"Analysis for Financial Management" is an excellent text that covers the major topics of financial management: how to evaluate and interpret financial statements, the tools a manager should use to forecast future earnings and manage growth, how to properly valuate businesses and investment opportunities, and so forth. This book is ideal if you are familiar with basic accounting and finance concepts but want a deeper understanding of finance in a corporate setting. Each chapter contains a recommended reading list for those who want a more thorough explanation and analysis of the topics covered. There is a website the author has put together that provides more examples and tools. Unlike other textbooks, this book actually has all the answers for exercises at the end of the chapters! Lastly, Higgins provides a number of examples and explains all the major concepts with a touch of humor. This is definitely one of the best books Ive seen out there.
This book is required at Harvard Business School and is used at top B-schools and bank management trainee programs around the country. I used the book during my MBA program, even though it was not required. My study group members always requested that I bring it to group meetings. I even had a classmate approach the author (who happens to be my father) at my graduation and ask for his autograph. The book introduces complex finance concepts like net present value in non-academese language and the real-world examples reinforce the concepts. I strongly recommend this textbook to anyone preparing to enter business school or embarking on a job in financial analysis. Professor Higgins is a beloved teacher at his home institution, the University of Washington. You can share in a little of his vast expertise and gift for teaching by reading his book, Analysis for Financial Management.
A book that every prospective MBA should have, as it is very clear and gives a lot of resource listings and examples. Recommended for anyone that need to deal with financial issues. What makes it even better, is that it lives up to its back cover: it turns Finance into Management, or at least tries very hard to show what a CFOs life is really about, in practical examples. Very strongly recommended for people that need to understand what being a CFO is about (all prospective MBAs) or people that need to understand what choices sometimes have to be made in finance.
