Mastering Business Finance

 Mastering Business Finance

What Every Manager Should Know

No subject seems to pervade ourlives as much as finance. Whetherit’s wres-

tling with your family budget or seeing if your company qualifies for a

bank loan, finance looms larger than any other technical subject on a daily

basis. With downsizing of companies and staffs, managers at every level are hav-

ing to face financial matters in ever-greater proportions today. If you haven’t yet

been asked to scale down inventories or set up financing for departmental projects,

chances are you will be soon.

In today’s corporate environment, nonfinancial managers are expected to make

financial decisions fast. In fact, your decision often was due “yesterday.” If that’s not

enough pressure, the arrival of computers and cyberspace has given your competi-

tion access to more financial facts, in greater detail and more promptly, than ever

before. The need to make financial decisions quickly is vital to your success. There’s

no time for an in‐depth study of financial concepts and their meaning when your

boss or your employees are expecting a yes or no answer right away.

This report is meant to strip away the fear and confusion you may experience

about finance. It explains expense and capital budgets, financial analysis and cash

management, and tells you how to go about raising money—all in language that’s

easy to understand. We explain jargon where we have to use it—and where we

think that a picture would be worth a thousand words, you’ll find an example or

an illustration. Unlike most publications on finance, we give you not just the how

but also the why of the financial process. Our goal: to bring you up to speed fast

on the financial tools you need to succeed in business today.