How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart about the Numbers
- Downloads：9446
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-01 09:55:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mihir Desai
- ISBN：1633696707
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Reviews
Justin Lee
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 1。公司會採取哪些方式取得營運與投資所需資金？2。為何財務人士較重視現金流而非獲利？3。如何創造、衡量、極大化價值？4。資本市場在協助公司成長上的重要性？突破思維發想：1。商業風險愈高，財務風險就要降低。2。成功立足財務世界最重要的，是毅力與好奇心。3。營收是虛榮、成果是理智、現金為王，自由現金流在財務領域中代表純淨的最高境界。4。金錢具有時間價值，現在的價值就是未來現金流加總的結果。5。金融的重點不在錢和現金，而是資訊與誘因。6。資產配置才能真正創造價值、管控風險，而非金融（財務）工程。7。評價是一門本於科學的藝術，主觀且容易造成偏誤。數字容易被誤讀。股東權益報酬率（ROE，Return On Equity）是最多財務分析師看的數字，它代表公司擁有者可獲得的報酬。而ROE可透過3個項目計算：獲利能力（每一塊錢營收，有多少是淨利）、生產力（每一塊錢資產，能創造多少收入）與槓桿度（公司借多少錢來賺錢）。以戶外鞋製造商天柏嵐（Timberland）為例，在 1994年，如果你是天柏嵐的執行長，大概會強調ROE是11。9%，與產業中位數12。3%相差不遠，代表公司狀況還不錯。但進一步分析，會 1。公司會採取哪些方式取得營運與投資所需資金？2。為何財務人士較重視現金流而非獲利？3。如何創造、衡量、極大化價值？4。資本市場在協助公司成長上的重要性？突破思維發想：1。商業風險愈高，財務風險就要降低。2。成功立足財務世界最重要的，是毅力與好奇心。3。營收是虛榮、成果是理智、現金為王，自由現金流在財務領域中代表純淨的最高境界。4。金錢具有時間價值，現在的價值就是未來現金流加總的結果。5。金融的重點不在錢和現金，而是資訊與誘因。6。資產配置才能真正創造價值、管控風險，而非金融（財務）工程。7。評價是一門本於科學的藝術，主觀且容易造成偏誤。數字容易被誤讀。股東權益報酬率（ROE，Return On Equity）是最多財務分析師看的數字，它代表公司擁有者可獲得的報酬。而ROE可透過3個項目計算：獲利能力（每一塊錢營收，有多少是淨利）、生產力（每一塊錢資產，能創造多少收入）與槓桿度（公司借多少錢來賺錢）。以戶外鞋製造商天柏嵐（Timberland）為例，在 1994年，如果你是天柏嵐的執行長，大概會強調ROE是11。9%，與產業中位數12。3%相差不遠，代表公司狀況還不錯。但進一步分析，會發現天柏嵐ROE會高，是被槓桿度推高的，其獲利能力和生產力都遠低於整體產業。換言之，天柏嵐為了讓ROE好看，借了更多錢來投資，反而讓業主承擔更高的風險。再舉一個例子，亞馬遜（Amazon）近年表現不錯，2019年淨利約為115億美元，但在2014年，淨虧損為2億4100萬美元。如果觀察亞馬遜的營業現金流（支持日常營運的資金），會發現存貨周轉天數（多久存貨會賣掉）平均是46天，賣掉之後平均要21天後才能拿到錢。換句話說，亞馬遜一個商品從買進到收款，需要67天。但因為亞馬遜是市場龍頭，可以向供應商施壓，要求延後付款，所以平均91天才會付錢給供應商。當收款日早於付款日，換句話說，他的現金轉換周期是負24天，這讓他不必隨時手上有現金，也不用擔心突如其來的風險。不論客觀的數字或主觀的人性，都告訴你金融市場的複雜，並且還會繼續複雜下去。德賽總結，要衡量一家公司的表現，獲利能力的概念相對不完整，因為獲利忽略了現金的概念。比如說，「淨利」有其優點，尤其適合用在判斷股東能賺多少錢時；它的缺點也很明顯，像是無法區分費用是因為借錢要付利息，還是屬於員工認股的薪資費用。而觀察營業現金流，就能知道企業資金上的運作是否靈活。比如說，供應商希望亞馬遜早點給錢，就給了一些折扣。管理者可能就要比較，相比跟銀行借錢來償還這筆支出，利息比折扣哪一個便宜？ 當然，觀察現金的方法很多，除了營業現金流，還有稅前息前折舊攤銷前盈餘（EBITDA）與自由現金流。針對不同情況，觀察正確數字，才能有好決策。 。。。more
Ankit
，
Thoroughly enjoyed reading Professor Desai’s book How Finance Works。 It was simply unputdownable。 He has succinctly covered the basic concepts of finance and the intuition that drives them。 In this seminal work of his， he has been able to make， a recondite subject like finance accessible to the uninitiated。 Would definitely recommend it to the finance folks and the others alike。。！
Steven J。
，
A well organized soup to nuts portfolio of the key lessons and concepts of finance。 This should be on all finance majors first year study curriculum and is also an efficient way all to re-engage important topics when needed。 Good for all ages and for those looking for highlights with descriptive details。
Israel
，
Without much of a finance background， this was very easy to consume and learn from。
Gillian Oh
，
As financial market textbooks go - this is like a fun and interactive class with your favourite lecturer。
Jacinda
，
Great easy to understand book on Finance。 NPV， discounted cash flow models。 Helps with investments and work ideas。 I highly recommend。
Amrit Bhogal
，
Amazing overview of finance in plain english。 Would rec。 for anyone interested in capital allocation fundamentals。
Manish Gvalani
，
A good book with a lot of real life examples 。。 it teaches you the most important concepts and teases you with a thoughtful quiz at the end of every chapter 。。 enjoyed the format 。。
MADHUKAR DAYAL
，
An introduction to （business） accounting （and a little） finance。 Easy read。 Introduces several topics without going in depth into numerical / financial analysis details。 A number of small real World examples are included as short stories。 However， disappoints on bringing out common （accounting and finance） loopholes and pitfalls important for any accounting student to know and understand。 Adding a few accounting fraud stories would have added value。 Not meant for a serious investor。。。（an investo An introduction to （business） accounting （and a little） finance。 Easy read。 Introduces several topics without going in depth into numerical / financial analysis details。 A number of small real World examples are included as short stories。 However， disappoints on bringing out common （accounting and finance） loopholes and pitfalls important for any accounting student to know and understand。 Adding a few accounting fraud stories would have added value。 Not meant for a serious investor。。。（an investor's point of view is entirely missing - in a book titled "How finance works" this would be searched）。 。。。more
Karthikeyan
，
An easy to read， extraordinary book which shys away from boring long essays。 An eye opener on how to see the world differently from finance point of view。 To quote an example - a discount is the interest that the seller is paying the buyer for the advance payment of money， as the advance payment is considered as a loan to seller extended by the buyer。 Mihir Desai has indeed given us a thorough picture of the financial world， albeit devoid of a lot of mumbo-jumbo。 This book， despite a long， stret An easy to read， extraordinary book which shys away from boring long essays。 An eye opener on how to see the world differently from finance point of view。 To quote an example - a discount is the interest that the seller is paying the buyer for the advance payment of money， as the advance payment is considered as a loan to seller extended by the buyer。 Mihir Desai has indeed given us a thorough picture of the financial world， albeit devoid of a lot of mumbo-jumbo。 This book， despite a long， stretched out first chapter， manages to keeps one engaged using a gamified writeup。 Desai asks essential， captivating questions at the beginning of each chapter and proceeds to explain the same using convincing， yet simple arguments。 Three leaders in the financial industry， keep sheding light on topics and these are aptly placed as cards amidst the relevant chapter。 Not only these read world insights， each chapter has the last section named as "Ideas in action" - containing real world examples。 These include， to name a few - Dell becoming a private company and its battle in courts to settle the shareholders with fair price， short selling of Bekaert by Scopia， Heineken's approach to setting up plants in Mexico vs acquisitions in Ethiopia， Apple's struggle with shareholders who were demanding dividends from the ever growing cash pile。 Along with these real world examples， ample theory is also discussed to appreciate the fundamentals。 Along with the above mentioned example of discount， there are few concepts like sunk cost， net present value， which will linger in reader's mind for a long time after closing the book。 The elegance with which Desai writes the book shows in in-depth knowledge on these topics， and hence he succeeds in effectively communicating to the readers。 This book has made me understand the reason for the sophisticated financial world。 For me， the key take away is the quantum of knowledge I am not aware of。 I was fortunate to have read this amidst the 2020 lockdown when the market frenzy was its peak。 Given my enlightment about my financial ignorance， I will maintain my distance from the stock market。 As its folly to fight against the mammoth market forces。 And this book revealed the true magnitude of these market forces。 I forever will revisit this book to refresh my memory of my ignorance and try my best to upskill my financial knowledge。 。。。more
Amirhosein Bartari
，
یکی از بهترین کتاب ها برای کسانی که یا در سطوح مقدماتی هستند و یا هیچ از فایننس نمی داند، البته این کتاب حتی برای کسانی که در فایننس سر رشته دارند نیز می تواند الهام بخش باشد و درک جدیدی به خوانند بدهد。کتاب دارای 6 فصل است و می توان گفت که مرجعی از تمام پایه های مهم فایننس می باشد。 بعد از خواندن این کتاب مکانیزم های 。کلی مالی شرکتی، بازارهای مالی و ارزشیابی را به بهترین شکل درک خواهید کردهمانطور که خود کتاب هم در آخر اشاره می کند خواندن این کتاب پایان راه نیست بلکه آغازی است برای یادگیری فایننس。
Nikolay Gechev
，
Good introduction to finance。 A very comprehensive， easy-going first step in the field。
Ben Hutchins
，
Honestly bought it off amazon as a pre-courser to perusing more education and wow great book。 Made concepts that have been so difficult to grasp understandable and relatable in a well written format。 Good stuff highly recommend。
Johnny
，
great book on the basics of finance！
Kent
，
I poked around in most chapters of this book， It is really a sort of condensed version of several textbook subjects rolled together。 I quite liked the easy to follow format。 Some of the examples and exercises require more than a beginner's understanding。 Good summary refresher for those already in the know。 I poked around in most chapters of this book， It is really a sort of condensed version of several textbook subjects rolled together。 I quite liked the easy to follow format。 Some of the examples and exercises require more than a beginner's understanding。 Good summary refresher for those already in the know。 。。。more
Silvano Paternoster
，
This is a great book。 I am a biomedocal scientist and I got interested into this book by looking at the shockingly high 4。6 overall stars。 I got pretty impressed in the first few chapters understanding why so many readers rates it with 5 stars。 But I'm giving to it only 4。 Probably it's just me， but the second half of the book was so heavy， and technical that it completely defeated the whole purpose of the book。 I guess the whole goal of this book is making finance digestible for the masses。 Wel This is a great book。 I am a biomedocal scientist and I got interested into this book by looking at the shockingly high 4。6 overall stars。 I got pretty impressed in the first few chapters understanding why so many readers rates it with 5 stars。 But I'm giving to it only 4。 Probably it's just me， but the second half of the book was so heavy， and technical that it completely defeated the whole purpose of the book。 I guess the whole goal of this book is making finance digestible for the masses。 Well I got completely lost， and after spending more than a month， literally studying it （because that's what you will do by reading this book。 It is not a light read。 You will actually have to study it to understand it）， I still didn't get a good 50% of what the author was trying to explain。 I appreciate the attempt， probably it's the field ， or it's just me。 I would have given it 5 stars if I got at least 80% of what this book was talking about。 。。。more
Daniel Rellaford
，
Most accessible （and interesting！） Finance book I’ve read。 The writing is common sense， intuitive， readable， and pedagogical。 “How Finance Works” piqued my interest in finance and tripled my knowledge of this ecosystem。 Definitely recommend。
Pranjay
，
Best book I have read on technical knowledge。 I have always been daunted by financial terms for the most adult part of my life and the best part this book has done is debunked those myths that I had been harboring。 One of those books， which you never want to see it end， in which you want author to keep taking you to deeper part of the water as that strong relatioship is developed。 I run a startup and I am an MBA and it is a book/teacher that has build something fundamental that a startup and an Best book I have read on technical knowledge。 I have always been daunted by financial terms for the most adult part of my life and the best part this book has done is debunked those myths that I had been harboring。 One of those books， which you never want to see it end， in which you want author to keep taking you to deeper part of the water as that strong relatioship is developed。 I run a startup and I am an MBA and it is a book/teacher that has build something fundamental that a startup and an MBA program couldnt do with just 6 basic chapters of financial world。 Thank you Professor Mihir for such a wonderful gem。 I feel like I owe you for this and I am really looking forward to what you want to write in your next projects！ 。。。more
Mer
，
A very practical introduction to reading numbers from financial reports， I love how the book demystifies public understanding of a company's status， especially the part on annual profit and cash stock have revealed the complex impression in the stock market and company structures。 A very practical introduction to reading numbers from financial reports， I love how the book demystifies public understanding of a company's status， especially the part on annual profit and cash stock have revealed the complex impression in the stock market and company structures。 。。。more
Miguel Godinho
，
A great introduction to the topic， very accessible for people with no financial background。 Quite clear and engaging writing。Helps you understand all the financial babble that goes on and demystifies a lot of concepts that you hear but never really got around to understanding （such as capital structure or capital allocation）。I highly recommend both the book and the HBS podcast that Professor Desai is a part of， After Hours。
Maicol
，
Basically several business school courses in one book。
Ch。 Ali Ghafoor
，
Just Amazinghttps://www。linkedin。com/pulse/how-fi。。。 Just Amazinghttps://www。linkedin。com/pulse/how-fi。。。 。。。more
Mark Schleier
，
I enjoyed this read， and thought the author did a great job taking something dry and challenging， such as finance， and turned it into an interactive experience full of fascinating case studies。 A few chapters are a little challenging， if you're not wanting to memorize formulas （only a couple parts of the book）， but most of the book is really philosophical in nature。 Eg。 Why does finance exist？ I thought the first chapter was genius。 I learned so much from the game of identify which company belon I enjoyed this read， and thought the author did a great job taking something dry and challenging， such as finance， and turned it into an interactive experience full of fascinating case studies。 A few chapters are a little challenging， if you're not wanting to memorize formulas （only a couple parts of the book）， but most of the book is really philosophical in nature。 Eg。 Why does finance exist？ I thought the first chapter was genius。 I learned so much from the game of identify which company belonged to which finance statements。 Really solid teaching method。 Book rating criteria; to help objectify my ratings。1。 Will I read it again？Potentially （half-star）。 If I ever make it to the director/sr。 director title， I'll probably read this again to polish terms。 2。 Would I recommend this to others？Yes， anyone who wants to polish terms for career purposes， or better understand how their investments work， this is a great read。 3。 Am I smarter， better or wiser as a result of this book？Yes， absolutely。 4。 Was I entertained while reading this/it kept my attention？Mostly （half-star）。 There were a handful of sections that were dryer and not exactly what I was hoping to get out of the book。 5。 This book was just the right length？Yes， I think it's just right。 。。。more
Sotiris Yannopoulos
，
This book that is one of the best to demystify finance and its importance for managers， making it practical and helping decision making， rather than the abstract approach of accounting。
Steven Cherucheril
，
Really enjoyed reading this book as it was great introduction to core finance topics presented in easy-to-digest format。 The use of relevant and recent real-life use cases and the ad-hoc commentary from experts in the field provided diverse point-of-views on the various topics。 Definitely encouraged to continue refining my finance knowledge after completing this book。 My only gripe was that a few of the examples used to demonstrate concepts were not clear。 For example， table 4-2 laid out sourced Really enjoyed reading this book as it was great introduction to core finance topics presented in easy-to-digest format。 The use of relevant and recent real-life use cases and the ad-hoc commentary from experts in the field provided diverse point-of-views on the various topics。 Definitely encouraged to continue refining my finance knowledge after completing this book。 My only gripe was that a few of the examples used to demonstrate concepts were not clear。 For example， table 4-2 laid out sourced of value creation， but I was unable to follow how they achieved the value for market value （nor could my brother who studied finance）。 。。。more
MSubaiei
，
Very good bookThis is really very informative and interesting book。 The concept of finance is easily illustrated with very interesting examples and stories of known firms。 The author explained the concepts to be understood by anyone。 Reading this book and understanding financial analysis， value creation， company valuation and capital allocation will make easy to open WSJ or FS newspapers and read it with joy。
Ankit
，
The book serves as a great tool to demystify what finance is all about。 It helped get an understanding of what managing capital is all about and the financial basis of business decisions。
Kathryn H
，
ExcellentAfter working for many years， I had the pleasure of hearing Mihir Desai talk and teach。 He demystifies the complexities of finance - making concepts clear， memorable and applicable。
EG Gilbert
，
Well written and intended to teach。 Not a textbook， but the written form of a Harvard course using numerous example tables and chapter quizzes。 Full of formulas， but the idea is to teach you fundamental concepts not create a reference manual。It wasn't what I expected， but I learned alot。 My concept of the role of "Finance" in business seems to have shifted; I feel like I understand the nature of it much better now。 Well written and intended to teach。 Not a textbook， but the written form of a Harvard course using numerous example tables and chapter quizzes。 Full of formulas， but the idea is to teach you fundamental concepts not create a reference manual。It wasn't what I expected， but I learned alot。 My concept of the role of "Finance" in business seems to have shifted; I feel like I understand the nature of it much better now。 。。。more
Joc Cing
，