Naked Finance: Business Finance Pure and Simple

Meckin, an accountant and managing director at a financial consulting firm, adopts a “tell them what you are going to say, say it, then summarize it in both words and pictures presentation style” in this volume. While his simple approach may be too basic for managers or those with advanced financial literacy, newcomers to the subject will benefit from its nuts and bolts explanations. Meckin acknowledges that financial statements and the mechanisms behind them are plagued by technical jargon, which he aims to strip away. His friendly tone leads readers through explanations of such concepts as calculating profit, a dividend yield’s significance and the relationship between cash management and profit management, leaving nothing to interpretation. At heart the book is an introduction to accounting principles. As with Meckin’s labored metaphor comparing financial management to driving a car, the simplicity can at times be pedantic. Inclusion of the skeleton of the book’s outline—“bare bones” summaries are ghoulishly illustrated with skeletons—make it an easy skim. (Feb. 11)