'm a teacher, I know how difficult it can be.

The first part of the book examines the three basic statements line-by-line: Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Balance Sheet.

The largest part of the book sounds incredibly dry and dull. Each even-numbered page displays all three financial statements: Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Balance Sheet. The odd-numbered page explains a business transation: paying payroll taxes, for example. The transaction's impact on the three financial statements is displayed on the even-numbered page.

Believe it or not, Ittelson makes it interesting to read about these business transactions. He creates a narrative about starting a business and running it. Along the way, he offers a few humorous pearls of business wisdom. This is dry, technical stuff but he makes it entertaining without ever sacrificing explanatory precision.

This is a great book for anyone who feels they need to sharpen their skills with financial statements. I've read short descriptions of financial statements before but it never sank in. What's great about Ittelson's book is that first he gives very clear definitions of key terms and then he takes you step-by-step through each business transaction and how it is reflected on the financial statements.

I wish I had read this book more than 10 years ago when I first started in the business world. I assume that you learn this stuff if you have an MBA. But I didn't. This gives one a solid grounding in the brass tacks of the business world.

This book has been of enormous value to me. It is an essential reference for anyone who needs to understand what business finances are about.

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on Financial Statements, Period!, November 22, 2003

By	Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Wow, what a great book! I am a technical professional enrolled in a graduate business degree program, and until now the plethora of financial and accounting terminology and rules has been bewildering for me. That is no longer true after buying this book. I have primarily used it as a reference book, and without fail any explanation I have needed has been easy to find, clear and concise.

I am no longer in the financially confused majority, largely thanks to this book. The author's education is in biochemistry (as is my undergraduate education), and because he originally came from the hard sciences where clarity and accuracy are valued above all else he was better able to be clear and easy to understand in comparison to many business school authors who seem to thrive on jargon and platitudes.

This is a great book to have on the reference shelf. If you are involved with business finance or investment analysis it is simply the best book available on the subject and should be considered indispensable!