The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course In Finance for Non-Financial Managers [Paperback]

Robert Cooke (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071425462 | ISBN-13: 978-0071425469 | Publication Date: February 4, 2004 | Edition: 2

A fully revised guidebook on the basics of accounting-- updated to cover an increasingly complex financial arena

In the wake of recent accounting scandals, most managers now realize they need to know more about the inner workings of finance. Many, however, don't know where they will find the time. The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance for Non-Financial Managers is designed to give readers a working mastery of all finance essentials in just 36 hours and has now been updated to help readers understand the substantial regulatory and practical changes that have taken place in the new world of business accounting. This hands-on workbook delivers its information in accessible and reader-friendly style, including self-study questions and case studies for each chapter. Information new to this edition includes:

• Key updates to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
• Sections detailing what auditing is and what auditors do
• Entirely new sections on pro forma financial statements, stock options as an expense, and more

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The step-by-step, easy-to-understand coursebook on what the numbers mean to your company--and to you

If you're like most managers, today's high-profile accounting scandals have you thinking you should really learn more about your company's numbers--what they are, where they come from, and how they impact you. But who has the time?

The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance for Nonfinancial Managers will give you the working knowledge you need to understand what the numbers are really saying, without unnecessary backroom accounting terms. Updated from its bestselling first edition to include recent financial and regulatory changes that have transformed the practice of finance, this accessible primer will tell you everything you need to know about:

• The essential concepts of finance, so that you can ask intelligent questions and understand the answers
• Vital statements and reports, with entirely new sections on pro forma financial statements, expensing of stock options, and more
• Auditing--what is measured, how and why it is measured, and what you can do to help ensure accuracy and completeness

As a time-pressed manager, you can't be expected to know everything about everything. But there is absolutely no question that a working knowledge of finance will improve your career performance and success. Let The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance for Nonfinancial Managers provide you with the basics you need to become knowledgeable about the high-stakes world of finance.

About the Author

Robert A. Cooke, C.P.A. (Green Cove Springs, FL) has nearly two decades of experience as a business consultant, speaker, and author of a number of books on finance. He has also owned and managed a several successful businesses.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2 edition (February 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071425462
• ISBN-13: 978-0071425469
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #339,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Financial Statements simplified ..., July 12, 2005

By 

Sachin Gaikwad "{ www.SachinOnline.com }" (Silicon Valley, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course In Finance for Non-Financial Managers (Paperback)

Understanding financial statements is one of the key skills needed for any Investor, Employee or anyone interested in determining the health of a company. However, most of the books written on this subject are by the Accountants for the Accountants. Due to which they are hardly ever comprehensible to the lay person.

That's where this book comes into picture. "The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance for Nonfinancial Managers" is an excellent educational book which guides you through the concepts involved in financial statements like Income Statement, Balance Sheet in a simple and straight forward manner interspersed with a dash of humor here and there.

Robert Cooke's keep it simple approach, use of funny, fictitious companies like "Spouse House" in addition to use of comprehensible businesses like "Lemonade Stand" to build up the concepts behind financial statements makes it a fantastic book. Use of common place personal names like Rosie, Alice, Jeff etc makes the book an easy read and the story telling format nicely engages the reader.

Interestingly the Author/Publishers seem to have limited their audience by naming the book for "Non-Financial Managers". But in fact this book is for everyone ...

I would highly, highly recommend this book ... Definitely read it!

-Sachin

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars review of Robert Cooke's Finance for Nonfinancial Managers, March 3, 2010

By 

C. Byers - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course In Finance for Non-Financial Managers (Paperback)

An excellent tutorial in small business financial understanding and management. Clear, well-written, highly palatable presentation of a normally dry subject. Emphasis on concepts, with enough practical numerical examples to make the point. The book will not make you an accountant, but it will give you basic skills, the ability to understand accountant-speak, and a good grasp of the underlying asset-based long range financial perspectives. I found the self-test exams at the ends of the chapters helpful. I have looked through a number of books on this subject and this is the only one I've found that gave me the information I wanted in such a direct and accessible way. Thank you Mr. Cooke!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accounting for the rest of us, May 10, 2010

By 

M. Groble (Fl USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course In Finance for Non-Financial Managers (Paperback)

I run a small and busy service business where I am one of the service providers. I have always used CPA's to do my taxes and have always been left feeling lost, confused, burdened by tons of reports they couldn't or didn't explain to me. I muddled through but enough was enough so I started to educate myself. This book is a gold mine. It is so readable, so understandable and so funny (yes, he puts in wonderful amusing examples -- Uncle Roscoe's yacht and such). I cannot think of anything I would expect to be more dull and boring that an accounting text but this one is fun to read, easy to understand and the problems at the end of the chapter are on point. I have to work on them to get the right solution thus reinforcing the principle. I would hardily recommend this book to anyone who has to handle money or talk to accountants. I feel confident to deal with my next accountant far more beneficially than past experiences have been.