The Portable MBA in Finance and Accounting

Well written explanations of important subjects, such as how to find essential information in financial statements, how to price products and make profitable bids, legally minimizing taxes for your small business, managing financial risks with options, hedges and derivatives, using your computer for financial analysis, etc. etc. Why spend time and money for an MBA when its all here.

This book has the quality of a one year course in finance and accounting. Even if you have only a high school diploma you can understand it. Don’t let this comment fool you. The authors of this book have made complex concepts seem simple.

I liked the way the book didn’t get bogged down in too much math. The capital budgeting chapters were clear, much more to the point than the textbooks I tried to read.

As an undergraduate, I studied political science; as a graduate student, I studied history (among other things) – however, few if any of my classes ever dealt with the actual mechanics of business, despite dealing with business in a more general sense (as it would fit in the context of history and politics). I decided that it was important to learn some of the basic concepts of business administration, and the Portable MBA series by John Wiley & Sons publishers fit the bill.

This book on finance and accounting is a tricky read at times – it tries to present what is in essence a numerical enterprise in language that a liberal arts graduate would understand, with a minimum of mathematics. Despite my liberal arts background, I am actually also well trained in math, so I found this occasionally frustrating. However, I can see the purpose in it. The first section deals with understanding such basics as financial statements, cost-profit-volume analysis, activity-based costing, budgetary issues, and how computers work (generally speaking) in the area of accounting and finance. The second section looks at planning and forecasting – this is a real help in understanding the financial pages of the newspaper, and also provides some insight for understanding what the government statistics that are released on financial and budgetary matters mean. The third section looks at issues of finance more narrowly, at things such as mergers and acquisitions (sometimes big in the news), public offerings of stock, just what a board of governors/directors does, and what bankruptcy means (how can major corporations go bankrupt and still be flying, for example?).

The authors who contributed to this volume have both academic and professional experience, and tend to do a good job at explaining things in terms that the non-professional can understanding. Anyone with a basic undergraduate background should find this volume accessible. However, accounting is a world of its own, and takes some effort to understand, so I will not make the assertion that this book is an easy one to read.

While I am far from being able to help anyone with their accounting homework, I am pleased that I am able to understand the terminology and concepts as accounting instructors at my college discuss their lesson plans and instructional issues. This book is in large part responsible for that.

This book has what you will need in a portable MBA. It is selective, has scope and completeness and is fast paced. You will need to be very focused to read it but that is only expected.

I wish I had a photographic memory and that I remembered everything I learned in school 15 years ago, but thankfully, I don’t have to because I have the portable MBA to refresh my memory. I highly recommend this book. I’d recommend this to even those without an Accounting or Finance degree in order to have a greater understanding of how their company is run – or even running their own company’s financial decisions.

Tired of reading finance books that are light on detail? Then look no further. I noticed while thinking about this review that the dust jacket reads: “…even if you have no prior background in finance and accounting you’ll quickly learn how to…understand and use financial derivatives…serve as a director of a corporation…take your company public.” That’s a pretty tall order. But then, it is 658 pages and published by Wiley (technical publisher). I think a more accurate statement would be: “If you have prior background in finance or accounting and want to brush up on …” Unless your very smart, or can spend a lot of time reading and re-reading the material, I just don’t think this book will make your ready to use financial derivatives, serve as a director of a corporation, or take your company public. I give it 4 stars, in part because of the awesome charts and graphs.

I bagan using the Portable MBA in Finance and Accounting for Executive MBA students in the Fall of 2007. A number of my students found the previous book difficult to understand. The Portable MBA answered their questions and brought together the subjects of accounting and finance better than any other book that I have found. It is this combination of the two subjects that are necessary for a top tier CFO and by extension to all who work with the CFO.

The book is thorough and brought rave reviews from students who had used other books and found them lacking. It is the right book for an aspiring C level executive regardless of discipline.