Book Description

Focused on real-life decision making in an international context, this text demystifies and simplifies multinational financial management in a clear, conceptual framework. The approach is to treat international financial management as a natural and logical extension of the principles and valuation framework provided by domestic corporate financial management to account for dimensions unique to international finance. All traditional areas of corporate finance are explored - working capital management, capital budgeting, cost of capital, and financial structure - from the perspective of a multinational corporation. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Can be confusing, major focus on economics
This textbook may not be a good choice for undergraduate students or for someone who does not have an intermediate or higher knowledge of finance. Wording in the chapters and in the end of chapter problems can be confusing. Statements are made and then not backed up with supporting information. The book spends a large amount of time on a macroeconomic view.

Excellent book.
We adopted this book during the first semester of 1999 with excellent results. Our students were delighted with the practical approach, and the breadth of its contents. Recently our country has been through a monetary turmoil, and the book served very much to explain the policies that our local central bank authorities have been pursuing. ... Read more

Book Description

Includes solutions to all Practice Problems and Challenge Problems from the text. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

To learn finance you gotta do the exercises!
Ignore the guys complaining about the odd wrong answer and ignore the guys complaining about Brealey & Meyers.
Let's face it: "Principles..." is THE book in educational finance; and most likely, if you're reading this review you haven't chosen the book on your own accord but rather it was chosen for you on your M.Sc. or the like. And now you're wondering about buying the solutions manual...
So, why do the exercises? Well, it's the only way to learn finance. The book is good, but having gone through it and the quiz questions, you might think "Was that all? I could pass an exam with one hand tied to my back." (I know I did...) So you need the exercises to get you down from that pedestal and get you to LEARN finance (!). The questions are good and varied and get you to think about the concepts, formulas etc. They are in general better and more advanced than the quiz Qs. And if you can't figure out all the questions on your own then a book with solutions is quite handy.
Only problem is that it's a bit expensive considering it's only a solutions manual. But a good buy nonetheless!

way slow delivery
USPS took 3 1/2 weeks to deliver. Pay for the extra shipping to get product in a timely manner.

Waste of time!
The solution's manual is just as full of MISTAKES as the book itself - one huge catastroph that should be forbidden for any serious student of Corporate Finance. Scandal!

Solutions manual - too many errors
I bought this book thinking that it would help me verify the answers, but in fact there are too many errors in the book. I have found a lot of problems out of sequence, and a lot of them not properly done. I have contacted the author to mention about the errors but haven't heard from him yet.

EXCELLENT EXERCICES
It is very usefull to read this book because it has a lot of practice in finance, and the solutions to control if you have understanding the subject. It is also very usefull for teachers to buy it. ... Read more

Book Description

In the wake of the recent dramatic series of corporate meltdowns: Enron; Tyco; Adelphia; WorldCom; the timely new edition of this successful text provides students and business professionals with a welcome update of the key issues facing managers, boards of directors, investors, and shareholders.

In addition to its authoritative overview of the history, the myth and the reality of corporate governance, this new edition has been updated to include:

analysis of the latest cases of corporate disaster;An overview of corporate governance guidelines and codes of practice in developing and emerging marketsnew cases: Adelphia; Arthur Andersen; Tyco Laboratories; Worldcom; Gerstner's pay packet at IBM Once again in the new edition of their textbook, Robert A. G. Monks and Nell Minow show clearly the role of corporate governance in making sure the right questions are asked and the necessary checks and balances in place to protect the long-term, sustainable value of the enterprise. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An academically oriented book.
Would be an excellent tome for students of business. Also would be applicable for folks who are more interested in the corporate governance from a policy side. It's focus is publicly held companies, so if you're looking for a practitioners guide on how to 'get things done' in a startup world, this book doesn't address any of that. That doesn't make it a bad book, it just has it's focus on public companies.

This fascinating governance "encyclopedia" has it all!
If you want a single-volume resource on the topic of corporate governance, I urge you to beg, borrow, steal--or better yet, in the spirit of free enterprise, buy with a click from Amazon--Corporate Governance, now heading for another printing due to popular demand. Monks, a former Labor Department official, and Minow, an attorney by training, go beyond the "letter" of corporate governance and into its spirit in this monumental work, a sequel to their Power and Accountability (1991). Whether you are searching for sweeping theories, or simply want a place to look up key phrases from "agency costs" to "zones of ambiguity;" whether you want to travel through General Motors history or revisit Ross Perot's "pet rocks" quip, you will find what you are looking for here. "What is a corporation?" the authors begin. "It is the relationship among various participants in determining the direction and performance of corporations." Monks and Minow go on to define these participants as the shareholders, management, and board of diretors, devoting a section to each. Then comes an overview of corporate governance in over a dozen countries. One of the best features in the book is the series of Socratic questions that appear in italics throughout. One follows: "How do we create a governance and ownership structure that gives employees the optimal role, from the perspective of fairness (to maximize their contributions) and productivity (to maximize their future contributions?)" How indeed? Read this book to find out. ... Read more

Book Description

Gathering fourteen lectures by the pioneers of securitization and by current practitioners--from Freddie Mac, Paine Webber, JP Morgan, Chrysler, McKinsey & Co., and other major players--A Primer on Securitization introduces readers to America's newest system of raising capital: what it is, how it operates, and what difference securitization makes.

The securitization process bypasses financial intermediaries that have historically collected deposits and loaned them to those seeking funds, and links borrowers directly to money and capital markets. Authoritative and practical, these lectures show how securitization was developed to fill a gap in financial markets. They discuss the nature and causes of the market imperfections that made securitization a valuable source of funds, and describe how securitization has linked local mortgage markets with international capital markets. Readers will gain a broad perspective of the different parties--the borrower, the loan originator, the servicer, the rating agency, the special purpose vehicle, the credit enhancer, the underwriter, and the investor--as well as a detailed analysis of how these parties relate to one another. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Insightful!
Editors Leon T. Kendall and Michael J. Fishman adapted these first-hand accounts of the early years of the securitization industry from a lecture series at the Kellogg School of Management. The contributions from financial service pioneers are the book's greatest strength. They elucidate the economic and regulatory forces that made securitization a powerful, versatile financial tool. Each chapter stands alone, but the book does not follow a linear narrative. Caveat lector: these lectures were given in 1994, so the sections on current trends and future expectations are out-of-date. Hence, this primer doesn't cover massive changes in financial regulation, an explosion in the types of asset-backed securities (ABSs), the popularity of derivatives or off-balance-sheet accounting to hide fraud. We from getAbstract suggest this book for those entering the financial services industry or for those who need background history. This does not tell you how today's capital markets work, but it is an illuminating eyewitness account of yesterday's.

Securitization:Most important financial innovation in 25 yrs
The Primer offers an introductory read for those wishing to understand the factors that have been driving the securitization process, how it reshaped the financial industry, and the issues it poses for monetary authorities and regulators. The book's uniqueness rests in that the story of the origins of securitization is told by its founders. Lew Ranieri, Larry Fink, Leland Brendsel, Dennis Cantwell, working at Saloman,First Boston, Freddie Mac and Chrysler Financial respectively, along with others, relate both the challenges they faced and the promise they sought in launching the concept. Every effort is made to identify the principles necessary to expand securitization to new products and fields domestically and internationally. Professor Leon Kendall, Kellogg GSM, Northwestern University, Editor. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Intangible Assets

"In Intangible Assets, Jeffrey Cohen presents an informative, thought-provoking and practical look at an increasingly important component of every business's worth.He describes the art and science of identifying assets that have clear economic benefit, but are typically not found on the balance sheet, and he provides an invaluable framework within which the reader can value these assets, despite their elusive nature."
—Rick Westervelt, President, Skylist, Inc.

"Jeffrey Cohen's integrative approach to conceptual issues of intangible assets is creative and a refreshing contribution. He brings law, economics, finance, and accounting to the same table, which results in a comprehensive framework for understanding how value is created and sustained.His construct of 'proto-assets' and 'portfolio of intangible economic benefits' is key.Written in an easy-to-read style with many practical examples, this book will be useful for both novice and experienced professionals."
—W. Dana Northcut, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Accounting Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago Principal, Chicago Partners, LLC

"This volume is the perfect resource for newcomers to IP valuation.Through lucid explanations and well-chosen illustrations, it does for the reader exactly what a valuation expert should do for a client—it makes the abstract concrete.But this volume is not just for the novice; it holds insights that will be useful to IP experts in law, accounting, and economics."
—Edward F. Malone, Partner, Jenner & Block LLP ... Read more

Book Description

This text covers the process of starting a business, raising capital, managing the finances of the business throughout its growth, and ultimately cashing out of the business. The book is very practical, providing real-world advice and information sought by those who want to start their own businesses. Stancill's text sticks to the nuts and bolts of managing the finances of a start-up or small business. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Financial Street Smarts
Professor Stancill, an icon at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, shows a unique approach to entrepreneurial / mid-market finance.If you are looking for a traditional discussion of financial concepts get one of the the many fine textbooks on the market.But if you are are ready to "get down and dirty", especially if you intend to acquire a small business in an LBO scenario, apply the lessons learned from this book.Stancill applies street-smarts to structuring a deal, and he offers a hands-on, step-by-step approach that is easy to follow even by non-financial types.

Great
I was lucky enough to be able to have Jim Stancill as one of my MBA professors at USC -- this book is a great book if you want to learn how to REALLY start a company.Specially for academics and non-business people, this is NOT your corporate finance book.This is how small companies start up and how to run a small company and even how to buy a company. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Private Equity

"Harold Bierman has blended an excellent mix of important principles with real case study examples for a better understanding on a rather sophisticated finance subject."
–Edward M. Dudley, Vice President & General Auditor, ABB Americas

"The role of private equity firms in financing buyouts as well as providing growth capital has expanded significantly in the past decade. In a clear, concise way, Harold Bierman provides a timely and astute analysis of the virtues of private equity as well as creative quantitative methodologies that are applicable to real-life transactions. This book should become essential reading for investors, intermediaries, financial advisors and the management of private, almost private, or soon-to-be private firms."
–James A. Rowan Jr., Managing Director, Investment Banking
Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc.

"As the private equity asset class has grown to over $300 billion in the last three years, Bierman analyzes the fundamentals behind the investment decisions of this increasingly important sector. Once completing the book, you will understand the fundamental analytical framework underlying private equity investment."
–Peter Nolan, Partner, Leonard Green and Partners

"In looking at the private equity arena, Professor Bierman has brought together a diverse group of metrics and valuation formulas into a single text. The book provides a valuable combination of academic theory and real-life case studies. It provides many insights."
–Peter H. Vogel, Vice President, MeadWestvaco Corporation ... Read more

Book Description

Asset allocation has long been viewed as a safe bet for reducing risk in a portfolio. Asset allocators strive to buy when prices are low and sell when prices rise. Tactical asset allocation (TAA) practitioners tend to emphasize shorter-term adjustments, reducing exposure when recent market performance has been good, and increasing exposure in a slipping market (in contrast to dynamic asset allocation, or portfolio insurance). As interest in this technique continues to grow, J.P. Morgan's Wai Lee provides comprehensive coverage of the analytical tools needed to successfully implement and monitor tactical asset allocation. ... Read more

Book Description

From two vanguards of global strategy consulting comes this eye-opening look at the business dilemma of unsustainable growth--along with insights on what companies can do to stimulate consistent profits. Though most companies claim to be growth oriented, surprisingly few actually achieve double-digit growth--and over the past 10 years, that percentage has steadily decreased. In HOW TO GROW WHEN MARKETS DON'T, Adrian Slywotzky and Richard Wise examine this problem and offer real solutions, including how to fully map customers' higher- order needs and ways to get investors to change their thinking. They also offer methods to enhance existing asset bases through acquisitions, partnerships, and licensing, and suggest that companies learn not to depend on the CEO to solve the growth crisis. Creating sustained growth in company value has never been an easy task--in fact, it's getting more and more difficult in today's economic climate--and HOW TO GROW WHEN MARKETS DON'T addresses the need for solid and sensible advice. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

New growth for old companies
Slywotzky and Wise could have titled their new book, New Growth for Old Companies: A Comprehensive Compendium. If you've read their many previous papers and articles, you'll find the contents of this book familiar but will probably be delighted to find all those ideas and more gathered informatively in one place. The authors' audience consists of companies in mature industries struggling to grow - and to grow in a sustainable manner.

Inspired by examples such as General Motors, Clarke American, and Cardinal Health, Slywotzky and Wise mix their own thoughts with others floating around the world of business ideas to come up with a strategy they call "demand innovation". I agree that typical product innovation, while retaining value, is far from the final word in achieving growth. The authors' demand-centric approach instead focuses on the customer's context in using a product or service, and satisfying that with the company's intangible wealth - customer contacts, business models, technical expertise, human capital.

If you are like most customers, you have no trouble finding any number of innovative products. Your wish-list of new stuff is probably making your bank balance very nervous. Yet the experience of finding, buying, using, getting support, and other issues that surround the product itself can create enormous frustration. Slywotzky and Wise do us the favor (as businesses and customers) of bringing together a set of opportunities to grow by helping customers reduce complexity and by helping businesses make better decisions and reach their market faster - often a newly uncovered or created market. Some of the methods for companies are ensuring operational excellence, treating growth as a systematic discipline, developing lots of small ideas and a few big ones, mandating growth at the operating level, securing high-level support for growth initiatives, and building your capabilities through acquisitions and alliances.

You may not find many of these ideas to be radically new, but that's no reason to ignore this book. The authors have done a fine job of gathering diverse elements of new-growth practices and putting them in a sensible framework of "demand innovation". Keep this book on the shelf next to you and pull it down next time you get that not-so-fresh feeling about your business and your markets.

Wear new glasses
Growth has always been a challenge and passion for top management. Mature markets, fierce competition, greater expectations from customers, investors and employees contribute to setting of tough growth targets and the difficulty in attaining them. It is interesting to note that only single digit (7) percentage of companies are able to achieve double digit growth in today's markets. This book takes a closer look at some of these and the means that they adopt to achieve it.

According to the authors, the conventional focus on product innovation, R&D and market penetration strategies have all hit a wall. To break free from this syndrome, companies have to adopt innovative approaches- Demand Innovation. Instead of focusing on the current offering, companies have to look from a customer perspective into the entire value chain of which the current offering could be a small part. The approach is to explore the surrounding processes, products and services.

Cardinal Health Care is a good example with which the authors effectively start demonstrating this concept. Cardinal was struck on the periphery of wholesale drug distribution with shrinking growth and negligible margins. Cardinal soon realizes that for its customers, primarily big hospitals, procurement of drugs is just a part of the solution that seeks to reach the prescribed drugs to the patients' stomach. Suddenly a big opportunity for dispensing, accounting, re-ordering, billing and information processing of drugs in hospitals emerges. Cardinal decides to seize this opportunity. Through extended processes and acquisitions, Cardinal steps into the customers premises, providing them with end to end solutions in procurement, storage, accounting and dispensing of drugs. The concept looks simple , but the revenue streams are deep and margins healthy. A healthy prescription for growth.

General Motors' On Star service is another success story. Instead of just delivering a machine for transportation, GM now assures safety, security and other value added services to the harassed drivers on the road. It is now a part of the customer throughout the product's useful life enjoying a steady stream of revenues, with higher margins and delighted customers. An example where communications and information technology is used to wrap value added services to an otherwise routine product delivery.

The book is split into logical parts and includes chapters on the role of senior managers, unlocking hidden organizational assets like customer contacts, technical expertise, process excellence and a framework to put the ideas into practice and thereby manage growth over an extended timeframe.

Look through the glasses of Demand Innovation and growth will appear closer and bigger.

Recommended reading for managers across all industries.

Another thought provoking book from Slywotzky
I frequently refer to Adrian Slywotzky's previous books as we respond to a rapidly changing market environment among our software customers, and found How to Grow to be a very useful source of new ideas. Slywotzky and co-author Rick Wise concisely frame the growth challenge faced in many industries today, and help the reader in identifying several tangible options for driving revenue and profitability, even in the current market.

The overall format is familiar to readers of Slywotzky's Profit Zone: The first chapter describes the challenge and suggests a response. The middle chapters provide fresh case studies that illustrate how companies across a range of industries have successfully overcome declining growth trends in their traditional business model. The final chapters bring together the common themes from the case examples, and construct an initial set of tools that a leadership team can use can use to identify tangible new opportunities in their own business.

The factors driving the growth challenge--- maturity and commoditization of many key product lines, decreasing returns to new product and line extension investment, increasing saturation of new geographic markets, limited remaining industry consolidation opportunity in many markets, to name a few-are becoming well understood. Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard frequently writes that even the tech industry is waking up to find that many more customers care about products being cheaper than being faster. Slywotzky and Wise don't dwell on this topic, but encourage the reader to ask which drivers may be slowing growth in their own industry.

I found the examples of "demand innovation" to be particularly helpful. These are drawn from a range of industries, presumably including several of Slywotzky's and Wise's consulting clients. Many examples are industries seldom used as case studies on the business speaker circuit, including check printing, lawn care equipment, and automobiles. The fresh material is very instructive. It is quite likely that the reader will find a case example that provides a close analogy to his or her own business.

As with the Profit Zone, the book concludes by providing an outline and set of tools of how to engage an organization in a process to define their own growth challenge and identify actionable responses. It doesn't try to be a recipe book, but it's a very helpful "preflight check list", which increases the likelihood that a valuable opportunity isn't overlooked. The menu of options emphasizes the importance of understanding the customer structure, the customer's activity chain around the product, and the value of the information created in the interaction with the customers. Even companies that have implemented effective downstream business models are likely to find ideas that help extend the creativity in identifying new opportunities.

I read through the book quickly to understand the major themes and keep it handy as a reference when developing new initiatives.

A worthwhile Read
This book is very good, filled with useful ideas.

The authors analyze companies from a variety of industries, many of which faced low growth or no growth markets, and identify the innovations in thought and practices that laid the foundation for future, sustained growth.

They provide the kind of ideas, grounded in real-world examples, that will help you to find and apply new approaches to trigger growth in your business. In the tradition of other good books, this book prompts you to ask the right questions, ending each chapter with a series of questions to help you to capitalize on your business' unique strengths and hidden assets.

A worthwhile read.

Surprisingly Useful
I am very cynical about business books. I typically read two or three chapters and then put them down. Frankly, I think most of them are junk. They state the obvious about age-old management problems. They also tend to be obsessively focused on the internal dynamics and structure of a company.

I took a chance with this book after hearing Mr. Slywotzky on the radio and realizing that I still had a decent balance on an Amazon gift certificate. As the owner/operator of a small wire manufacturing company, the messages about the problems of commoditization and global overcapacity hit home with me. My company has always focused on staying in niche businesses that were not quite large enough to be of interest to larger manufacturers. It worked well for literally decades until about a year and a half ago when we found that a certain "small" product line was not too small to escape the attention of some mainland Chinese businesses. After taking a 60% gross margin haircut (Ouch!!!) to retain the business, I started to become very scared.

At this same time in another product line, we began manufacturing some equipment to more easily dispense an oscillated wire product. We luckily decided to lease this machine rather than sell it, and it has become a lynchpin in our ability to establish and maintain a dominant position in this market. As this machinery has evolved, it also became the rough outline of a business model that I continue to try to pursue. This book is a very good refinement of my rough idea plus a lot more. I intend to try to use the authors' ideas to think about a new product line that has some disruptive elements to it(yes, I think that Clayton Chritensen is worthwhile, too).

I may just like this book because they are preaching to the choir, and I feel that I have arrived at a lot of the same conclusions, albeit in much rougher form, on my own. One thing that I do know is that all the games of incremental, internal change are not enough when mainland China shows up in your backyard.

P.S. - One thing the authors' don't touch on much, but that should be noted is that the ones who are most responsible for commoditizing your products are your own customers. You can be sure that the bigger they are, the more sophisticated the sourcing organization that they have in Asia. ... Read more

Book Description

Financial reports speak their own language, and managers without a strong finance background often find themselves bewildered by what is being said.

Finance for NonFinancial Managers helps managers become familiar with essential financial information, showing them how to "speak the language of numbers" and implement financial data in their daily business decisions.

In addition, it clarifies how and why financial decisions impact business and operational objectives. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Finally - a financial management guide I can understand!
Gene has done a great job of capturing the finance essentials every manager needs to deal with - in a logical, easy to read manner. I found that simply reading - not studying - the book gave me far more financial understanding than any theoretical b-school course, and in much less time. The anecdotal illustrations are very helpful in delivering clear explanations without getting bogged down with jargon. Well worth the read.

Great Read, Excellent Reference
Corporate finances are becoming increasingly important in a tight-economy world. The word is out: manage your finances well or you're in trouble. Even as our economy improves, this topic will continue to be critical. Every executive, manager, and aspiring manager must be familiar with the concepts of corporate finance.

If you are not a financial wizard, and most of us aren't, this book will give you the depth and breadth of understanding to "speak the language." Twelve well-organized chapters present the vital information about the role of financial management, the various reports that are generated-why and what they mean, profit and cash flow, and critical performance factors. The author, a Certified Management Consultant and Certified Professional Accountant with years of advisory and teaching experience under his belt, then delves into specialized areas. Readers will learn about cost accounting, business planning, budgeting, financing a business, and attracting outside investors. There is a tremendous amount of information packed into these pages.

As part of McGraw-Hill's Briefcase Book series, this book is filled with seven types of call-out boxes: Smart Managing, Cautions, Tricks of the Trade, Key Terms, Examples, Tools, and Mistake-Proofing. This is the kind of book you will read through to get a comprehensive picture, then return to as a reference book for yourself and others. The author's writing style is personal and conversational---like having a chat with an accountant who can explain what you don't understand...and what you don't even know that you don't understand. The depth is here.

There have been a number of books written on this topic over the years, many of them thick, heavy, and filled with small print and hard-to-comprehend charts and graphs. This book is designed to be enjoyed and absorbed: larger type, lightweight, and readable. Graphs and charts are clear; they make sense.

If you're going to read---and keep---a book on finance for people who don't go there frequently, this is the book. Clear some space on your bookshelf. This one's a keeper! ... Read more

Amazon.com

If the tech-stock swoon merely whets your appetite for this roller coaster of a market sector, and your eyes don't glaze over at the very sight of formulas like "Return on Capital = EBIT (1 - t) / Capital Invested," then The Dark Side of Valuation is the investment guide you've been waiting for. Whether considering New Economy firms at their peak or their valley, writes Aswath Damodaran, the problem has always been determining their true value with equitable dispassion. A leading expert on the topic, Damodaran begins by noting that standard corporate valuations are determined by four factors: cash flow from existing investments, growth expected from this cash flow, length of time this growth is sustained, and cost of capital to sustain it. In what he admits is not always an easy read, Damodaran then details various ways to adapt conventional valuation methods for companies that lack key traditional variables (such as profits, track records, and even competitors with which they can be compared) in order to arrive at realistic valuations. Those not scared off by charts comparing the historical risk for T-bills and T-bonds since 1928 will find this book worth a look. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (5)

'Investment Valuation' with new title and cover
The Pros:

Damodaran is a gifted teacher and in his books is able as well to explain the concepts and techniques of valuation in an understandable manner. The book serves mainly for readers who want to get a comprehensible (and to a certain degree comprehensive) overview of the topics with selected in-depth discussions and it is quite 'readable'.

The Cons:

The book is not new at all, as about 90% is a copy of his earlier book 'Investment Valuation'. The only real difference is the selection of the examples used and the financial and market data are more current compared to his other book from 1994. It seems that the marketing department of the publisher saw an opportunity to sell a 'new' book to the new class of technology investors. However, the occasional comments of which valuation topics are specific to technology companies could be summarized on a couple of pages.
The book is good for giving a comprehensible overview but does not go very much into depth.
Effectively, it's the earlier book 'Investment Valuation' recycled with a new title and new cover, still a good book but not new at all.

The best valuation book I have read!!!
Do you need to understand the basic fundamentals of valuation? Then this is the book you need. This book will take you through step by step on how to value a company and the assumptions you need to make. By far, this book is much easier to read and understand than the book "Valuation," written by couple of Mckinsey consultants.

The best book so far on valuation from the investor's view
Although much of the organization and explanation of valuation techniques presented here repeats the presentation in Damodaran's previous books, he does two things which make this the better book than the previous books: 1) he discusses the role of "tech" companies in our economy and he selects 5 specific companies which serve as his examples in every chapter and 2) he makes reference to excel spreadsheets (available for free download on his web page) which he has prepared to allow readers to apply what they are learning immediately and with a minimum of set-up time. As tech companies play a larger and larger part in our economy, the specific quirks and issues related to the operation of tech businesses and the impact of those industry-specific issues on the valuation process become more important for us. One might argue that all companies, whether they are wine makers or processor makers, face industry-specific valuation issues which do not affect companies in other industries, and in light of that, many issues discussed here might not be relevant to the wine makers. But tech is so important to us now that we can no longer afford to use generic, non-tech specific techniques in the face of an increasingly tech-heavy stock market.

As for the reviewer who compained that Damodaran doesn't do enough work in real option theory: Damodaran says in this book exactly what needs to be said about real option theory: that it has very limited applications (which is not to say that it is not revolutionary within those limited applications) and that the push to broaden the use of real option valuation beyond its traditional applications can more often than not constitute misuse and abuse of the models. Not every investment contains options, and not all of those options have value, to paraphrase Damodaran himself. Damodaran doesn't ignore real options, of course: he calls them contingency claims (as they technically should be called) and dedicates a chapter to explaining there use and abuse. Using real options, when it comes down to it, involves building and solving partial differential equations based on stochastic processes. As any actuary or financial analyst could confirm, teaching stochastic processes presupposes a very strong math base and still would require an entire book. Damodaran did the right thing by limiting himself to a single, illustrative chapter.

The best part of this book is that thanks to Damodaran's congenial and accessible ability to write, this book can be read and prove valuable to people with a variety of needs. As an MBA student this book has been invaluable. But I even gave this book as a gift to my brother, a decidedly non-financial person, to replace his countless "How to Invest" books sitting on his bookshelf.

Strong on the valuation of old tech companies
Excellent introduction to discounted cash flow approach to valuation. Excellent examples. But very weak on real options valuation. After recognizing that real options are mostly american, the author values them like european anyway resulting in systematic undervaluation of real options. This is a shame since much of the value of new companies come from real options. If you are already familiar with DCF valuation, then you might prefer Copeland's 'Real Options' to bring yourself up to date with the latest developments in the practice of valuation.

One of the best how-to guide on valuation
This is one of the most complete books on valuation in the market. The others are Valuation from Copeland and Damodaran on Valuation.

It contains concepts and technicalities, such as CFROI, PEG or how to include management options in valuation, not found in other books -though I rather that he expanded more on this-.

The only drawbacks I find in Damodaran books are the limited attention to real-world balance sheet problems one may face (ie: effects of Minority Interests in valuation) and the no-mention policy for valuing banks. In this category, Copeland's Valuation book is better. Of course, this particular book is only meant to value tech firms !!!

If you want a really in-depth valuation book, just buy it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This is the best book on capital budgeting ever written.
Bierman and Smidt's work is generally considered to be a classic in its field.Anyone seriously interested in a cogent, well structured, and logically developed textbook on the economic analysis of investmentprojects MUST study Bierman and Smidt. This book is not "just anotherfinance text" because capital budgeting straddles two disciplines:finance and operations. This book does justice to both fields remarkablywell. ... Read more

Book Description

The Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) market has expanded in recent years to become a vital source of risk solutions and risk capacity and an important mechanism for the creation of integrated corporate risk management programs. 

The ART market unites the risk management and product development skills of financial institutions, insurers and reinsurers with the capital of global investors to give corporate risk managers the best possible means of managing financial and operating risks. In a time when natural and man-made disasters and financial volatility are constantly present, the need for dependable, equitably priced risk capacity and innovative, holistic risk solutions has never been greater. The ART market, which can supply both, is thus becoming an integral component of the 21st century financial markets.

Alternative Risk Transfer, written by a veteran of the banking and insurance industries, provides a practical, detailed and up-to-date review of the topic. The text is divided into four parts, including

• Risk and the ART market 
•  Insurance and Reinsurance
• Capital Markets
• Enterprise Risk Management and the Future of ART

The book contains numerous worked examples and case studies to place the subject in a practical light, and is ideal reading for CFOs, corporate risk managers, treasurers, institutional investors and fund managers seeking to understand the ART market.
... Read more

Book Description

Two of the most innovative thinkers in the field present a workthat represents the single best resource for understanding andimplementing activity-based cost management.Kaplan and Cooper revealthat most companies don't know how to measure accurately, influence, orunderstand the fundamental cost drivers in their businesses.They thenprovide a detailed and comprehensive blueprint that will enablemanagers to make better decisions and to promote organizationallearning and improvement.

Cost and Effect takes the management,finance, and accounting fields to an entirely new level, as the authorsdemonstrate how the principles of activity-based costing and otheradvanced cost management techniques, such as target and kaizen costing,can drive business performance.Using lively examples from a varietyof leading companies worldwide--including Siemens, Hewlett-Packard,AT&T, the Swedish wire manufacturer Kanthal, Kirin Beer, and Procter &Gamble--they show how to create integrated, knowledge-based systemsthat provide meaningful information on current and pastperformance.

The innovation systems described in Cost and Effectwill help you: Determine where improvements in quality, efficiency,and productivity will have the highest payoffs. Assist front-lineemployees in their learning and improvement activities. Make betterproduct mix and capital investment decisions. Negotiate moreeffectively on price, product features, quality, delivery, and serviceto promote win-win relationships with your customers. Choose low-costsuppliers who are truly low cost, not just low price. Design productsand services that meet customers' expectations--and that can beproduced and delivered at a profit. Integrate your activity-basedcost system into reporting and budgeting processes to reveal thesources of excess capacity.

Everyone involved in running abusiness--from general managers and strategic planners to financialexecutives, IT professionals, and operations managers--must read thisbook to learn how innovative cost and performance measurement systemscan enhance their organizational profitability and performance. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

BEST ANALYSIS OF ACTIVITY BASED COSTING AND HOW TO GUIDE
Kaplan and Cooper have put together an outstanding guidebook for managers to follow in order to reap the most significant benefits from activity based costing and other cost management techniques. The great merit of this book is that it does not preach to the reader the latest management fad, but rather goes through a thorough analysis of budgeting processes, highlighting benefits and drawbacks of each. They do not claim ABC is the best approach, and even praise some simpler methods that are more adequate for certain companies. Instead, they point to the circumstances in which ABC can provide outstanding results to companies.

The book structured first with an analysis of the most often used systems of managerial cost accounting. It highlights the shortcomings of these, proceeding then to present certain productivity improvements that could contribute to performance. These are mostly related to the quality movements (TQM, 6 Sigma, etc), which are presented in a very understandable way. These are complements to the existing usual cost management systems. These improvements can be made even without implementing ABC systems.

Then the authors proceed to describe activity based costing and its benefits in terms of choosing customers, suppliers, and product breadth. They present many examples that would be very relevant to any practitioner, in industry or service. There is a specific section focusing on services, which makes the appropriate adaptations to the systems for the peculiarities of it.

Overall, an outstanding work, to help anyone involved in cost management, whether they are interested in activity based costing or more traditional standard costing methods.

The very best book on activity-based management.
I have read this book cover to cover and have re-read chapters. Kaplan ensures that you grasp the fundamental concepts by keeping things simple. He illustrates the concepts with easy to understand examples. I gained very little knowledge from the first 3 ABM books I read, but after reading "Cost and Effect," I felt that I had a good enough grasp of the fundamentals to actually implement a costing system.

Cooper and Kaplan: my heroes
After reading several academic papers concerning activity based costing I still wasn't convinced about the usefullness of the methodology. After reading Cost & Effect I revised my opinion on Cost Management. This book gives all the answers to effective Cost Management. It takes you from the ABC Age to the Activity Based Management Age and clearly helps you to understand what costs are alle about. Once you really understand the topics of this book you will be able to face and manage costs in whatever business you are in. Read it!

Evolving Toward Better Financial Information and Actions!
Cost & Effect will most appeal to those who have had extended experience with Activity-Based Costing (ABC) or operate in manufacturing industries.

If you are interested in learning more about Activity-Based Costing, this book is not the best choice for you. Professor Kaplan has co-authored books that explore this subject in much greater detail.

Most people set as their initial priority the need to have accurate financial reporting for the entire enterprise. Falling below that level of effectiveness is Stage I in the terms of this book. Once you have that financial reporting done accurately, you are at Stage II. But you know almost nothing about how to manage your costs better. In order to do that, you will need to establish ad hoc financial reporting processes designed to help your organization learn from its experience and identify opportunities for improvement, built around Activity-Based Costing (ABC). ABC is simply a way of more accurately applying overhead costs back to activities and then processes that permits accurately understanding more about which combinations of products and services and customers are profitable and which are not. Then, within each activity, you can also see the inefficiencies in what you are doing that present opportunities for improvement. The book also has a nice discussion of Kaizen costing that is widely used in Japanese companies looking for on-going cost improvements, based on Professor Cooper's research. There are a few case histories to illustrate the principles, but most will find these insufficient to guide them through the process. In other books, Professor Kaplan has pointed out that there is a lot of acquired art in the subject and you probably need help to get it right. I concur. Once you have ABC operating in stand-alone systems, you are at Stage III.

At this point, you will have a financial reporting system that is separate from the ABC system. How do you put them together? That the subject of chapter 14, which is the key value-added part of this book. You will see what the systems architecture and process flow needs to be in order to combine ABC with Enterprise-Wide Systems (EWS) of the sort that many large companies have invested in during recent years. Putting the two together will greatly improve planning, budgeting, design of new products and services, and operational improvements. Chapter 15 expands into the area of how to apply the combined system to budgeting and transfer pricing. Combing ABC and EWS puts you at Stage IV, a level rarely reached today.

The book's main message is that it's a mistake to try to go from Stage II directly to Stage IV. There's a lot of experimentation and mistakes that you can benefit from in an extended Stage III. I agree again, based on my experience with ABC.

The one caution you should have about ABC in this context is that if you are going to radically change your business model every 2-5 years as many companies are, Stage IV is probably unattainable and undesirable. You can't hold back business model innovation for better cost systems. The next business model innovation will probably give you better costs than tweaking the current business model with ABC will.

Seek out the fastest route to progress, and do more of it!

The book I use every day!
I would like to have it in German and French languages in order to recommend it to my colleagues. ... Read more

Book Description

The business of credit ratings began in the United States in the early 1900s. Over time, credit ratings have gradually taken on an expanding role, both in the United States and abroad and in official financial market regulation as well as in private capital market decisions. However, in 1999 the Bank for International Settlements (through its Committee on Banking Supervision) proposed rule changes that would provide an explicit role for credit ratings in determining a bank's required regulatory risk capital. Once implemented, this BIS proposal (often referred to as Basel 2) would vastly elevate the importance of credit ratings by linking the required measure of bank capital to the credit rating of the bank's obligors. With these regulatory changes under active discussion, research into the role for ratings and rating agencies in the global financial system is particularly apropos. Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System brings together the research of economists at New York University and the University of Maryland, along with those from the private sector, government bodies, and other universities. The first section of the volume focuses on the historical origins of the credit rating business and its present day industrial organization structure. The second section presents several empirical studies crafted largely around individual firm-level or bank-level data. These studies examine (a) the relationship between ratings and the default and recovery experience of corporate borrowers, (b) the comparability of credit ratings made by domestic and foreign rating agencies, and (c) the usefulness of financial market indicators for rating banks, among other topics. In the third section, the record of sovereign credit ratings in predicting financial crises and the reaction of financial markets to changes in credit ratings is examined. The final section of the volume emphasizes policy issues now facing regulators and credit rating agencies. ... Read more

Book Description

Proactive Risk Management provides product development teams and managers with a step-by-step process for managing innovation risk in an effective cross-functional manner. In addition to providing a formula, this book illuminates the rationale of managing project risks allowing project and product development managers to successfully adapt the process to their organizations and projects.

Proactive Risk Management's unique approach provides:

- A model of risk that is scalable to any size project or program and easily deployable as the risk management approach built into any product development or project management life cycle.

- Methods for identifying drivers (causes) of risks so you can manage root causes rather than the symptoms of risks.

- An appropriate quantification of the key factors of a risk that allows you to prioritize risks without introducing errors that render your numbers meaningless.

- A clear distinction between a risk and an issue and the different types of management they require.

- A vast array of supporting tools and strategies that support implementation of an effective project risk management program.

- Guidance on identifying and overcoming the organizational and cultural impediments that can block implementation of your risk management program.

Proactive Risk Management stands apart from much of the literature on project risk management in its practical, easy-to-use, fact-based approach to managing all of the risks associated with a project. The depth of actual how-to information and techniques provided here is not available anywhere else. _____________________

Advance Praise for Proactive Risk Management:

"The authors present an easy-to-understand model and an easy-to-implement set of steps to successful risk management. This book should be required reading for project and product managers. I believe you can read it one day, implement it the next, and begin seeing results immediately. The model and approach presented here navigates the knife-edge between the obvious babbling and the philosophical musing that seems to dominate the risk management literature." Patrick Neal, Ph.D. PMP, Manager, Project Management Network, Agilent Technologies

"In our fast-paced environment, there is ever-increasing pressure to bring successful new products and services to market faster than before. This means that risk management is strategically important to the success of your project or venture. Proactive Risk Management provides proven techniques for assessing and avoiding risks before they hinder the results of your project. This excellent manual will be my standard reference on the subject from now on." Dr. Peter Maddern, Product Development Manager, Kimberly-Clark Europe

"Successfully managing complex product development projects -- and keeping effected customers, stakeholders and team members connected -- requires clear communication. In my experience as a leader of projects and project managers -- in Defense, Aerospace, Commercial Consumer Electronics, and Medical Devices/Bio Pharmaceuticals -- the most effective basis for that communication is risk identification and management. Proactive Risk Management provides an extremely practical guide to the tools, techniques, and strategies that best enable that risk-based communication. It is clear that identifying and accepting the "right" risks within a project can be a powerful competitive edge. Keep a copy of this book on your desk and in the hands of your teams - I will." Mike Shires, Vice President, Global Program Management, Baxter Healthcare

"This book clearly communicates the challenges of risk management in product development and provides simple, proven methods for addressing them. The authors' experience with managing risk in product development is clearly evidenced in their practical treatment of the subject. They take a holistic view of product development and illuminate the cross-functional nature of risk in product development. They then offer a straightforward procedure for managing risk and suggestions for implementing techniques in the real world." Kent Harmon, Director, Product Development Improvement, HPA Division, Texas Instruments

"You can read Proactive Risk Management, begin implementing strategies, and start seeing immediate results. For survival in these uncertain times, Smith and Merritt offer the straightforward procedures applicable to any product development project." Ruth Carter, Director of Program Management, InFocus Corporation

"Proactive Risk Management provides the right amount of depth and breadth in its discussion of ways to model, predict, measure, and control risks that arise in projects. It is written in a style that is easy to read and understand; a style that makes you eager to apply the knowledge to your own projects. I am sure that I will go back to it repeatedly for insights and tactics." Dr. J.M. Radovich, Director, Research & Development Fenwal Division, Baxter ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Clear and Informative
Over the years, I have encountered nearly every kind of risk in software projects. I found the suggestions in this book for risk analysis and risk management to be simple, clear, and actionable.

If you're a project manager or a team leader, you need to read this book or one very much like it. Otherwise, you're likely to lead a project without knowing or controlling its risks.

If you are not in a leadership position, use the concepts in this book to evaluate your leaders. That way, you can find out early how things are likely to turn out.

best book on prject management risk analysis
I found this book to be the most approachable, and day to day useful text on risk, currrently available. The authors make it easy to understand, provide a progressive example that builds on the model presented, and they provide a useful risk management toolkit.
As a trainer, I found the concepts easy to get across to students. They were also able to retain these concepts because they made so much sense.
Buy it!

Proactive Risk Management
This book is right right on target in its ability to bring risk management down to a practical level that can be easily applied in most businesses. Too many risk management books exist today that are very theortical in their treatment of risk. Preston has been able to bring theory down to a practical level that can be used daily in product development situations. This is what is needed in most businesses today, simple yet effective risk management.

Clear and effective prescription for NPD risk!
"Proactive Risk Management" is by far the clearest and most direct treatment I've found for managing risk within New Product Development projects. Preston Smith has done an excellent job of taking a complex topic (one which has recently become much more important in an unforgiving economic environment), distilling it down to a simple but elegantly powerful risk model, and embedding that model within a proven continuous risk management process.

I'm always delighted to read Smith's articles in the product development journals (e.g. PDMA JPIM, Research-Technology Management). He's hit the nail on the head with this book - his earlier treatments on risk pointed out the need for NPD risk management, but lacked the detail needed to tackle risk in a way that could be immediately implemented. He's now closed that gap, and NPD professionals will find immediate gain from his work.

The book is very well written and organized. The running example, as well as the more detailed case studies, provide the implementation examples that easily moves one from theory to practice. The examples of spreadsheets and risk maps are a snap to replicate, and they work. The graphics and charts are clear and to the point. Smith's direct in-the-trenches experience clearly shows - this is not a theoretical/academic treatment, but instead is an insightful distillation of a great deal of thought and trial reduced to concise practice. As the earlier reviewer points out, there's very little not to like here!

One of the biggest points of this book is that risk does not reside only within the technical realm, but must be managed across functions (marketing, manufacturing, support, etc...) and over the complete span of the development and delivery effort. This holistic view provides the framework to true product success.

(The reviewer is currently corporate NPD manager at a major semiconductor firm, previously managed Technology Strategy at a Fortune 100 company, and is PDMA NPDP certified.)

Risk Management applied to Product Development
There's very little about Proactive Risk Management not to like. It has an excellent format, with an executive summary chapter up front, then detailed how-to chapters. I especially liked the analogy to FMEA's (Failure Modes Effects Analysis). Comparison with FMEA's puts it in perspective, which is such an everyday tool for many engineers, it's easy to understand how it is risk management also, just with a very narrow scope. This book can be either skimmed fairly quickly initially, with Caution, Key Idea, and Example markers easily focusing concentration on key points and items to refer back in the future. However, the detailed chapters allow the book to also be used as a "how-to" manual. There are many examples throughout the book, most from actual product development uses of Risk Management, and a chapter devoted to two case studies, plus a hypothetical running example used in several chapters.

There is a good discussion about how risk management fits into the overall product development process. I also liked the frequent comparisons of issue vs. risk, I can see the confusion arising on this, and I thought these were well clarified. As I read the book, I went back and forth on whether there should be more discussion of broader use of risk management than pure product development- i.e. starting up a new manufacturing plant. Fortunately, one of the case studies touched on this exact scenario.

I highly recommend Proactive Risk Management. I think there's little doubt that usage of this tool will continue to increase, and this is as thorough, yet easy to understand and apply, of a book on the subject that one could hope to find. ... Read more

Book Description

The brand new, highly-acclaimed Venture Management Handbook tells an entrepreneur or the management team of any company how to raise money, avoid trouble and manage to profitability -- even in the post-crash, post-Enron economy. And at the end of the day, make sure there is something left for themselves.

Sample topics include:
• Valuations
• VC terms and preferences
• VC structure – exactly how they make money
• Business plans for you and for VCs
• Accounting 101 for a manager (not an accountant)
• Accurate sales forecasting
• What executives need to know about accounting
• Cash flow forecasting, management and reporting
• Deciding what to measure
• How to work with investment banks
• Protect your precious cash from crafty creditors
• Good vendor contract terms
• Convertible notes and bridge loans
• Borrowing on assets or receivables
• What to do when things start going bad
• Controlled bankruptcy and reorganization
• How to structure sales agreements to ensure you get paid
• How to choose the right lawyer – and get the most from them while paying the least
• Dividing the spoils in a merger or acquisition
• How to avoid employee lawsuits
• When can investors demand their money back?
• Options, warrants, ISOs, your personal income tax
• Revenue recognition – what Enron, Xerox and WorldCom did wrong -- how to stay out of trouble
• Avoid personal responsibility for the debts of your corporation -- if you're not careful, you may NOT have a corporate shield
• and much, much more ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Precise information, exactly what an entrepreneur needs
I have read a few books on how to do startups, but no other book came close to explaining the concepts in as precise a manner as this book does. While other books talk about concepts like equity sharing and common and preferred shares in a general sense, this book gives exact definitions and examples.

The best book for an entrepreneur who dreams of raising money and taking his enterprise to places!

Finally a venture book for the rest of us
The rest of us not being financiers, accountants or lawyers!

I opened the book expecting another of the usual business help books. The ones that spend half the book telling you why you should read it and the second half trying to sell the next in the series.

This book is different. Venture Management Handbook gets right to the point on every subject and is entirely written for the totally uninformed yet driven entrepreneur. I'm only a quarter through, and with skipping to subjects I need now, I may not ever actually finish. But, who ever finishes a reference book, and Venture Management Handbook will surely find its way to the reference shelf of your local library.

Most relevant and referenced book on my shelf
This book is fantastic. Compared to numerous other business school and do-it-yourself books I own, this book is hands-down the most relevant and referenced on my shelf.

Without a doubt, the best book on software startups
Thanks for taking the time to compile such a great resource. You've done a great job and I appreciate the honest, real world, advice. You cover all the things that I didn't learn in business school...and in a thoughtful, approachable style.

Without a doubt, the best book on software startups that I have ever encountered. Each chapter is immediately useful, practical, and concise.

Thanks for all of the help and for sharing your experience and thoughts. Super!

Peyton

Clearly written & nicely organized
Venture Management Handbook: An Entrepreneur's Practical Guide To Stock, Finance And Contracts by entrepreneur Cliff Conneighton's is a clearly written, nicely organized, experienced based, informative instructional guide to the often complex and confusing subject of financing business ventures. Conneighton's Venture Management Handbook is a very highly recommended, complete-in-one-volume, "user friendly" reference. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive, reader-friendly book is a must-have “how-to” guide on planning for a successful financial future—walking users through the complexities of today's financial world, and giving them an accurate and current reflection of the trends affecting their financial present and future.A five-part organization covers the basic framework, liquidity management, buying now and paying later, investing for the future, and protecting your income and wealth.For certified financial planners and chartered financial consultants. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Should be read by everyone - not just for coursework
What a fabulous book!While this is designed to be the text of a course teaching the aspects of personal finance from the Time Value of Money to Choosing a Career through rational thinking about consumer purchase and retirement.It is organized very well with very clear writing and many helpful illustrations, tables, and resources.

The book guides the student to many online resources in order to develop skills that will be needed to research the nearly infinite variety of decisions and choices we all need to make in life.Being informed about the problem we face will provide us a basis for making better decisions.

One of the methods the book uses to illustrate the effects of financial decis