Financial Intelligence for IT Professionals: What You Really Need to Know About the Numbers (Financial Intelligence) | 
| Authors: Karen Berman, Joe Knight, John Case
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.88
You Save: $10.07 (40%)
New (29) Used (2) from $14.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 40102
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 1422119149
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.15088004
EAN: 9781422119143
ASIN: 1422119149
Publication Date: May 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: P20080718110015S
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
As an IT manager, you're expected to make key decisions and recommend major investments. And that means understanding your decisions' financial impact on your company. But if you're like many information technology practitioners, you may feel uncomfortable incorporating the financials into your day-to-day work.
Using the groundbreaking formula they introduced in their book Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean, Karen Berman and Joe Knight present the essentials of finance specifically for IT experts.
Drawing on their work training tens of thousands of managers and employees at leading organizations worldwide, the authors illuminate the basics of financial management and measurement and provide hands-on activities for practicing what you are reading. You'll discover:
Why the assumptions behind financial data matterWhat your company's income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement revealHow to use ratios to assess your company's financial health How to calculate return on IT investmentsWays to use financial information to support your company's business units and do your own job better How to instill financial intelligence throughout your team
Authoritative and accessible, Financial Intelligence for IT Professionals empowers you to "talk numbers" confidently with your boss, colleagues, and direct reports -- and understand how the financials affect your part of the business.
|
| Customer Reviews:
An clearly written and well organized primer July 18, 2008
Financial Intelligence for IT Professionals seeks the elusive sweet spot between being approachable on the one hand and substantive on the other. If you are looking for the bible of corporate finance or an alternative to an MBA, you'll probably be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you or your employees would benefit from a clearly written and well organized introduction into corporate finances, you really can't go wrong. Berman and Knight do an excellent job covering the basics, including income statements, balance sheets, cash flows, ratios, and measures of investment/project performance. The examples provided are simple enough to illustrate the concepts without feeling dumbed down. I was particularly impressed with the clear manner in which the concept of cash flow was presented, as, in my experience, the difference between income and cash is a topic often misunderstood by folks without financial training. In addition to the concepts listed above, the authors make it a point to highlight how financials can be influenced, intentionally or not, by the assumptions and actions of executives and accountants.
Here is where we run into my first (very small) criticism. While I appreciate the discussion of some of the `gray areas' that can be found in accounting and finance, I think the focus on fraudulent behavior is a little out of balance. Certainly there have been several great scandals over the last few years to provide fodder, but in my experience most financial executives make honest judgments to the best of their abilities, usually under tremendous pressure. My second tiny criticism is that the author's suggest a number of times that an IT leader equipped with financial knowledge can more intelligently challenge the assumptions of controllers, CFOs, etc. In my organization, this is encouraged and, frankly, expected of top level managers. In other organizations, however, questioning the CFO might get you a short trip to the unemployment office. Readers will need to use some judgment here...
The book concludes with a brief discussion of the value of employee financial knowledge to the performance of the company. The case is well stated, and the author's passion for the empowering impact of financial intelligence seems genuine. I am fortunate to work for an employee owned company that really emphasizes financial understanding for all employee-owners, but I also know from prior experience that my company is the exception, not the rule.
Bottom Line: This is a book whose impact on your organization will grow with the number of people who read it. So buy a few, and share them with anyone who in interested. That's what I'm going to do.
Must read for all IT Managers June 13, 2008
With all the talk of aligning IT with the business, financial intelligence is probably the most overlooked or avoided part of an IT manager's toolkit. This book is well written and actually fun to read. It should give you an advantage in your career. Buy it now.
|
|
|
