Financial Ratios for Executives is written specifically with today's global executive in mind. It makes financial ratios easy to understand and use effectively. This short book will prove invaluable to both financial and non-financial executives looking for easy, intuitive methods to assess corporate health and assist in strategic decision making. Financial Ratios for Executives contains over 100 financial ratios and other useful calculations. It includes ratios that are commonly used, such as return on investment (ROI), return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), economic value added (EVA), and debt-to-equity ratio, just to name a few. It also includes many less-well known-yet powerful-ratios that can provide unparalleled insight into operations, financial management, sales and marketing efforts, and overall performance, among other areas. Using realistic financial and operational data from two fictional companies, the explanation of each ratio includes: Type of ratio Formula for calculating the ratio Description of the ratio Example based on ABC Company or XYZ Company Additional comments or insights In addition to the section on financial ratios, financial experts Michael Rist and Albert Pizzica have included a section on capital budgeting, an understanding of which is essential for both the financial and non-financial executives before they take part in an annual budget meeting or any other business meeting where capital allocation is discussed. It includes the most important tools of finance, such as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), payback method, and total cost of ownership. Who gets ahead in the business world? Those who understand the numbers. It's as simple as that. Financial Ratios for Executives is for those who want to understand how to use financial data to support their initiatives, solve persistent problems, uncover opportunities, bolster company health, and shine in corporate meetings.

Bernadette Gral examines the relationship between financial slack and corporate performance in the European pharmaceutical industry during the financial crisis of 2007 to 2010. Her investigation includes correlational and regression analyses as well as the qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles. The results show that financial slack influences corporate performance measured as ROA based on net income, thus implying that firms use slack resources to enhance performance during crises. The findings support the arguments for a beneficial effect of financial slack on performance according to the resource based view and behavioral theory of the firm.

Risk control, capital allocation, and realistic derivative pricing and hedging are critical concerns for major financial institutions and individual traders alike. Events from the collapse of Lehman Brothers to the Greek sovereign debt crisis demonstrate the urgent and abiding need for statistical tools adequate to measure and anticipate the amplitude of potential swings in the financial markets-from ordinary stock price and interest rate moves, to defaults, to those increasingly frequent "rare events" fashionably called black swan events. Yet many on Wall Street continue to rely on standard models based on artificially simplified assumptions that can lead to systematic (and sometimes catastrophic) underestimation of real risks. In Practical Methods of Financial Engineering and Risk Management, Dr. Rupak Chatterjee- former director of the multi-asset quantitative research group at Citi-introduces finance professionals and advanced students to the latest concepts, tools, valuation techniques, and analytic measures being deployed by the more discerning and responsive Wall Street practitioners, on all operational scales from day trading to institutional strategy, to model and analyze more faithfully the real behavior and risk exposure of financial markets in the cold light of the post-2008 realities. Until one masters this modern skill set, one cannot allocate risk capital properly, price and hedge derivative securities realistically, or risk-manage positions from the multiple perspectives of market risk, credit risk, counterparty risk, and systemic risk. The book assumes a working knowledge of calculus, statistics, and Excel, but it teaches techniques from statistical analysis, probability, and stochastic processes sufficient to enable the reader to calibrate probability distributions and create the simulations that are used on Wall Street to valuate various financial instruments correctly, model the risk dimensions of trading strategies, and perform the numerically intensive analysis of risk measures required by various regulatory agencies.

Business of all sizes have a problem: How do you knowin real timewhether you are earning the profit you need to grow or even just stay in business? And which products or services are doing the heavy lifting in contributing to profit? Financial statements tell only part of the story. They are backward looking, for one thing, and they generally show results only in the aggregate. Worse, they never seem to reflect the hard work you're doing on a daily basis. As one manager said, If I'm adding 25% profit to every job, why am I getting barely 5% net profit at the end of the year? Improving Profit: Using Contribution Metricsto Boost the Bottom Line solves this dilemma. As this book shows, Contribution-Based Activity (CBA) measures focus on two key levers that are fundamental to the operation of any business: financial contribution and units of activity. Knowing how to use these levers gets your company off the treadmill and on your way to stellar profitability. And as the 21 case studies show, CBA is surprisingly easy to apply to businesses of all types and all sizes. What is financial contribution? Simply the amount above and beyond the cost of goods or materials sold that contributes to covering overhead and creating profit. As entrepreneur, business consultant, and professor Keith Cleland shows, few managers actually know the financial contribution their products and services make, nor how to amplify that contribution by incremental adjustments to one or both levers. As you'll learn, the financial tool Cleland created, TARI (Target Average Rate Index), provides insight into each product's value. You'll not only learn which products are contributing the most to the bottom line, but how to unlock the profit potential in run-of-the-mill products or services. Improving Profit will help you: Restore and boost profit levels for your entire operation Relate your daily efforts toa transaction'sactual profitability Focus on the two key performance indicators that can help you identify and solve problems affecting finance and productivity Help everyone in the companyfrom CEO to janitorunderstand how their activities help or hinder the company's fortunes Make effective financial decisions

If you've ever wondered why your results don't match your hard work, hopes, and dreams, read this book. As the case studies make clear, identifying and applying TARI results in a significantand often dramaticboost to the bottom-line. What you'll learn Readers will learn to: Improve the profitability of a job, product, service, or department Price products and services correctly Conserve cash and avoid financial crunches Win desirable quotes and tenders Identify and track productivity Who this book is for

This book is for business managers, directors, consultants, students, professors, CPAs, and business advisers of all types. Table of Contents Background to Contribution-Based Activity (CBA) Kitchen Utensil Manufacturer Taken to the Cleaners Printing Business Multiplies Net Profit by 500% Furniture Manufacturer Climbs Out of the Red Contractor Overcomes Competition to Make a Profit Horticultural Equipment Proprietor's Moment of Truth Wholesaler Nets $2.5M in 10+ Months Jeweler's Changed Focus Turns Red into Black Upmarket Cafe Learns How to Stay on Track Diesel Repair Shop Rescued from Sand-Up- Hill Country Garment Maker Multiplies Net Profit by 700% Switchboard Manufacturer Climbs into the Black Baker Identifies W here the Rubber Meets the Road Architectural Practice Eradicates a Malignant Cancer Accounting Firm Wins by Losing a Third of Its Fees Legal Firm Transfers Productivity to the Bottom Line Contractor Increases Strike Rate to 1 in 4 Hot Bread Baker Discovers More to Bread than Flour Window Manufacturer's Flawed Foundation Multi-Home Contractor Discovers a New Way Home Award-Winning Hairdressing Salon Cuts Its Way Out of Bankruptcy Multi-Department Store Whitewashes the Past 14 Businesses Explore CBA/TARI Questions Answered Fast-Track Problem Resolution Guide Definition of Terms The Business Wheel Epilogue: Why Contribution Metrics?

The Handbook is a virtual encyclopedia of public financial management, written by topmost experts, many with a background in the IMF and World Bank. It provides the first comprehensive guide to the subject that has been published in more than ten years. The book is aimed at a broad audience of academics/students, government officials, development agencies and practitioners. It covers both bread-and-butter topics such as the macroeconomic and legal framework for budgeting, budget preparation and execution, procurement, accounting, reporting, audit and oversight, as well as specialist subjects such as government payroll systems, local government finance, fiscal transparency, the management of fiscal risks, sovereign wealth funds, the management of state-owned enterprises, and political economy aspects of budgeting. The book sets out numerous examples and case studies describing good practice in public financial management, and is highly relevant for use in both advanced and developing countries.

Asking is more than a skill it's a lifestyle The Ask is your personal manual for building the best, most fulfilling personal and professional life possible. Crafting the perfect ask can fund your new business, support your favorite charity, and get more quality time with your significant other but it can do so much more than that. It can change your life. In learning how to ask for what you really want and deserve, you lose your fear of rejection and judgement. You create the greatest sense of self-worth that no one can give you, you give it to yourself when you ask. The critical moment is when you turn your skills inward and make the hardest asks, the ones you ask yourself. This book is designed to make you an Exceptional Asker, and in the process, give you the confidence and skills you need to achieve all your goals and realize your dreams. You'll learn how to prepare, what words to use, what to avoid, and how to follow up, and you'll purge the natural hesitancy that has been holding you back for so long. Asking is about empowerment. It shows the world that what you want matters. It defines who you are, where you're going, and who will be by your side. This book provides over 175 sample asks, with clear actionable steps to help you claim your space in relationships, at work, and in the world. * Rewrite your own rulebook and find empowerment in asking * Learn the simple five steps to craft the perfect ask * Discover the secret of the ask its two sentences and a question * Remove your Money Blockers and turn a bad ask into a win * Conquer the hardest asks you'll ever make the ones you ask yourself Mastering the art of the ask reconfigures your approach to life, and changes the way you tackle challenges and goals. The Ask gives you the skills and the mindset you need to accomplish anything you can dream.

Especially in times of an economic boom following a crisis, companies have to deal with the phenomenon of the "working capital trap," which signifies a company's increasing need for financial liquidity in times of hindered access to debt capital, caused by the increasingly restrictive credit approval processes of financial institutions. As a consequence of cost savings, this situation is often reinforced by a low level of inventory.

This book takes up the problem and shows ways of escaping the "trap" by identifying and strengthening in-house financing potential. First, different operating ratios will be introduced. These refer to the amount of capital committed to the flow of goods and to the amount of in-house financing possible. Subsequently, methods for consolidating in-house financing that are affected by procurement processes will be presented from the company's and the supply chain's perspective.

From a company's perspective, the methods for consolidating the amount of in-house financing over the following topics: The Management of Payment Terms, Inventory Management and Product Group and Supplier Management

From the supply chain's perspective, the following methods for extending the possible amount of in-house financing will be discussed: Finance-Oriented Supply Chain Sourcing, Supply Chain-Oriented Supplier Financing, Collaborative Cash-to-Cash Management, Collaborative Cash Pooling and Netting, Supply Chain Financing Platforms.

The conceptual models will be clarified using a practical example from the automobile industry. Finally, the "Procurement Value Added" (PVA(c)) approach will be presented, a concept that measures the contribution of procurement to the company's success.

This seventh volume in the series covers a variety of topics in financial planning and forecasting.

Praise for "Enterprise Risk Management and COSO: " "A Guide for Directors, Executives, and Practitioners"

""Enterprise Risk Management and COSO" is a comprehensive reference book that presents core management of risk tools in a helpful and organized
way. If you are an internal auditor who is interested in risk management, exploring this book is one of the best ways to gain an understanding of enterprise risk management issues."
--"Naly de Carvalho," "FSA Times"

"This book represents a unique guide on how to manage many of the critical components that constitute an organization's corporate defense program."
--Sean Lyons, Corporate Defense Management (CDM) professional

"This book provides a comprehensive analysis of enterprise risk management and is invaluable to anyone working in the risk management arena. It provides excellent information regarding the COSO framework, control components, control environment, and quantitative risk assessment methodologies. It is a great piece of work."
--J. Richard Claywell, CPA, ABV, CVA, CM&AA, CFFA, CFD

"As digital information continues its exponential growth and more systems become interconnected, the demand and need for proper risk management will continue to increase. I found the book to be very informative, eye-opening, and very pragmatic with an approach to risk management that will not only add value to all boards who are maturing and growing this capability, but also will provide them with competitive advantage in this important area of focus."
--David Olivencia, President, Hispanic IT Executive Council

Optimally manage your company's risks, even in the worst of economic conditions.

There has never been a stronger need for sound risk management than now. Today's organizations are expected to manage a variety of risks that were unthinkable a decade ago. Insightful and compelling, "Enterprise Risk Management and COSO" reveals how to:

Successfully incorporate enterprise risk management into your organization's culture

Foster an environment that rewards open discussion of risks rather than concealment of them

Quantitatively model risks and effectiveness of internal controls

Best discern where risk management resources should be dedicated to minimize occurrence of risk-based events

Test predictive models through empirical data

This volume covers such topics as prior evidence on corporate annual reports, research methodology and the demographics of the corporate shareholder, investors' investment objectives and their information sources, and the readership and usefulness of corporate financial statements.

The Handbook is a virtual encyclopedia of public financial management, written by topmost experts, many with a background in the IMF and World Bank. It provides the first comprehensive guide to the subject that has been published in more than ten years. The book is aimed at a broad audience of academics/students, government officials, development agencies and practitioners. It covers both bread-and-butter topics such as the macroeconomic and legal framework for budgeting, budget preparation and execution, procurement, accounting, reporting, audit and oversight, as well as specialist subjects such as government payroll systems, local government finance, fiscal transparency, the management of fiscal risks, sovereign wealth funds, the management of state-owned enterprises, and political economy aspects of budgeting. The book sets out numerous examples and case studies describing good practice in public financial management, and is highly relevant for use in both advanced and developing countries.

The recent turmoil on financial markets has made evident the importance of efficient liquidity risk management for the stability of banks. The measurement and management of liquidity risk must take into account economic factors such as the impact area, the timeframe of the analysis, the origin and the economic scenario in which the risk becomes manifest. Basel III, among other things, has introduced harmonized international minimum requirements and has developed global liquidity standards and supervisory monitoring procedures. The short book analyses the economic impact of the new regulation on profitability, on assets composition and business mix, on liabilities structure and replacement effects on banking and financial products.

Service firms have high overhead costs which are difficult to assign to individual services. To bring transparency to their value chain, they need costing approaches that help them find their own improvements. Markus B. Baum explores current theory and practice of value chain approaches and cost accounting to develop a costing approach with a suitable instrument for the allocation of fixed and overhead costs for a service firm. He describes the service business costing (SBC) approach. This hybrid-costing model has a hierarchical structure in terms of consolidation and allocates cost and revenues on the lowest hierarchical level possible to ensure that all costs and income are assigned to activities from which they originated."

One of Silicon Valley's most successful angel investors shares his rules for investing in startups. There are two ways to make money in startups: create something valuable-or invest in the people that are creating valuable things. Over the past twenty-five years, Jason Calacanis has made a fortune investing in creators, spotting and helping build and fund a number of successful technology startups-investments that have earned him tens of millions of dollars. Now, in this enlightening guide that is sure to become the bible for twenty-first century investors, Calacanis takes potential angels step-by-step through his proven method of creating massive wealth: startups. As Calacanis makes clear, you can get rich-even if you came from humble beginnings (his dad was a bartender, his mom a nurse), didn't go to the right schools, and weren't a top student. The trick is learning how angel investors think. Calacanis takes you inside the minds of these successful moneymen, helping you understand how they prioritize and make the decisions that have resulted in phenomenal profits. He guides you step by step through the process, revealing how leading investors evaluate new ventures, calculating the risks and rewards, and explains how the best startups leverage relationships with angel investors for the best results. Whether you're an aspiring investor or a budding entrepreneur, Angel will inspire and educate you on all the ins of outs. Buckle up for a wild ride into the world of angel investing!

Banks take very large risks by consistently herding in the same perilous directions while believing they are safe and unique. This book presents a risk management framework to understand conformity and deviance within investment banks and other large organizations. It suggests that some groups understand the dynamics of this conformity to their advantage. This requires a deeper understanding of the risk in risk management. Fraudsters can game the system to their advantage legally and illegally; therefore risk managers must understand the interplay of multiple logics in order to govern and manage risk. Featuring short illustrative cases of massive risk mismanagement, this book walks the reader through four risk management perspectives (economic, institutional, evolutionary and contrarian) that explain why and how economic rationality is overridden by social forces. By understanding conformity and deviance, groups within organizations will be better equipped to manage risk and go against the tides of conformity to their advantage.

Written by two leading experts, this is a compact guide to the key tools and methods necessary to carry out cost-benefit analysis (CBA). The authors use modern economic tools to obtain general equilibrium cost-benefit rules that can be used to evaluate small projects, as well as large and even mega projects. Intertemporal issues like discounting, the shadow price of capital, and the treatment of risk are covered, and a state-of-the-art summary of available methods for the valuation of unpriced commodities is also included. In addition, the book provides detailed expositions of the marginal cost of public goods (MCPF), the marginal excess burden of taxes (MEB), and second-best evaluation rules, and shows how these concepts are interrelated. The importance of undertaking due diligence in evaluations is highlighted. This is an excellent toolkit for graduate students learning about the principles of CBA, and is a useful guide for government officials and policymakers.

Derived from the international literature on experiences with performance budgeting five elements which constitute performance budgeting as a comprehensive system can be identified in this book. This new definition is then applied to the German state level in order to investigate whether performance budgeting is effective in Germany, in detail, whether it actually leads to a reduction of public expenditure. With a survey in the state Ministries of Finance and an individually constructed panel dataset, the impact of the German performance budgeting reforms on their major aim, the enhancement of fiscal discipline, is empirically analyzed. The main result is that the potential of expenditure savings is prolonged by the enormous investments in the beginning.

This second volume in the series discusses such topics as management accounting's role in improving corporate performance, strategic cost management perspectives and accountability and knowledge workers.

How much risk should we take? A Short Guide to Risk Appetite sets out to help all those who need to decide how much risk can be taken in a particular risky and important situation. David Hillson and Ruth Murray-Webster introduce the RARA Model to explain the complementary and central roles of Risk Appetite and Risk Attitude, and along the way they show how other risk-related concepts fit in. Risk thresholds are the external expression of inherent risk appetite, and the challenge is how to set the right thresholds. By progressively deconstructing the RARA Model, the authors show that the essential control step is our ability to choose an appropriate risk attitude. The book contains practical guidance to setting risk thresholds that take proper account of the influences of organisational risk culture and the individual risk preferences of key stakeholders. Alongside this, individuals and organisations need to choose the risk attitude that will optimise their chances of achieving the desired objectives.

This text focuses on CONTROLLING FOODSERVICE COSTS topics. It includes essential content plus learning activities, case studies, professional profiles, research topics and more that support course objectives. The text and exam are part of the ManageFirst Program (R) from the National Restaurant Association (NRA). This edition is created to teach restaurant and hospitality students the core competencies of the Ten Pillars of Restaurant Management. The Ten Pillars of Restaurant Management is a job task analysis created with the input and validation of the industry that clearly indicates what a restaurant management professional must know in order to effectively and efficiently run a safe and profitable operation. The ManageFirst Program training program is based on a set of competencies defined by the restaurant, hospitality and foodservice industry as those needed for success. This competency-based program features 10 topics each with a textbook, online exam prep for students, instructor resources, a certification exam, certificate, and credential. The online exam prep for students is available with each textbook and includes helpful learning modules on test-taking strategies, practice tests for every chapter, a comprehensive cumulative practice test, and more! This textbook includes an exam answer sheet to be used with the paper-and-pencil version of the ManageFirst certification exam.

Praise for GETTING RICH YOUR OWN WAY

"Save yourself ten years of hard work. Read Brian's powerful book and let him show you the shortcut to success. He'll show you the fastest way for you to get rich."
-Robert Allen
author, Multiple Streams of Income

"Millions of people start with nothing and become wealthy as the result of doing certain things in a certain way, over and over again. This book by Brian Tracy shows you how you can achieve all your financial goals, starting from wherever you are today."
-Jack Canfield
coauthor, Chicken Soup for the Soul(R): Living Your Dreams and The Power of Focus

"This is the only book you need to read to become wealthy! It is loaded with practical ideas and strategies to propel you onwards and upwards."
-Nido Qubein
Chairman, Great Harvest Bread Company
founder, National Speakers Association Foundation

"Another great book from Brian Tracy. Tangible, practical ideas that will make you money and make you rich!"
-Bill Bachrach
President, Bachrach & Associates, Inc.

"Brian Tracy has put together a masterpiece of common sense for getting rich. If you wish a different life, commit now to different actions-read this book!"
-H. J. (Jim) Graham
President and CEO, Cyber Broadcast One, Inc.

"Brian Tracy shows you how unlimited wealth starts in the mind, and how anyone can focus their time and energy to earn millions. It's the readable, riveting primer for countless new American fortunes."
-Peter Montoya
CEO, Peter Montoya Inc.

Advanced praise for Transfer Pricing Methods

"Feinschreiber and a team of renowned executives have provided the definitive transfer-pricing guide to this challenging area. At a time when many companies are reviewing documents, policies, and procedures, it's wonderful to have a concise, clearly written reference focused on what may be the most critical corporate tax issue."
-Charles R. Goulding, Managing Director, Tax
Cooper Industries, Inc.

"It is refreshing to find a treatise on transfer pricing that combines practical business considerations, economic theory, and a discussion of technical tax rules in a way that is meaningful not only for large corporate enterprises but also small and medium-sized businesses."
-Vikram A. Gosain, JD, CPA, Director of Transfer Pricing
General Electric Capital Corporation

"This well-written book will be useful both to attorneys new to the practice area and to older hands. It includes very helpful discussions on valuation issues that will be particularly useful for in-house counsel and accountants."
-Joseph C. Mandarino, Partner
Troutman Sanders, LLP

"Feinschreiber and his contributors have cogently explained hundreds of useful facets in the transfer pricing field that have taken others volumes to articulate. The busy professional should consider this book in his or her quest for knowledge in the scintillating tax specialty."
-Charles L. Crowley, Partner
ITS/Customs and International Trade Practice, Ernst & Young, LLP

"Transfer Pricing Methods . . . should become a standard tool for every owner-managed and mid-cap multinational."
-Enrique MacGregor, Principal-in-Charge, Transfer Pricing Services
Grant Thornton LLP

"Bob's vast experience in transfer pricing matters has again been captured between the covers of a book. Thank you, Bob, and your contributing colleagues, for producing another valuable helpmate."
-Alan Getz, Vice President and General Manager, Tax
Mitsui & Co., Inc. (U.S.A.)

"Feinschreiber's current publication is a practical handbook that presents transfer pricing tools that can assist tax professionals of mid-sized companies to optimize profits, manage cash flows, and moderate taxes in a defensible manner."
-Per H. Hasenwinkle, National Practice Leader, Transfer Pricing
BDO Seidman, LLP

"The Business of Giving" reviews current thinking and surveys the key techniques any philanthropist or grantmaker should adopt. It also outlines a generic social investment process that can be utilized for all philanthropic or grantmaking programmes. Essential reading for all engaged in or with an interest in philanthropy or civil society in general.

Put the principles of the market approach to valuing businesses to work!

This is an indispensable, hands-on workbook to help valuation experts (and those who want to be) better understand the application of methods used in the increasingly prevalent market approach to valuing businesses. With convincing evidence of value for both buyers and sellers, the market approach can end stalemates and get deals closed. Acclaimed for its empirical basis and objectivity, it's the model most favored by the IRS and the United States Tax Court--as long as it's properly implemented.

A companion to the definitive book on the topic, The Market Approach to Valuing Businesses, Second Edition, this workbook includes questions and exercises that bring the concepts to life. It parallels the book and helps readers understand the methodologies. It also provides practical experience in applying the relevant theories and formulas. Perfect for CPAs, appraisers, corporate development officers, intermediaries such as brokers and investment bankers, venture capitalists, and consultants, this workbook can also be the basis for dynamic in-house training programs.