Commercial Awareness and Business Decision Making Skills: How to understand and analyse company financial information

This book is designed to act as a financial statement phrase book and dictionary rolled into one. It will enable those new to the financial world to draw meaning from the wealth of information contained within financial documents that were previously considered out of bounds.

Furthermore, although the pages within this book will be an invaluable springboard to those starting out in the world of accountancy, its primary aim is to enable commercial managers working within every facet of a business to meet clearly defined objectives.

It will enable these professionals to take commercial documents and visualise how they interact with the work of an accountant, explaining why every board of management appears to focus on financial data.

* Explains the impact of choices in accounting treatment upon the financial data an entity produces
* Uses tools to complement the financial data, encourages asking perceptive questions that elicit answers that would not otherwise be made available
* Adds value within a commercial business environment

Introduction; The purpose of financial information - Getting inside the mind of an accountant - Getting inside the mind of an economist - Financial and management accounts – Why care about the differences - The building blocks - Seeing double!; Matching the Numbers to the Buying and Selling Process; The snapshot – Assets and liabilities; The Video – Income and expenses; Cash is King; The tricks people play – Provisions - Dealing with uncertainty - Commercial substance over legal form; Adding Value - Common size accounts - Ratio analysis made easy - Understanding risk; Pictures and Words – Understanding the extras;. Yet another professional – The Auditor!; Key point summary.