Financial management

Author: (USA) Siciliano/G. / Jiao Xufeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: Can you understand financial statements? Do you want to use financial reports with ease as a stepping stone for success? Financial Management is designed specifically for non-financial managers, presenting professional financial management knowledge in an accessible yet high-quality manner. It provides practical, immediately applicable insights to help managers understand the important information hidden in basic financial reports and teaches them how to make informed decisions based on comprehensive data. How to track cash flow; understand budget costs; correctly use financial evaluation methods; Chapter 1 is the foundation of the book, exploring how the current business environment has increased the demand for managers with financial knowledge. Today, business managers and owners need to possess financial stability and a certain level of financial expertise, which was not required before. In the past, some people believed that accountants would clean up all the books by the end of the year, and the company could then correctly fill out tax forms, so they often maintained poor accounting records. Now, this approach is no longer suitable. It is also no longer correct to simply look for the monthly profit figures in the financial reports while ignoring the rest of the content. If managers hope to be promoted or successfully complete their current work, ignoring financial knowledge is also unacceptable. You need more financial knowledge. Chapters 2-6 discuss the basic financial reports you should review monthly under normal circumstances, along with many tips for reading, understanding, and using this financial information. Therefore, we recommend that you read Chapters 2-6 in order and may need to reread them until you fully understand their meaning. Chapter 7 focuses on operating ratios, which are relevant calculations derived from the numbers in financial statements. Their purpose is to reveal the relationship between two variables that might not be noticed during casual reading, and this relationship is very important for evaluating a company's overall financial condition. Chapter 8 explains the principles of cost accounting and why it is so important for helping a company control its gross margin. The basic purpose of cost accounting is to help managers understand the true cost of the products or services their company sells, so they can choose to sell more profitable products and reduce the sales of unprofitable ones. Chapter 9 covers business planning. It discusses the importance of planning, the differences between strategic and operational plans, and using the company's vision and mission as the starting point for planning strategy, as well as setting long-term and short-term goals. Chapter 10 primarily discusses the importance of annual budget statements, how to prepare budgets for revenue and costs, and the significance of flexible budgets. Chapters 11 and 12 explain the basics of financing for businesses. This is a crucial aspect of driving business growth, as companies in the growth phase often consume capital faster than they can generate it. Chapter 11 mainly discusses two financing methods: debt financing and equity financing, explaining some financing methods while also discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each. Chapter 12 explores the ways for businesses to obtain external financing.