How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers

Everyone is familiar with the "Dummies" book series, and, perhaps, we all have a dozen of them on our shelves. In many cases, we reach for the "Dummies" books, because they represent our first foray into a subject we know nothing about, like "Fishing for Dummies," and we feel like we need to get a "handle" on it. In other words, we are non-experts, we'd like to learn from the experts, but we don't want to become an expert. We just want to "understand" the subject, so that we don't look stupid at work or during cocktail party conversations. The big "letdown" with most "Dummies" books I've read is that they're too wordy, too thin on substance, and you feel like you're wanting more. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH "HOW TO READ A FINANCIAL REPORT" BY JOHN TRACY. Instead, Tracy's book is that rare book for "non-majors" that is written clearly, does not require prior knowledge of the subject, and may be all that a "non-financial" manager, such as a salesperson, marketing manager, office manager -- or maybe even an individual investor -- might need to understand how to read balance sheet. Tracy's book is far from wordy, and, clocking in at around 100 pages, it is pithy. More importantly, the book is extremely well-illustrated in such a way that the reader is not treated to financial concepts, but is actually taught the "skill" of reading an income statement, a balance sheet or a cash flow report, something which "Fishing for Dummies" has yet to do for me. With Tracy's book, I will never have to read a 400-page tome on accounting or finance. If I am in trouble, I'll simply need to read this book, never confusing "net" and "gross" again.

I have used this book to teach people with absolutely no training in accounting to understand financial statements. It appeals to non-quantitative and quantitative audiences alike. Non-quantitative audiences appreciate the plain language in which the book is written. Quantitative audiences immediately see how financial statements are laid out from a modelling point of view and invariably start coding up spreadsheets. People who need to explain anything related to financial statements should thoroughly read this book to see how clearly this topic can be treated.Another aspect of this book is the ratio of success-to-effort one gets out of reading this book. Professsor Tracy's experience and time spent thinking about this topic is clearly demonstrated by his ability to explain just enough to allow even the rank beginner to understand financial statements.

No matter how hard I listen to people explain financial reports to me, I just don't get it. This book is a show-n-tell, which for me, is the way I learn. Don't get me wrong, this is not a "simple" book. Our investment club is meant to be educational. This book is an excellent teacher.