Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1 Finance Fundamentals

1 Finance personnel and systems

2 Cash versus accruals accounting

Part 2 Primary Financial Statements

3 Profit and loss (P&L)

4 The balance sheet

5 Cash flow statement

Part 3 Key Elements of Financial Statements

6 Revenue recognition

7 Opex and capex

8 Business tax

9 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

10 Goodwill and other intangibles

11 Stock

12 Debtors and creditors

13 Prepayments and accruals

14 Provisions and contingencies

15 Capital and reserves

16 Group accounting

17 Revaluation

18 Impairment

Part 4 Financial and Regulatory Environment

19 Accounting and financial reporting standards

20 External financial audit

21 Information in the public domain

22 Corporate governance and whistleblowing

Part 5 Assessing Financial Health

23 Profitability performance measures

24 Working capital and liquidity management

25 Insolvency and going concern risk

26 Long-term solvency performance measures

27 Investor ratios

28 Business valuation

Part 6 Sources of Business Finance

29 Equity finance

30 Debt finance

Part 7 Financial Management

31 Management accounts

32 Profitable pricing

33 Profit planning

34 Budgeting and forecasting

35 Investment appraisal

Part 8 Practical application

36 Consolidate and apply

37 The reliability, relevance & trustworthiness of financial statements

Appendix: Greggs plc 2020 Financial Statements

About the Author

Stuart Warner Bsc (Hons) FCA, BFP, Cert IoD Stuart is the author of four finance books. His goal is to help businesses increase productivity and profits through innovative, engaging and experiential finance training programmes. He delivers training and consultancy internationally across multiple sectors. Over his career, Stuart has trained thousands of people. He has taught accounting trainees for professional qualifications and has delivered CPD courses for qualified accountants and interactive courses for non-finance professionals from graduate to board level. Stuart studied management sciences at UMIST and became a Chartered Accountant whilst working at PwC. Si Hussain BSc (Hons) FCA, BFP, FHEA, PgCert (HE) Saieem (Si) trained with KPMG qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1991.During his 30+ year career, Si has delivered financial training programmes to countless professionals and has held senior roles in companies, including Chief Executive of BPP Professional Education. He continues to teach finance to a full spectrum of professionals including managers and directors, non-finance professionals as well as those starting out on their careers. Si is an experienced facilitator and training consultant providing services to a wide range of organisations.

Reviews

‘The Finance Book is a practical guide that deciphers finance and will transform your financial awareness and confidence. A must read that will become your go to finance Rosetta Stone.' Jonathan Levy, ICAEW Director, Product Development
‘This book is different. It is neither traditional finance nor traditional accounting. It does not attempt to provide a theoretical foundation for the subject but offers nuggets of practical wisdom in a way that distils the authors' decades of experience in the field.' Emeritus Professor Robert Cressy, University of Birmingham, UK
‘A refreshingly easy ‘pick up and read' book, providing straightforward explanations of potentially complex terms and aspects of finance. A key read for those seeking to understand the fundamentals of finance.' Shirley Fyfe, Lead Facilitator and Trainer, Director, Kinsbourne Consulting Limited