Financial Statements explains the logic of financial statements and how we use them to analyse companies in economic terms. Its approach is very different to existing books on financial statements, bringing a remarkable amount of order and simplicity to what can appear a complex subject. The book covers a number of issues that have had little attention before, including the analysis of growth, how business model innovation is affecting reported financial performance, the effect of the company's accounting model on its reported cash flow and the vulnerability of measures such as EBITDA. The book examines the main problem areas in accounting: where balance sheets are frequently incomplete, the treatment of intangible assets, the techniques of 'off-balance-sheet financing', how assets and liabilities are valued in balance sheets and the tension in GAAP between historic cost and current or 'fair' value accounting. The book contains a concise review of the two dominant accounting systems: US GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and IFRS. It explains how GAAP is evolving, and the impact of the financial crisis. The book examines the ways in which companies present their income numbers to achieve a favourable look, why companies fail and the detection of creative accounting. This book is essential reading for practitioners and students, and for anyone who wants to use and understand financial statements.

The Achmea judgment revolutionised intra-EU investment protection by declaring intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (intra-EU BITs) incompatible with EU law. This incisive book investigates whether intra-EU foreign investments benefit from this alteration, which discontinued the parallel applicability of intra-EU BITs and EU law in the EU internal market. Analysing the level of protection offered to four identified types of investments, Dominik Moskvan argues that certain investors will find more favourable substantive protection under the framework of EU law as opposed to intra-EU BITs. However, he also highlights the loss of investment safeguards significant to more complex investments when relying exclusively on EU law. Furthermore, since the analysis reveals important differences in the approaches of EU Member States' judiciaries, the book proposes the creation of a permanent intra-EU foreign investment court to ensure a balanced economic development of the EU internal market. This book's discussion of the impact of the EU legal framework on investors' decisions will be beneficial for both EU and national policymakers when challenged with forming recommendations aimed at improving intra-EU investment policy. The comparative legal analysis from an investor perspective will also be of interest to scholars in EU and international investment law, as well as to lawyers advising foreign investors.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Fully revised and updated, this Advanced Introduction provides a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurial finance of new and growing ventures. With a unique research-based focus, Hans Landstroem synthesizes contemporary knowledge and presents diverse theoretical approaches to explain financial decision-making in entrepreneurial ventures. New features include: An updated synthesis of knowledge on entrepreneurial finance, which highlights accumulated knowledge as well as new contributions in entrepreneurial finance research Emphasis on entrepreneurial finance from the perspective of both entrepreneurs as well as capital providers An elaboration of financial issues not only in high-tech and high growth ventures, but also in the financing of more 'everyday' ventures A consideration of the ways the financial landscape has changed, featuring analysis of the FinTech revolution, crowdfunding and initial coin offerings (ICOs). This second edition will serve as an excellent up-to-date resource for advanced students and scholars in entrepreneurship, innovation, finance, and business. Policy-makers interested in financial issues in young and growing ventures will also find this Advanced Introduction a useful tool for exploring financial decision-making from an entrepreneur's perspective.

This innovative book explores how the design of financial education programmes could benefit from the findings of behavioural economics and finance and cognitive sciences. It covers the social, cultural and technological determinants of financial education, the role of the banking system in promoting financial literacy, and how governments and regulatory authorities are dealing with financial education and risk literacy programmes in schools. Featuring contributions from authors with diverse methodological and ideological backgrounds, Financial Education and Risk Literacy offers a rich and multifaceted debate. Chapters explore theory and empirical evidence, utilising investigations of programmes deployed and the outcomes of experiments. This book also complements the emerging literature by studying how individuals perceive and process information when making financial decisions. Economics students and scholars, in particular those studying behavioural economics, will appreciate the forward-looking agenda of this book. Its insights into how policymakers can benefit from a behavioural approach will also help regulators in the financial education sector.

The definitive guide to eliminating the forces that make it harder, more complicated, or downright impossible to get things done in organizations. Find out why Adam Grant says "If every leader took the ideas in this book seriously, the world would be a less miserable, more productive place."

Every organization is plagued by destructive friction. Yet some forms of friction are incredibly useful, and leaders who attempt to improve workplace efficiency often make things even worse. Drawing from seven years of hands-on research, The Friction Project by bestselling authors Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao teaches readers how to become “friction fixers.”

Sutton and Rao kick off the book by unpacking how skilled friction fixers think and act like trustees of others’ time. They provide friction forensics to help readers identify where to avert and repair bad organizational friction and where to maintain and inject good friction. Then their help pyramid shows how friction fixers do their work, from reframing friction troubles they can’t fix right now, so they feel less threatening, to designing and repairing organizations. The heart of the book digs into the causes and solutions for five of the most common and damaging friction troubles: oblivious leaders, addition sickness, broken connections, jargon monoxide, and fast and frenzied people and teams.

Sound familiar? Sutton and Rao are here to help. They wrap things up with lessons for leading your own friction project, including linking little things to big things; the power of civility, caring, and love for propelling designs and repairs; and embracing the mess that is an inevitable part of the process (while still trying to clean it up).

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Written by two expert economists, this comprehensive Advanced Introduction provides a thorough and up-to-date analysis of central banks and monetary policy, analysing the ways in which views about monetary policy have developed and changed. Key Features: Provides a historical overview of the gestation of the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank Analyses the processes involved in monetary policymaking, including strategy reviews, policy instruments, and central bank communication, whilst considering financial stability and crisis management Concludes with a look towards the future challenges faced by central banks, including the low interest rate environment and the greening of central bank policies Accessible and informative, this Advanced Introduction will prove a vital resource to students and scholars of economics and finance. It will also prove invaluable to practitioners and policymakers interested in financial sector supervision and regulation in central banks.