Author: Chuck Kremer, Mentor and Karen Berman, Mentor

Publisher: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation (Boston, MA)

Year: 2007

ISBN-978-1-4221-1883-2

Understanding Finance is one of a dozen or so Harvard Business School Press paperbacks, from their Pocket Mentor series. Chuck Kremer and Karen Berman are the mentors (authors) of this 94 page installment, which retails for $9.95.

This book and its contents represent a very broad brushstroke or primer on the topic, beginning with some basics on accounting methods and financial statements. Selected financial ratios follow the introduction of the income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows, and budgeting basics, including development and tracking, lead the reader to the sections on investment assessment and opportunities.

As the title of the series suggests, this softbound book is pocket-sized for the neophyte reader-on-the-run. Those interested in gaining some depth of understanding on financial topics will find that the contents of this book only touch on materials likely to be introduced in at least three, university-level courses (i.e., financial accounting, corporate finance, and cost or managerial accounting). In fact, the Tips and Tools section (pp. 61-94) refers the reader to other, selected Harvard publications where these topics might be explored in greater depth.

The target audience for this book is likely to be (1) someone with no knowledge of financial matters and (2) in immediate need of a primer on the topic, either while taking a short flight or train ride, waiting in an airport or train station and looking for a light introduction into these topics, or preparing for a (first) business meeting, a few hours from purchasing the book. It is written in a style that will be easy for the non-financial reader to understand and digest, going so far as to include a brief self-test (pp. 67-72) and a section on key terms (pp.73-87). This book is not likely to consume even an entire afternoon to read and digest, but will provide the reader with a handy, introduction and reference guide to a topic that they are, previously, completely unfamiliar with. For this target group, I recommend this book as a suitable primer on the topic of finance.

The above review was contributed by:  Anthony (A.J.) Cataldo II Ph.D    Professor of Accounting, West Chester University. Dr. Cataldo holds a PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , MAc ( University of Arizona)  unofficial minor in Marketing , BSBA  (University of Arizona). He is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant:  Click Here to view Anthony's Reviews 

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