Managers in every business are expected to use financial data to make decisions, allocate resources, and budget expenses. But the truth is, many are uncomfortable applying the most basic financial tools in their day-to-day work. Even managers who consider themselves financially savvy may not understand what goes into a financial statement, and so may take the numbers as gospel when they should be questioning them.

In Financial Intelligence, Karen Berman and Joe Knight present the essentials of finance, but with an extra dimension. Succinct, easy-to-read chapters teach the fundamentals in a way that everyone can understand and put to work right away. But the authors also take you behind the scenes, to show where the numbers come from. Since nobody can quantify everything, accountants and finance executives always rely on estimates, assumptions, and judgment calls, which can skew the numbers in one direction or another. This book helps you recognize and understand those biases, challenge or correct for them when necessary, and use this information to be a better manager.

Based on their work training tens of thousands of managers and employees at many leading organizations, Berman and Knight provide readers with a deep understanding of:

* The basics of financial measurement: reading income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and more
* The art of finance: separating hard data from assumptions and estimates
* The mechanics of analysis: calculating ratios, return on investment, and working capital
* Cash and profit: knowing how these terms differ, and why cash is suddenly the “hot” number in corporate boardrooms and on Wall Street
* Financial literacy and transparency: recognizing how they can boost performance

Accessible, jargon-free, and filled with entertaining stories from real companies, Financial Intelligence will help nonfinancial managers add substantially more to their companies’—and their own—success. If you have ever wanted to “talk numbers” confidently with your colleagues, this is the book for you.

 

 Joe Knight Interview [21:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ever wonder what it means when the Fed raises interest rates? Or why there are occasional fears of inflation? To the rescue comes this simplified and chatty nontextbook textbook. Using words rather than math, it makes economics accessible, comprehensible and appealing. Wheelan, the Economist’s Midwest correspondent, breezily explains the big picture, including finance, capital markets, government institutions and more. His informal style belies the sophisticated and scholarly underpinnings of his subject. Wheelan champions the often-maligned science: “Economics should not be accessible only to the experts. The ideas are too important and too interesting.” Well before book’s end, highly persuasive yet simply illustrated concepts sway the reader. Complex ideas are demystified and made clear, using familiar examples, such as the price of sweatshirts at the Gap. A chapter on financial markets compares a grapefruit and ice cream fad diet with get-rich-quick schemes. (He wryly offers the mantra “Save. Invest. Repeat.”) Similarly, an explanation of interest rates compares them to “rental rates,” an easy-to-grasp concept. And to convey what the major international institutions do, Wheelan writes: “If the World Bank is the world’s welfare agency, then its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the fire department responsible for dousing international financial crises.” Wheelan’s simplicity does not mask the detailed encapsulation of complicated issues, such as relative wealth, globalization and the importance of human capital. He smartly shows that while economic consequences can be global, they are also a part of everyday life.

 

 Charles Wheelan Interview [18:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Praise for Navigating the Financial Blogosphere

“Navigating the Financial Blogosphere is the most enjoyable personal finance book I’ve ever read. I read it cover to cover within an afternoon, and I didn’t want to put it down. It’s fresh, practical, and broad in its topic coverage and should be on the top of every person’s reading list. Russell Bailyn is a super-talented rising star.”
-Matthew D. Hutcheson, Independent Pension Fiduciary, expert Congressional witness on retirement plan economics

“Financial information on the Internet has exploded in volume; the challenge is to find what’s useful and reliable. Russell Bailyn’s book does an excellent job of presenting important personal finance topics in a clear and digestible form, and pointing readers to a wealth of high-quality sources on the Internet. Navigating the Financial Blogosphere is browsable, fun, and very useful.”
-David Jackson, founder and CEO, SeekingAlpha.com

“Russell Bailyn not only explains financial decision making, but like a good research librarian, he tells you where to go on the Web for more information. You’ll want to be close to your computer as you read this book.”
-Joseph Hurley, founder and CEO, Savingforcollege.com LLC

 

 Russell Bailyn Interview [26:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download