How to Read a Balance Sheet: The Bottom Line on What You Need to Know about Cash Flow, Assets, Debt, Equity, Profit...and How It all Comes Together

I am a Finance major currently studying at University, yet, this book has given me an unambiguous understanding of a subject matter that many consider unclear and extremely challenging. I myself have fallen into a similar dilemma within lectures, needing to fully grasp my professors' way of communicating Finance and Economics. However, Mr. Makoujy's "How To Read a Balance Sheet" has enlightened me to understand real-world Financial Literacy in such a concise book. I would highly recommend this work to anyone willing and able to begin, broaden, or grow their financial background and basic understanding. In fact, I CONSIDER IT GOLD.

A good basic primer written in an approachable style without being dumbed down. The writer gives good overview of Balance Sheet and Income Statement, discounting the relative importance of Cash Flow statement. Interesting discussion of aspects of financial statements that are subject to manipulation.

I really enjoyed this book. I just wish this book could have been available 20 years ago when I was in college. This book accomplished in a few hours what a boring professor struggled to do in a whole semester... to teach me the basics of accounting and financial statements. My professor made me feel dumb. This book helped me feel smart again. I appreciated the examples and easy to follow scenarios in the book, which helped me to see how certain financial concepts and ideas show up in everyday business situations and reality. Thanks for writing a book for the general public.

Too many (parentheses) in a sentence which throws me off from the main point. Other than that, its an ok book.

This book provides a clear, accessible, and comprehensive guide to understanding balance sheets, cash flow statements, and financial reports, making complex financial concepts remarkably straightforward. The author provides easy to understand examples and scenarios. I highly recommend this book!

I was alittle intimidated when I bought this book that it would be too complicated and difficult to understand. It was the exact opposite. A very easy to read book with steps and instructions that any beginner could follow. I notice that after reading this book, I am even using terms and phrase in the book in my conversations with my coworkers and colleagues and am using the methods and practices shown on a daily basis. I would definitely recommend to any newcomers learning and any experts brushing up on their skills as a refresher.

Gives good grounding.

One of the best finance books I have ever read. It feels like you are a completely new person after reading this book. I didn't realize how much of a disadvantage I was at because I didn't know how to read balance sheets. I am a part-time positional trader and this book has opened my eyes and changed the way I look at companies. I will say it has definitely helped just a few days ago when I shorted $MU after reading their financials with what I learned by this book. Next 2 days the stock went down 11% because they had a very high debt to equity ratios and were highly over leveraged, two terms I didn't understand before this book.

A great introduction to accounting that unlocks much of the ubiquitous language of company accounts and reporting. A worthy read.

Don't purchase it ! wasting your time & money 👎

Ich habe ökonomischen Hintergrund, allerdings hatte ich nie eine BWL-Vorlesung und somit keinen Hintergrund in Finanzwesen. Für die Arbeit muss ich immer wieder Bilanzen lesen können, um zu verstehen, wie sich die Kosten eines Unternehmens historisch entwickelt haben, was ein angemessener Working Capital wäre und solche einfache Sachen. Ich muss keine Bilanzen nach Richtigkeit prüfen oder Investitionsempfehlungen machen. Für meine Bedürfnisse reicht das Buch aus - es ist schön geschrieben, liest sich leicht und die Begriffe sind einfach und anhand von Beispielen erklärt. Es schafft ein gutes Grundverständnis für die Hauptbegriffe. Ich brauchte genau das, daher bin ich sehr zufrieden.

I don’t have a business background and used this book to prepare for consulting interviews as well as to build up my knowledge on business topics to make wiser decisions in investing. This book turned out to be just the thing I needed. It gets to the point quickly and is very easy to understand.

Perfect for any investors looking to learn to read through financial data