Table of Contents

Preface: What is Financial Intelligence? xi PART ONE The Art Of Finance (and why it matters) 1. You Can't Always Trust the Numbers 2. Spotting Assumptions, Estimates, and Biases 3. Why Increase Your Financial Intelligence? Part One Toolbox PART TWO The (Many) Peculiarities Of The Income Statement 4. Profit Is an Estimate 5. Cracking the Code of the Income Statement 6. Revenue: The Issue Is Recognition 7. Costs and Expenses: No Hard-and-Fast Rules 8. The Many Forms of Profit Part Two Toolbox PART THREE The Balance Sheet Reveals The Most 9. Understanding Balance Sheet Basics 10. Assets: More Estimates and Assumptions (Except for Cash) 11. On the Other Side: Liabilities and Equity 12. Why the Balance Sheet Balances 13. The Income Statement Affects the Balance Sheet Part Three Toolbox PART FOUR Cash Is King 14. Cash Is a Reality Check 15. Profit ? Cash (And You Need Both) 16. The Language of Cash Flow 17. How Cash Connects with Everything Else 18. Why Cash Matters Part Four Toolbox PART FIVE RATIOS: Learning What the Numbers Are Really Telling You 19. The Power of Ratios 20. Profitability Ratios: The Higher the Better (Mostly) 21. Leverage Ratios: The Balancing Act 22. Liquidity Ratios: Can We Pay Our Bills? 23. Efficiency Ratios: Making the Most of Your Assets Part Five Toolbox PART SIX How to Calculate (and Really Understand) Return on Investment 24. The Building Blocks of ROI 25. Figuring ROI: The Nitty-Gritty Part Six Toolbox PART SEVEN Applied Financial Intelligence: Working Capital Management 26. The Magic of Managing the Balance Sheet 27. Your Balance Sheet Levers 28. Homing In on Cash Conversion Part Seven Toolbox PART EIGHT Creating A Financially Intelligent Department (And Organization) 29. Financial Literacy and Corporate Performance 30. Financial Literacy Strategies Appendix: Putting it into Practice Notes Acknowledgments Index About the Authors

About the Author

Karen Berman and Joe Knight founded the Business Literacy Institute. John Case has written for Inc., Harvard Business Review, and other business publications.