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The rich are different from the rest of us, if for no other reason than U.S. tax and securities laws allow them to invest in ways that keep us from catching up to them. That's why 90 percent of all corporate shares of stock are owned by 10 percent of the people. Kiyosaki believes it's possible for anyone to move up into that 10 percent, but it takes a different view of investing than most people have: it takes a plan to be a successful investor. And a plan is more than simply buying and selling, or collecting "assets" that bring in no cash and are thus more akin to liabilities. The way most people invest, "they might as well be pushing a wheelbarrow in a circle," he writes. A plan is "mechanical, automatic, and boring," a formula for success that has worked historically for most of those who've used it. Kiyosaki's "rich dad" (actually, the father of his best friend) tells him the simplest analogy is the game Monopoly: buy four green houses, trade them for one red hotel, and repeat until you become rich.

The overall message of Rich Dad's Guide to Investing is that this is an abundant world, full of opportunity for the sophisticated investor. However, it sometimes takes a while to find this point. Much of the book is told in dialogues between young Kiyosaki and his rich dad, and these conversations can ramble. There are rewards for the careful reader--for example, in the middle of a section on the basic rules of investing, Kiyosaki's rich dad compares investor education to toilet training: difficult at first but eventually automatic. But getting to these inspired metaphors means wading through a lot of repetitive dialogue. It's a bit ironic that someone who advocates investor discipline should show so little as a writer. But by the end of the book, even the rambling starts to make sense. By the hundredth time you read that the rich don't work for money, and that you don't need money to make money, both concepts start to make sense. It still looks difficult to apply these ideas, but Rich Dad's Guide to Investing certainly makes the case that they'll work for anyone bold and smart enough to practice them. --Lou Schuler ... Read more

Reviews (143)

A must for those who want to be Financially Independent
This book continues from where Kiyosaki left off in Cashflow Quadrant, his 2nd book in the trilogy (now complete with Rich Dad's Guide to Investing).

In his 1st book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Kiyosaki addressed the differences in mindsets between the Rich and the Poor. Then, in his 2nd book Cashflow Quadrant, he spoke on the 4 quadrants from which one can generate income. To be wealthy, Kiyosaki recommended that we learn to generate our incomes from the "B" (Business-owner) and "I" (Investor) quadrant as opposed to the "E" (Employee) and "S" (Self-employed) quadrant.

In his 3rd book Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, Kiyosaki tells how he got started in his investment journey, starting with nothing, and in fact at one stage, with a negative net worth. Most of us, having read his first 2 books, would have wondered if we could have embarked on our journey to become financially independent without much resource at hand. In this book, Kiyosaki shows how anyone can get started and how it does not take money to make money. He teaches how time is more important than money; how investing in one's self and getting an education and experience precedes excessive cash; how having a plan is more important than being in a hurry to make money.

This is not a book for those who want hot tips and quick fixes. This is a book on mindsets. Kiyosaki plants ideas and provides a road-map. The reader must take the first step and learn to navigate his/her own journey.

What I like about this book, is Kiyosaki's concept of being an Ultimate Investor, a "selling-investor". The Ultimate Investor creates deals and businesses that the public hunger for and are willing to pay a premium to acquire a share of. With the internet, it has never been easier to create businesses and deals which one can take public.

As in all his other books, Kiyosaki's book is worth reading again and again. I would also recommend that one reads Robert Allen's Multiple Streams of Income in conjunction with Kiyosaki's Rich Dad's Guide to Investing.

RDGTI is the Ultimate Investors Guide
This book is about the 90/10 investor difference. As Kiwosaki explains [quoting Rich Dad] "If you want to be rich, just find out what everyone else is doing and do the exact opposite"RDGTI explains the differences between the 10% of investors who make 90% of the money and the 90% who make only 10% of the money.It's not what they invest in, but how they think.The RDGTI goes against standard, accepted dogma. To me, the greatest revelation was when I realized that by changing my thoughts, as espoused by Rich Dad AND told to Kiwosaki, I could [and did] change my investment results.The average investors philosphy is to not take risks and buy and hold [actually buy and pray--average down]I like the fact that this book is written in an easy to read format. The story telling and metaphors help drive the ideas home. The mental attitude quizzes clears the cobwebs from your head and gets you thinking like an entrepeneur, champion investor. While some of the information is repeated from the RDPD and CFQ--so what? Ever taken a class? Don't teachers review previous material before moving on to newer studies? This book builds on the prior books Kiwosaki and Lechter will tell you some things that you don't want to hear and blow holes wide open on typical misconceptions.So where do you want to be, in the 90% who go nowhere or the 10% who succeed. I have chosen to be inthe 10%. Care to join me? Start by reading this book.

Powerfully impacted my investment results
Prior to reading (...and applyiny) the advice in Rich Dad's Guide to Investing I was like a gerbel in a cage going nowhere with my investing. I was loosing money, not making money and my broker wasn't making me feel any better by reminding me that all of his clients were loosing money, everybody is loosing money, the market is down and so on.

I recalled a saying by Will Rogers:

"I am not so worried about the return on my investment as I am on the return of my investment."

Listening to brokers was causing me to loose money.

Rich Dad's Guide to Investing gives you all the keys you need to get to where you want to go. It's not theory, it's how the rich invest. It is how the rich become rich.

I also recommend Rich Dad's Prophecy which since it has been written has been 100% accurate. That is a pretty good batting average. I'd count on the rest to be accurate as well.

If you are serious about making money investing, read and apply Rich Dad's Guide to Investing and Rich Dad's Prophecy my two favorite Rich Dad books after of course Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Great advice that really works
If you were one of those 80 million Americans who lost over a trillion dollars following your stock brokers or convential advice, then you will love this book.

While no one has a time machine, we can't correct the past, we can certaintly plan for the future and this great book by Robert Kiyosaki will show you how to do just that---plan for your future and actually make some money investing...and in more than just the stock market too.

CAUTION: Brokers won't like this book and in fact will hope you never read this book, but then, you know why they are called brokers don't you? It's because they are usually broker than you are! The massive downsizing of brokers by so many brokerage firms shows just how valuable these guys really are.

By the way, I also recommend Rich Dad's Prophecy.

ANOTHER WINNER BASED ON AUTHOR'S WISDOM
I am a fan of Robert Kiyosaki. On the book shelf next to me is his CD and workbook course titled "Choose To Be Rich" (produced by Time Life) bought at a live lecture in 2002 in Fresno, California where he took the time to autograph the course for me after he spoke even though he was trying to get away to get to the airport. So I have made it a point to read all the books he has written as he has walked his talk. In addition to this book, I would recommend that readers have on their bookself to read and constantly refer to "Making Dollars With Pennies: How The Small Investor Can Beat the Wizards On Wall Street," by R. Max Bowser. This book is also by an author who after many years created a system that enables investors to become wealthly over time. It is available used and new on Amazon.com. ... Read more

Book Description

Accessible to non-finance and finance professionals alike, this book explores 10 easy-to-understand core principles (axioms) that drive the practice of corporate finance. Eliminating non-essential material and keeping mathematics to a minimum, it features an intuitive approach that helps readers develop a solid understanding of the logic that drives finance—rather than concentrating on easily forgotten formulas and calculations which may not neatly fit all the situations encountered in the real world. Features in-the-trenches interviews with business professionals, a refresher on Understanding Financial Statements and Cash Flows, and frequent Financial Management in Practice boxes.The Financial Markets and Interest Rates. Understanding Financial Statements and Cash Flows. Evaluating a Firm's Financial Performance. The Time Value of Money. The Meaning and Measurement of Risk and Return. Valuation and Characteristics of Bonds. Valuation and Characteristics of Stock. Capital-Budgeting Techniques and Practice. Cash Flows and Other Topics in Capital Budgeting. Cost of Capital. Determining the Financing Mix. Dividend Policy and Internal Financing. Financial Forecasting, Planning, and Budgeting. Introduction to Working-Capital Management. Liquid Asset Management. International Business Finance.For anyone involved in Corporate Finance and Financial Management. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

difficult read
it seems like the writers of this text's intentions were to confuse the hell out of finance majors and intimidate them so that they would stay away from the finance 'game'.

I'm sure the book is chockfull of information, but using it for the two past semesters, i havent learned as much as i wanted to. Perhaps in the next edition they will be able to make the text easier to understand and read.

Finance can be a very intimidating subject, and the writers of this book seemed to have no intention of making the book easy to understand.

Review of Foundations of Finance by Arthur J. Keown
This is an excellent text. I've read it thoroughly. The material , as presented, assumes a robust course in accounting at the college level. This text is for a student desiring a complete rendition in basic finance topics and techniques. The text is replete with many examples and challenging problems of various complexities. The presentation is easy to read. The book is directed to students perhaps majoring in economics or finance. It is not a purely descriptive rendition of finance. A

considerable amount of so called "numbers crunching" is involved in reviewing this text. As such, the book serves the analytic student optimally. The text is devoid of the most complicated analytics inherent in "quantitatively oriented texts".There is a good appendix on the use of financial calculators,as well as, present value calculations and other useful knowledge supplemental to the study of finance. This book would be most useful to students planning their careers as financial analysts, corporate planners or private entrepreneurs.

Of all those Management books...
This was the best.A very clear and concise book for the serious student being introduced to the subject of Finance.Other books on the subject I've seen are very abstruse or just plain hard to read aside from weighing a ton. I had another book twice as thick to complement this one and my class abandoned it in short order.This book is comparatively light and chalk full of useful ideas and examples laid out in anorganized and methodical manner.The generous use of charts and tables was executed well. Probably as simple as finance can possibly be put while still retaining the rigor and teaching the processes necessary for making financial computations.

Topics included are on basic valuation of various securities and projects using discounted cash flows, capital budget management, liquidity management, etc. I'm still learning from it after school.There simply wasn't enough time to fully cover everything in the book that I would have wanted.Now I'm ready to tackle more advanced corporate finance books/materials.

This is an introductory book for someone who may be interested in becoming a financial analyst but is obviously geared to the educational market for use in schools.The academic slant limits its applicability somewhat.Although it may give a stock market player who wants to start understanding the systematic process involved in the valuation of securities on a cash flow basis some insight for example, discussion on valuation by multiples like P/Es is virtually absent.

Nonetheless a great book.

Best Finance Book It will help You Make $$$
I use this book at the University of Wisconsin Stout.I think this book is excellent.I'm taking a copy with me to London."A must" if your a Finance major. ... Read more

Book Description

Over 30,000 online investors daily flock to pristine.com, the top-rated Website run by day trading legends Oliver Velez and Greg Capra, for up-to-the-minute strategies and market commentaries. In Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader, Velez and Capra revisit and completely update over 100 of their daily commentaries from the past four years, with new material explaining what worked, what didn't, and why.

This no-nonsense, easy read, meant to be referenced by traders every trading day, covers everything from potent trading strategies to intuitive insights on psychology and discipline. Proving once again that the best teacher is experience, Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader will help any trader log on with the technical skills, market knowledge, and confidence they need to capture more winning trades, and reap new profits.

Reviews (101)

Dissenting Opinion from a Full-time Trader
The people who previously reviewed this new book by Oliver Velez and Greg Capra seem to have started in the middle of the book, looking only for The Holy Grail to lead them to immense profits heretofore undiscovered by anyone else. I found the real value in the first half of the book, which tries to show you why you haven't been a successful trader up to now and what to do about it. This is worth the price of the book in itself. They are teaching you how to fish, not giving you a fish, as the old saying goes. They should include a mirror with every copy, as I see myself in every page when they describe the mistakes made by beginning traders. I started trading commodities in 1989 and switched to stocks in 1998, so I have had the rare opportunity to make all the mistakes they describe and more. But the good news is...that's what makes you a success later on. Chapter 5, "The Seven Deadly Sins of Trading", doesn't just tell you the sins, but actually tells you how to eliminate them. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book to me.

I became profitable in 1998 and support my family totally from trading income, using many of the tools described in this book. I have tried many of the software "black box" programs out there, been to many seminars (some great ones, some worthless ones), bought many trading books, and it has all led me to where I am now. If I had let an unfavorable review like the ones here steer me away from a fantastic book like this one, I would not be trading today and making a living working for myself half a day and hiking, biking and skiing the other half. So what if they promote their own seminars, web pages, trading room, etc. in the book. Wade Cook and many others use their books as free advertising the same way...nobody is forced to buy the other products. We all have the ability to decide whether or not we will delve further into these products, don't we?

To be fair to the other reviewers, they may already be successful traders that don't need the advice in the first half of the book and were only looking for a book that would reveal a system or method to double their income in the next three months. All I can say is that I have been trading for eleven years and the book will probably double my income in the next six months even if I never read the second half. Buy it, read it and decide for yourself.

Required Reading for Profitable Trading
What makes this one of the very best books on day trading is the clear, simple and direct language the authors use to illuminate a complex subject, and few books in the genre are as comprehensive in scope, as well organized and presented. In Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader, authors Oliver Velez and Greg Capra have created the essential primer for neophytes, as well as a book seasoned traders will find of lasting value for the insights and wisdom the authors only could have acquired through long experience in the trenches themselves.

Their approach is technical, based on a number of reliable chart patterns that identify key short-term shifts in market psychology, those points when a change occurs in the balance between buyers and sellers. Charting techniques, market indicators and timing, and execution skills are detailed in a concise and focused way. But the book excels in discussions about trader psychology, the emotional challenges that must be overcome, and the attitude and discipline a successful trader must have in approaching the markets. For example:

"The need or desire for certainty is one of those natural human traits that every aspiring trader must learn to overcome, because certainty is a myth. It does not exist in life, nor does it exist in the market. It is a phantom, a dream that is chased by far too many market players. As traders, we must be capitalists of the unknown. We can never escape the fact that we are forced to act in the face of uncertainty. Those who must know all the facts before they trade will find opportunity forever leaving them behind. Fortune waits for its captor in the shadows of uncertainty. It lies hidden on the path least traveled. The active trader will find that the greatest opportunities will be found where no one else is willing to go. The trader can never be certain that the trade just taken will work. The trader can properly assess the odds and devise an intelligent strategy in an attempt to exploit those odds. But each trade will still possess the ability to disappoint. Each attempt will carry with it the potential to fail. The aspiring trader must learn to deal with this and must learn to act before he or she knows. Because by the time the trader knows, the opportunity is long gone."

The authors include chapters on "the seven deadly sins of trading"; how to identify and kill your deadliest demons, and rules the master trader lives by. This book is required reading for all who intend to trade profitably.

Save your money!!
This book is a real piece of crap. Don't waste your money. It reads like a 389 page advertisment for Pristine Day Trading seminars.As a professional trader, I pity the newbie who buys this book expecting to get any usable information from of it. I buy books hoping for ONE good idea: I lost!"Methods of a Wall St. Master" by Vic Sperandeo is a MUCH better buy.Velez and Capra advise their readers to ignore market fundamentals: Those fools who choose to ignore the fundamentals of the market do so at their own risk!!!

OVERPRICED
This book has large fonts and i feel is very overpriced for the small amount of info it has. The strategies work no better than half the time and can be found for free on many internet sites. For $12 i might recommend this book for beginners but otherwise pass on it.

A Documentary Of The Largest Scam in The Daytrading Arena
1 Star was the lowest rating I could find, if "SCAM" was na option I would have selected it. This book will soon serve as "exhibit A" in the case against these highway thieves. Do your homework first. Look at this post before you spend anything on this book[...]

Proceed with caution! ... Read more

Book Description

Each of the book's authors is both a scholar and a top consultant for Fortune 500 and smaller companies. As a result, they have a unique focus: to help readers better understand management accounting topics, research, and issues from the perspective of a business manager. KEY TOPICS A twelve chapter organization and framework addresses the needs of future business managers—specifically, how to interpret and use accounting information to make good decisions. The book answers many pertinent questions: What defines the nature, focus, and scope of management accounting? What determines the cost of products or customers? How do costs change over the product's life cycle? What approaches do managers use to compute the costs of their products and services? How can we use cost for planning and decision-making purposes? How can we use revenue and cost information for capacity planning and profit planning and evaluation purposes? How can we manage and control organizational behavior through organizational design, and how does cost information inform the process of control?For management accountants, cost system designers, incentive compensation system designers, and balanced scorecard implementers. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Need a textbook for Management Accounting? Here is one!!!!!
A very nice and neat accounting textbook! This book explains basic accounting concepts clearly, which helps me to master basic concepts of accounting with ease and simplicity. I had a great time to read this book, and it makes learning accounting as interesting as it can be. The introduction and summary of each chapter also help me to understand a big picture of management accounting as well as small details. The treatment of management accounting is thorough and highly advanced with many detailed examples in reality.
The reason that I recommend this book is extending basic concepts with real-world examples which apples underlying concepts of management accounting. This book shows how accounting is used and analyzed in actual case situations. Especially I noticed that the authors are experts at the Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard chapter presents the most important concept and examples in a very organized manner. This book also encompasses important new topics in management accounting such as activity-based cost systems, JIT, target costing, pricing and product planning, performance measurement systems, and budgets.
I heard some textbooks too much focus on questions of calculating cost and deriving quantitative solutions. Unlike those textbooks which only teach mechanical procedures without understanding underlying factors, this textbook provides insightful knowledge about how management accounting information facilitates decision- making through various analysis tools.

Too expensive, Junk and waste of Money
I cant believe Professionals cant explain topics in a easy words. Trying to use grandma stories and without explaining where numbers come its impossible to understand.

1) explanations are not good at all very confusing if you are a beginner.
2) Examples are like grandma tale and will make you sleepy.
3) dull and boring.
4) the authors need to put them self in the students shoes rather than assuming they are teaching a CPA.
I would recommend Schaums Series or barrons series for learning, Its easy and also easy on your wallet...compared to this...

Just awful ! Invest in a good supplemental book/study guide
My gosh, I have never read such a poorly written book! Wasn't there an editor at Prentice Hall to have, at least, reviewed this book prior of it going out to print? The poor grammar usage, the garble & ambiguity of explaing the concepts; it truly lacks direction...where are the solutions to the problem exercises?

I consider myself a strong avid reader, but I have found myself re-reading a page or two before pressing on.

If this is a required textbook for your accounting class, I highly suggest investing in a good supplemental study guide to aid you with this book. Good luck!!

I'm afraid this text just doesn't cut it!!
I've just completed my managerial accounting course with an "A" grade DESPITE having been assigned this text. These authors, like many accounting authors, don't know how to use language to convey the concepts they're attempting to get across. (Does that mean they're "numbers people" who can't use language correctly to develop ideas?? Perhaps!!!) Even more so, the way they choose to conceptually develop managerial accounting theory is somewhat farcical. If you've been assigned this text from your instructor, RUN OUT NOW AND INVESTIGATE OTHER MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING TEXTS TO USE IN CONJUCTION WITH IT. (Try "Managerial Accounting" Weygandt, Kieso and Kimmel) The problem with "Management Accounting" is that it has little precision in describing the main issues of managerial accounting and wants to be an Operations Management text or Management text rather than an authentic Managerial Accounting text. As students, let's vote with our wallets and tell these accounting authors to get a 2nd degree in English so that they can actually convey to us the ideas they're attempting to convey!!! Tell your professor he/she needs to wake up and change texts! The book was written for people who really don't want to actually learn Managerial Accounting theory, but want to pretend to have learned it. It can't describe the critical concepts in enough detail for you to get a good grip on the material - and it's conceptual development of the theory is confusing. Switch it!

Not for beginners.
I would not recommend this book to anyone who has not have any prior Managerial Accounting classes or sufficient work experience in this area. The way the topics are presented in the book requires familiarity with a number of related concepts in order to gain full understanding. Additionally, there is a number of instances in which concepts are introduced in a given chapter, but not explained until a later one, which makes it really confusing for those exposed to Managerial Accounting for the first time. ... Read more

Book Description

Morse is not just a cost determination management text.Taking a much more strategic approach, this text focuses on the full range of cost drivers within the value chain instead of the distinctions between product/non-product costs and unit-variable/fixed costs. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Worst textbook I've used..
This textbook is really bad. Not very informative at all comparing it to other financial accounting books. It gives very broad descriptions and definitions that make it feel more like a grammar school book than a college-level. I was very unhappy that my professor assigned my class with this book. If you do not need to buy it, please don't, it's horrible.

A worthless text book...
I purchased this book because its the prescribe text book. The treatment of the content is average. What annoys me is there are little or no answers to the exercises. I later learnt that Prentice Hall supplies the solution manual to the instructors, but they dont make it available to students....huh??

The authors come out with editions every year. I compared the 4th and 5th edition. Very little content changed, but they have smartly changed few numbers here and there in the exercises, forcing students to buy their latest edition.

In short...this book is just a sucking machine....Worthless for $125. I dont know if the instructors get a big cut in prescribing this worthless text book...

Extremely Frusterating
I bought this book to better understand Financial Accounting. This book is loaded with errors. The end of chapter problems do not balance correctly. I had a CPA do the same problems, and he came up with the exact same totals as me!

Another annoying thing to point out is that the book only gives answers to a small select random of problems. Of course they are the easier ones. I would love to get answers/explanations on the incorrect ones. I have written emails, and none have been responded. I am not suprised... ... Read more

Book Description

Presents important analytical tools to decision making.
* Strong real world application.
* Emphasis on critical thinking and managerial decision-making. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Big Dose of Managerial Accounting
This book is very good for teaching you managerial accounting. I used this book in college and found it to actually be of use, unlike a lot of college textbooks. You could read the chapter and be able to do the exercises at the end of the chapter.

I mean, you know the types of books where they have questions and it's literally impossible to deduce how to answer the questions from the chapter. This book is not like that. It teaches you how to prepare specialized documents for internal business usage. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I felt that the information could be better organized as to make it easier to find. ... Read more

Book Description

The CPA exam is changing. You need to change as well...to a book that better prepares you for the CPA exam and for business. This is the only book of its kind that demonstrates how to prepare financial reports and then how to analyze what those numbers really mean. Every manager has incentives to present his or her firm in the most favorable light to lenders, equity investors and others. And, every manager wants to use the flexibility allowed by GAAP to manage the firm's earnings to achieve certain goals. Revsine, Collins, and Johnson explain these incentives and help readers spot cases of earnings management, which disguises a firm's true performance. For anyone preparing to take the CPA exam, and for anyone who wants or needs a working knowledge of accounting, financial reporting, and financial statement analysis. ... Read more

Book Description

Accounting Standards (US and International) have been updated to reflect the latest pronouncements.
* An increased international focus with more coverage of IASC and non-US GAAPs and more non-US examples. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

This Book Is Excellent...and Essential
After reading the reviews on this book, I feel that I must comment on the book's high quality.

In order to fully appreciate this book, an understanding must exist as to where the material fits in the financial analysis process. Clearly this book is not meant to explicitly teach readers how to build financial models; other books are available for that purpose. This book is designed to teach readers how to thoroughly read, understand, and more importantly, become an astute critic of the language of financial statements, GAAP.

I disagree that technical accounting details are not very important in analysis engagements. Rather the opposite holds true in a majority of cases: One must thoroughly understand technical accounting and the implications that it has on economic reality in order to build quality financial models. Otherwise, "junk in/junk out" models will result.

Given the highly publicized debacles that have recently occurred in the financial world, including Enron, the importance of distinguishing technical accounting from economic reality has become obvious. This book does effectively explain and build off the foundations of GAAP; however, this book is primarily focused on helping an analyst analyze and question the quality of financial statements versus how to simply prepare them. This is the big difference between this book and technical accounting textbooks.

Of course, building financial models for decisions is the end objective of any analyst. However, this book is a must read in building quality financial models and projections. Again this book is not a financial modeling textbook, nor a technical accounting manual. Rather, it is a critical bridge between technical accounting material and decision modeling material. I recommend taking the time to read this excellent book and walk across the bridge before moving on to modeling.

Good reference book; poor textbook
Given the glowing rating this book has received from most reviewers, I have been somewhat disappointed with this book. My main thought is this: This is a good book for non-accountants to keep as a *reference text* since the authors' do a good job of explaining technical financial accounting matters in a straightforward way. However, I do not think this is a good book to actually *learn financial statement analysis* from.

The book tends to focus on technical accounting details while ignoring other important aspects of analysis (e.g., econometric methods, the relationship between the decision model and the nature of the analysis, etc.). It is difficult to tell what the authors see as the most important, central concepts and methods in financial statement analysis. One gets the idea that if you were to ask the authors "What are the really important concepts and methods in this book?", they would answer "Oh, it's *all* good!"

In my experience as an analyst, technical accounting details were rarely important--even when using historical financial statement data to develop financial simulation models for firms. There's a simple explanation for why this is so: An individual firm's financial statements might be "garbage," but the only reasonable way of telling this is by making inferences from the relationship between exogenous economic factors, competitors' financial results (on average), and the individual firm's results. It's about the only reasonable way to extract signals (likely economic "truth") from noisy financial statement data.

I definitely agree with previous reviewers who stated the book is poorly written: it is often both wordy and vague. Consider the (lack of) discussion on p. 332 of the important topic, R&D expenditures:

"Companies invest in ... (R&D) because they expect ... profitable future products. However, absent a resultant commercial product, these expenditures may have not value to the firm. Further, the value of any product may be unrelated to the amount spent on R&D. Due to valuation uncertainties, R&D is generally unacceptable to creditors as security for loans."

I think they mean this: Firms make investments since they expect economic returns on them, but return on R&D expenditures is usually very unpredictable. (Whew. I'm glad they told me! Now I won't feel stupid when talking to other analysts.) The authors then proceed immediately to a summary of accounting standards on R&D expenditures. (This is financial statement analysis?)

It's not clear either that the purpose of presenting a cohesive view of financial statement analysis is served by the sometimes excessive references to empirical research by accounting academics. A cynical reader might suspect this is done to ingratiate the book with accounting professors who will make it the required text for their course!

In the end, I think the book fails to explain fundamental concepts and methods of analysis by which specific information is derived from financial statements for input to specific decision models. What's the antidote? Get Fridson (Wiley) and Bergevin (Prentice-Hall): Nice straightforward books that really explain how to do financial statement analysis.

EASY TO UNDERSTAND WITH GOOD EXAMPLES THAT ARE TO THE POINT
This book is great!!! I have finished reading the assigned chapters for the CFA test and I already feel way more confident than I did last year after using Stalla study notes. Buy the book because it helps you way more in terms of examples and explanations. Trust me I know.
Note: Example are clear and concise!!!

Comprehensive and Insightful
In order to determine whether you should buy this book, you have to understand its purpose.

It is not an Accounting textbook nor a preparation for the CPA exam.

In other words, it is not directed at the preparers of financial statements but rather at the users.

The authors do an excellent job of explaining accounting concepts in a clear and detailed manner. That explanation includes a comparison of different methods for accounting for the same transaction, a discussion of deficiencies/inconsistencies in accounting rules, etc.

Building on all this, the authors then move on to explain how to analyze financial statements - to wring insights out of the accounting data beyond the "standard" analytical tools. This is the book's real value.

This excellent book belongs in the reference library of anyone who needs to understand and analyze financial statements.

One measure of its value is that AIMR uses it as one of the fundamental textbooks for its CFA program.

Insightful
This book will surely broaden your horizon on how to analyse and use the financial statements properly. (it popped my eyes ! )

The book will explain many accounting concepts used in the marketplace, which unfortunately make the financial statements incomparable. The authors did a very good job, in an interesting way, on exlaining how to eliminate (or at least to reduce) the problem. This book also puts a very high importance on the cash flow statements, which in nature is a little bit more difficult to manipulate than income statements (and therefore more suitable for financial analyses).

No matter what accounting concepts that the company use, the reader will be able to analyse and compare various financial statements on apple to apple basis.

Every single aspects of financial statements analyses is covered. This is the best textbook I've ever read, and too bad that I can't put rating higher than 5 stars. ... Read more

Book Description

Thorough and up-to-date, this book supports any of the most popular approaches to AIS: focus on transaction cycles and controls; focus on systems life cycle; focus on databases and data modeling; or focus on computer-based controls, fraud and auditing. The book begins with an overview and conceptual foundations then goes on to discuss control and audit of accounting information systems, accounting information systems applications, and the systems development process. For CPAs and corporate accountants.

Reviews (4)

Only Buy if Required for a Class
Very boring reading.Chapters tend to repeat themselves.The class I had for this book was one of the most boring classes I ever had.Instructor lectured from power point slides.I could have taken this class homestudy and done just fine, than to sit in class.

Caution: Will Cause Drowsiness.
This book is simply horrible. It takes the stereotypical accountant and shoves him into the pages. It is so lethargic and monotonous that all the valuable information within the book just stops making sense. This book should be read by anyone who has doubts about becoming an accountant. They'll drop everything and go into premed. Horrible!

Agreed. Boring as dirt.
Everything you need is in here, but the book truly is boring as dirt. If you need it for a class, fine. But do not buy it if you just want something to read.

Comprehensive but boring
This is a very comprehensive textbook of the subject.It deals with just about every aspect of the AIS realm.It is, however, a very dull book.There isn't much illustrating, no color, and absolutely no life beyond theblack and white wasteland of its pages. ... Read more

Book Description

This text is unique in its first-person, discovery learning approach using a 4-step decision-making model throughout. It truly conveys a management perspective, by including coverage of topics such as ABM, the value chain and balanced scorecard evaluation techniques. It is also the first managerial text to incorporate coverage on knowledge management (Ch. 13) highlighting the latest developments for improved managerial decision making. ... Read more

Book Description

Financial and Managerial Accounting has been updated to incorporate detailed information on recent legislation affecting the accounting profession, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The accompanying CD and PowerWeb applications give you greater interaction and continuously updated information.

Book Description

The ninth edition thoroughly involves students with financial statements by using real-world examples. It builds skills in analyzing real financial reports through statements, exhibits, and cases of actual companies. Emphasis is placed on the analysis and interpretation of the end result of financial reporting--financial statements. ... Read more

Book Description

The classic source for the technical analysis discipline now brings readers up to date in techniques and technology
Now, in this second edition of the classic text, expert Thomas Dorsey shows, step-by-step, how to create, maintain, and interpret your own point and figure charts. He explains how you can use your findings to track and forecast market prices and develop an overall investment strategy. Perhaps most importantly, he helps you develop confidence in the market and take decisive action at the appropriate time, rather than reacting after the fact. Dorsey also highlights new developments in the field and incorporates the use of recently developed software to track any market using point and figure methods. Written for both new and experienced P & F chartists, this updated edition of a technical analysis classic brings point and figure charting into the Internet age.
Thomas J. Dorsey (Richmond, VA) is President of Dorsey, Wright & Associates, a registered investment advisory firm that uses point and figure charting as its main source of technical analysis. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

A vital addition to your library.
Some people find a good thing early on and are smart enough to stick with it. I am not one of those people, but Tom Dorsey is. I've read about every TA book ever written, I've studied everything from stochastic to voodoo and back, and if someone asked me to recommend one single book for learning and successfully applying Technical Analysis in order to make money, it would be this book. The methods described are powerful yet simple, (which usually is the best), concise, (no filler), and include a strategy for any plan to make money in the market and avoid giving it all back.

From the overall concepts of Point and Figure Charting to the specific rules for managing your trades, your portfolio, and your money, you'll be happy you took the time learn what Tom Dorsey has shared about those little Xs and Os.

Too Hard to Read, Concepts Available Elsewhere
Mr. Dorsey is a talented financial analyst and amateur weightlifter when he was younger BUT, he is not a good writer (this has been confirmed in my personal correspondence with Mr. Dorsey) and this book cries out for thorough editing. One can learn Point and Figure charting for free at the dorseywright dot com web site (just look for the point n figure university link at the bottom of the home page). Dorsey knows his stuff but the more easily bored one is, the more one will find this book aimless and boring. Point and Figure is superior to bar and candlestick charts because it records meaningful market movement while ignoring the small stuff. Another Point and Figure book, published in the 1930s by de Viller (?), is also very hard to read and not worthy of buying. Let's hope Mr Dorsey, a great guy and always terrific on CNBC, will get this book re-edited and whittled down to about 175 pages. Learn it for free at his website and order "Chart Reading Made Easy" by John Murphy to quickly and economically learn technical analysis.

Dow's Theory Rightly Attributed to Charles Dow
"indeed, Dow Theory, while credited to Charles Dow, was actually first put together by S.A. Nelson in the book The ABCs of Stock Speculation."

This reviewer's comment above is a bit misleading. The Dow Theory, as explicated in chapter's IV thru XX of Nelson's book, are actually abridged editorials written by Charles Dow (that orignally appeared between Dec 14, 1900 and July 31, 1902). Nelson in his book accurately attributes Dow Theory to Charles Dow, who was editor of the Wall St. Journal at the time.

Nelson's contribution to Dow Theory was the act of compiling Dow's editorials; William Hamilton (Stock Market Barometer, 1922) and Robert Rhea (The Dow Theory, 1932) were so impressed by Dow's ideas about how markets work that they were keenly interested in documenting his ideas in print, as well as extending those ideas.

Provides a Solid Market Snapshot
One of the toughest jobs every trader faces is accurately identifying solid support and resistance. This book clearly solves the problem of identifying reliable buy and sell signals that represent the big picture of longer term trend rather than short term noise.

one of the best books available on top down investing
This is first and foremost a specific methodology for a top-down approach. This is a style of investing where you look first at the market, then the sector, and finally the stock itself. This answers the question of when to buy, whereas fundamental analysis answers the question of what to buy.

It's true that much of this information is available elsewhere, a good deal of it on the dorseywright web page, but not all of it. This book is a great book for putting the pieces together in a sensible way.

This is a book for longer term investors, not day traders or swing traders who like to be in and out of a stock in a few days or a week.

This book goes very well with Pring's how to select stocks using technical analysis; this method is easier to use, and more sensible in my opinion, but elements of both fit very well together.

Note: This book has nothing to do with dow theory, which is concerned with identifying the primary trend of the market as represented by the DJIA. In this theory, the DJTA is used for confirmation. This has nothing to do with point & figure charting; indeed, Dow Theory, while credited to Charles Dow, was actually first put together by S.A. Nelson in the book The ABCs of Stock Speculation. Robert Rhea and William Hamilton further refined the theory. ... Read more

Book Description

First published in 1981, Valuing a Business is today the world's most widely followed valuation reference. As more professional associations than ever offer valuation education and credentials, this Fourth Eidtion - with 10 new chapters that significantly expand the book's scope - promises to appeal to an even broader market. This easy-to-use reference features increased emphasis on vlauation court cases and decisions; new information on arbitration and mediation; updated data on stock option valuation; and much more. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Super
This book, guide, reference, ... or what ever you name it. is essential for all business, financial and investment guides.

An Excellent Private Equity Valuation Primer
I have found Mr. Pratt's book to be an outstanding and practical general reference guide to valuing privately-held businesses. Due to the book's breadth of material and balanced focus on both the science and art of valuation, I have found "Valuing A Business" to be an excellent professional reference for anyone entering the field of business valuation. I highly recommend it.

In addition to the common "science side" valuation techniques, issues, and approaches that are found in many valuation textbooks, Pratt provides unique, valuable insight into the "art side" of valuation. The book also includes real life project execution considerations for litigation support, expert witness testimony, and taxation. "Valuing A Business" offers solid information to assist a practitioner in building a quality framework for conducting a comprehensive private company valuation.

Good technique, directed at the professional practitioner
I take issue with the reviewer who suggested that Tom Copeland/McKinsey's book "Valuation" is better than this one or is more directed at valuaing big businesses. ... On the other hand, it should be said that valuation techniques do not differ between big companies and small companies (especially if big/small companies are publically traded). Valuation techniques vary depending on (a) what sort of asset is being valued (public equity, vs. private equity, vs. business assets as a whole, etc) and (b) why valuation is being done (for M&A, litigation between business partners, divorce, ESOPs, for equity investment/divestment). If an investor is valuing a $50 Billion public company and a $50 million public company, the technique used for both is (probably) the same.

If anything, this book does an excellent job in reminding us of the diversity of valuation techniques in use, and the diversity of reasons for doing valuations. Given the frequency with which privately held companies are bought, one would think that knowing how to value companies whose stock is not publically traded is useful for general businesspeople, not just accountants and attorneys. But if you absolutely insist that you just want to know how to value publically traded companies and don't give a hoot for calculating "private equity discounts" or "minority shareholder discounts", then I would recommend Aswath Damodaran's books "Damodaran on Valuation", "The Dark Side of Valuation" or "Investment Valuation". Damodaran, professor of Finance at NYU, actually uses the same techniques taught here, but applied to public equity investing and with different names (for example, what is called the "Market approach" here is just what Damodaran calls "relative valuation" in a different context).

Useful, but there are better books out there
The authors have taken an approach from an accounting or legal standpoint. They haven't included methods incorporating EVA or contingent claims analysis. For as thick as this book is--and it is really thick--there is a surprising lack of detail. If you're looking to value companies of any significant size, buy the McKinsey book instead. If you're going to work with only closely held firms, estates, etc. then perhaps this book is for you.

Useful but Boring
I bought this book long time ago (6-7 years) when I joined a private equity firm and was hungry for materials which taught valuation technique. Materials in this book is useful. In addition,there were few titles which discuss valuation of non-public companies at that time. This book, in fact, was also a reading material for the CFA exam back in 1995. However, the text is quite boring. Unless you really need to study information about valuation for non-public company, don't buy it for leisure ... Read more

Book Description

Now, you can minimize your clients' tax liability and avoid legal pitfalls, as well as maximize returns on successful transactions and be prepared for all of the potential benefits, with Structuring Venture Capital, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Transactions.

Here at last is one-step-at-a-time, start-to-finish structural guidance for the following common business transactions:

- Venture capital financing,
- New business start-ups,
- Brains-and-money deals,
- Growth-equity investments,
- Leveraged and management buyouts,
- Industry consolidations,
- Troubled company workouts and reorganizations,
- Going public,
- Selling a business,
and Forming a private equity fund.

Guided by Jack S. Levin's dynamic, transaction-by-transaction approach, you'll make the tax, legal, and economic structuring consequences of every deal benefit your client every time.

In this extraordinary hands-on resource by the most sought-after authority in the field, you'll see exactly how to:

Distribute the tax burden in your client's favor;
Maximize returns on successful transactions;
Control future rights to exit a profitable investment
...and turn every transaction into a winning venture! ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive state-of-the-art text on microeconometric methods. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Simply a great text..
If you are frustrated with the presentation in Greene and other econometric textbooks, then you may want to take a look at this book. It's the anti-Greene, full of clear, well-motivated presentations. What I love about this book is that the author clearly intended for it to be used by students -- even though you can find all the formal results that you would expect from an advanced econometrics text, there is so much intuition that can't be found anywhere else (at least in one book). If you plan on doing applied research, get this book!

Simply the best in its field.
Wooldridge fills an enormous gap in the market between applied manuals (which do not deliver enough theory for an academically serious audience), and theory books (that leave you scratching your head as to how one is supposed to implement their results). This is a wonderful book for economic practitioners who want enough theoretical knowledge to support their applied work, but who don't want the theory obscuring the practical issues. An econometric theoretician might find another work more satisfying.

Five stars just because of the other books.
I have bought this book to have a comprehensive intermediate-advanced text on panel data and other approaches. The book is good, but no tables, no datasets, no figures!
Compared to other books on the topic, it is a very understandable book, but only COMPARED to those books. You do not have to be a Mathematician to understand it, but you must be at least intermediate in econometrics (after Gujarati or an intermediate course).

A Gold Mine of Microeconometric Methods
If you are interested in learning the latest microeconometric methods, this book will save you from long hours of sorting through the literature. Wooldridge has brought together in a well organized, clear and concise manner the state of the art techniques in microeconometrics. His book covers all of the core issues involving single equation and simultaneous equation models. The most important aspects of M-estimation, MLE, GMM and minimum distance estimation are carefully presented. Those interested in limited dependent and qualitative variables will find that this goes well beyond Maddala's classic book. In addition to new developments in logit, probit and tobit, Wooldridge explains sample selection, attrition and stratified sampling. He covers research by Heckman et al on estimating average treatment effects using instrumental variables. I found his material on negative binomial regression, binomial regression, exponential regression and fractional logit regression to be especially interesting. He concludes his book with a nice summary of research on duration analysis. Throughout the book Wooldridge shows how to handle panel data with the various techniques he covers. Anyone doing applied work with cross section or panel data runs the risk of being left behind if they fail to read this new classic of microeconometrics. ... Read more

Book Description

Hilton/Maher/Selto (HMS) addresses traditional cost concepts, but makes cost accounting functional by focusing on measuring and managing costs. HMS maintains that, “Costs don’t just happen,” and with a pro-active approach toward costs, accountants can add value to an organization. Faculty will appreciate the new and more conventional chapter organization in the first two sections of the text. The real-world approach of this text, including the use of focus companies and the new accompanying focus sites, provides a realistic business environment, and aids in student comprehension and interest in the subject. ... Read more