Naked finance - David Meckin

For most managers, the normal round of hectic schedules, tricky staff issues and impending deadlines are well within their management capabilities. It is the financial issues that give them headaches. Nobody has ever explained how to balance sales against costs, how to interpret financial reports, how to prepare a budget or even how to argue the case for the new equipment their department needs so badly. They have no idea why the company's share price keeps falling and certainly don't understand why this should result in layoffs. In fact, the whole issue of finance is a mystery.

Successful management of the finances of a business requires an understanding of some key principles - and that is what Naked Finance is all about. It strips away all the technical issues surrounding financial management and lays bare the principles needed to make sound financial decisions.

Firstly, Meckin shows how to identify financial objectives so you know where you are going - explaining the importance of profit and cashflow, how to measure financial performance and which are the key figures to watch. He then outlines how to use financial information to understand what's going on around you, covering the format and content of financial statements and how they can be used to assess past trading performance. Finally he describes how to ensure financial control and create a financial plan so you can take control of where you are going, managing costs, sales, profit and cash flow and long-term projects.

Purely and simply, Naked Finance provides the skills necessary to manage a profitable business.