Financial Ratios for Executives

Book excerpt: Financial Ratios for Executives is written specifically with today’s global executive in mind. It makes financial ratios easy to understand and use effectively. This short book will prove invaluable to both financial and non-financial executives looking for easy, intuitive methods to assess corporate health and assist in strategic decision making. Financial Ratios for Executives contains over 100 financial ratios and other useful calculations. It includes ratios that are commonly used, such as return on investment (ROI), return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), economic value added (EVA), and debt-to-equity ratio, just to name a few. It also includes many less-well known—yet powerful—ratios that can provide unparalleled insight into operations, financial management, sales and marketing efforts, and overall performance, among other areas. Using realistic financial and operational data from two fictional companies, the explanation of each ratio includes: Type of ratio Formula for calculating the ratio Description of the ratio Example based on ABC Company or XYZ Company Additional comments or insights In addition to the section on financial ratios, financial experts Michael Rist and Albert Pizzica have included a section on capital budgeting, an understanding of which is essential for both the financial and non-financial executives before they take part in an annual budget meeting or any other business meeting where capital allocation is discussed. It includes the most important tools of finance, such as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), payback method, and total cost of ownership. Who gets ahead in the business world? Those who understand the numbers. It’s as simple as that. Financial Ratios for Executives is for those who want to understand how to use financial data to support their initiatives, solve persistent problems, uncover opportunities, bolster company health, and shine in corporate meetings.