100 books like Corporate Finance

We enjoyed this book for its innovative approach, which involves a very specific and defined focus, and its appropriateness for a broad spectrum of investors. The method empowers investors to utilise selected criteria in their investment choices to create a successful investment strategy. It provides “tried and tested” principles for “stock pickers,” focusing on the author’s growth investing specialism.

The book is written in a style that is easy to digest but makes some complex investment methods seem obvious, just what I like in books. It is concise but each chapter allows the reader to reflect on their understanding. This represents a good investment for an investor looking to broaden their knowledge and develop their own investment approach.

From the moment I first read a Discworld novel, I was hooked by the unique and whimsical twist, given by Terry Pratchett, to the situations his characters find themselves in. His clever use of humor allows him to entertain his readers while making complex financial concepts accessible to readers of all backgrounds. This use of humor and the underlying message that finance is as much about human nature as it is about numbers underpins my teaching and writing.

He highlights the quirks and motivations of bankers and entrepreneurs which I recognised from my time in the industry. But importantly he highlights the personal transformation and ethical dilemmas a quest for wealth can bring. For me, this resulted in really considering the true meaning of success.

That said he doesn’t shy away from addressing economic disparities. But overall, when I read this I was given a chance to view the finance… show more.

I was given a free copy of this book at a conference and only read it as I had nothing else to read at that point. But, for the time, its method of communicating ideas and concepts was revolutionary and this, as well as the contents of the book, have stayed with me.

I hadn’t read it for a while, but on re-reading it to write this review, I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Once again, I am drawn to the emphasis on the individual and their ability to be creative, adaptable, and innovative. These concepts seem, in my eyes, to be lost in finance education but are fundamental to a strong real-world financial system that avoids the effects of the groupthink seen in the 2008 financial crash.

This compendium of authors writing around their specific expertise is a compelling read. However, I chose it specifically for one chapter, the chapter on "Communication Apprehension and Accounting Education."

Two of the authors of this chapter were my professors when I was at university and their novel approach to education and assessment, which was years before its time, laid the foundations for skills and behaviors I have used in both my commercial and academic life. Increasingly I see students and professionals who are not as successful in their career due to a lack of communication skills.

For me, this book provides a practical and thought-provoking approach for those looking to understand a fundamental component of the financial world in the 21st century.

Aside from valuing businesses for investment purposes, I am a practitioner of the valuation of private (or “closely held”) businesses. In my profession of business valuation, the late Shannon Pratt is widely recognized as one of the leading gurus, not least because of the six editions of Valuing a Business. I recommend this book here because, if one can master even a few of the rigorous business valuation methods detailed in this book, that will elevate one’s value investing skills tremendously. The previous books all set the stage and offer enough practical advice for one to progress from beginner to intermediate but, for those eager to master business valuation and, therefore, the determination of intrinsic value, Valuing a Business would be the next logical step. 

One of the risks that the Compliance Officers oversee is the risk of money laundering; depending on how it is managed, it is possible to minimize reputational risk. This book helped me pinpoint precisely the necessary elements that must be included in a compliance plan to achieve strong corporate responsibility and compliance culture. By having those controls in place, money laundering and even any other white-crime risk are minimized and, incidentally, reputational risk. If you apply this, the company you work for it's going to be protected, and your boss is going to be happy, a win-win for everyone!

I loved this and found it both interesting and helpful when it first appeared, and I reckon anyone could still benefit from reading it now. Based on research across a range of industry sectors identifies what makes a manager and an organization successful and provides guidance about how action should be taken.

What I like about it is that once noted, its ideas seem like common sense (they are!) but are factors so easily missed or shortchanged in the hurley-burley of corporate life. 

This is one of the very few books about corporate governance that provides truly useful, non-obvious tools for improving performance. Starting with a very good exposition of the challenges of modern corporate governance, Martin Hilb offers a variety of charts, self-tests, and questions for reflection that help owners, board members, and executives come to grips with their different roles in directing and controlling the firm. The situations discussed and the advice offered are relevant for listed and private companies – the best short primer on how to apply corporate governance.

This little book makes the questions around corporate governance in the family firm come alive with examples, people, and, even, feelings. Too often, corporate governance is considered unnecessary where family ties are supposed to make up for missing structure. Aronoff and Ward show how family ties can get in the way of sound business practices and make a very strong case for prioritizing governance in the family business. Governance in the family business, unlike governance in the listed company, needs to be precisely tailored to the situation, and this book provides a blueprint for starting the process.

Many people know that American democracy and capitalism have been on a downward spiral for decades. The system is rigged, former Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich sounds the alarm throughout his excellent book The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It. He goes deep into these questions as he supports the provocative thesis that despite acrimonious partisan polarization, the real contest is not between the right and left but between democracy and oligarchy; and that the vast majority of citizens (Republicans, Democrats, and Independents) are getting poorer and wield “near-zero” political power. Oligarchs—JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon is their embodiment—have amassed enormous sums of capital and political power, which allows them to further rig the system through campaign contributions, successful lobbying, and even criminal actions for which, if caught, they only pay nominal fines.