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How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart About the Numbers

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Description

Based on a popular class taught by a Harvard Business School professor.If you're not a numbers person, then finance can be intimidating and easy to ignore. But if you want to advance in your career, you'll need to make smart financial decisions and develop the confidence to clearly communicate those decisions to others.In How Finance Works, Mihir Desai--a professor at Harvard Business School and author of The Wisdom of Finance--guides you into the complex but endlessly fascinating world of finance, demystifying it in the process.Through entertaining case studies, interactive exercises, full-color visuals, and a conversational style that belies the topic, Professor Desai tackles a broad range of topics that will give you the knowledge and skills you need to finally understand how finance works. These include:How different financial levers can affect a company's performanceThe different ways in which companies fund their operations and investmentsWhy finance is more concerned with cash flow than profitsHow value is created, measured, and maximizedThe importance of capital markets in helping companies growWhether you're a student or a manager, an aspiring CFO or an entrepreneur, How Finance Works is the colorful and interactive guide you need to help you start thinking more deeply about the numbers. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard Business Review Press


Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 23, 2019


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1633696707


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 09


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.8 x 0.7 x 7.4 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #30,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #13 in Financial Accounting (Books) #14 in Financial Risk Management (Books) #46 in Strategy & Competition


#13 in Financial Accounting (Books):


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If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Thursday, Aug 13

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Unbelievable. Hooked from the first page.
Format: Paperback
Found this book from a Youtube video where the author gave a talk under the same title. Really glad to see the book maintained the essence of the talk, while containing a lot more useful examples and rich details. I am a finance novice a below average owner/trader of stocks. This book is the closest I can imagine to systematically learning the fundamentals of finance and to developing a set of core intuitions when approaching financial questions. It pares down complex topics you read in the news to fun and easy to read examples, while preserving the quantitive spirits that is critical in financial analysis. I found the author to have incredible knowledge and top notch teaching skills to turn a finance book into a page turner. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2023 by HN

  • Good buy
Format: Paperback
Good book. Helps explain business finance.
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2025 by Elizabeth L

  • Making Finance Accessible
Format: Kindle
Dr. Desai explains key finance concepts in a simple and cohesive way. You will sharpen not just your finance understanding, but also intuition, as the narrative flows from one concept to another. Highly recommended for anyone looking to understand how to world functions through the lens of finance.
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2023 by Kamal Azmi

  • Very good book
Format: Kindle
This 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. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2020 by MUSLEH

  • A great book full with real-world examples
Format: Kindle
This is a great book, not only to introduce the main concepts of finance like cash, value and valuation but also to make the reader think and apply the newly acquired knowledge on real-world examples, thus deepening the intuitive grasp of the content. It is a book to be read many times, and every time it gives insight on a different level. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2020 by Alexelis Andreas

  • Great intro to finance for the non-technician
Format: Paperback
I bought this based on a YouTube interview with Mihir Desai, and it exceeded all my expectations. Finance can be exceedingly technical, but this book provides a reasonable and useful intro that is not technical. This is not to say, however, that it's an easy read -- you cannot read it like a novel. If you want technical, I suggest Valuation by Koller, Goedhart, Wessels. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2022 by Michael Chase

  • Must Read for Anyone who thinks Finance is Too Complicated
Format: Paperback
I am almost certain this is the first unsolicited review I have ever written in my life about anything I've ever bought. Ever! I feel lucky to have read this book. I've always been intimidated by finance and how hard it would be to find a legit CFO for my businesses. Well, for the near future, thanks to this book, I feel like I now am empowered to fill that mystical role/skillset myself. I truly believe this $20 book will save me millions and millions of dollars over the rest of my life. And because of how interesting he makes Finance (I kid you not), I'm not sure that I wouldn't rather fill the CFO role myself and hire a CEO. I wish I would've known all this stuff years ago. It would have saved me so much more money by not hiring the wrong CFO and losing my first business in the process. I know this review seems fake because of how awesome I think this book is, but I assure you, it's 100% real. In summary, this book made finance go from intimidating to inspirational. If you think you're not a numbers person or that finance isn't for you, read this book before you give up on it. Your worldview will open up immensely. I'm buying one of these books for every person on my leadership team. Without it, you're playing the game with one hand tied behind your back. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2019 by Josh R.

  • Easy to understand!
Format: Paperback
Page turner! Great book, explains everything in a very enjoyable way! Three family members fighting over it.
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2023 by ROSE

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