Accounting Books

Steve's first book (Advanced Project Portfolio Management and the PMO with Gerald Kendall) transformed the perception of a PMO from a project cost management/efficiency cop to a potential profit center, raising the bar for most organizations. He (along with Richard Lanza) has pushed the envelope again making the case for the PMO as the best qualified entity for preventing financial losses to the corporation due to project fraud.

The term project fraud may at first seem a harsh characterization of the poor project success rates that most management accepts as the status quo. However, Rollins and Lanza do an excellent job of mapping the COSO Control Framework to the execution of project objectives and the performance of project personnel. They include diagrams, descriptions and questions to assist in the performance of a Project Fraud Risk Assessment. The underlying conclusions are that poor manmagement of project fraud can seriusly hurt corporate business objectives and that the PMO is best suited to perform this function.

This is must reading for PMO Directors struggling to get the visibility and executive blessing needed to effectively fulfill their mission.

This is a necessary reference for effective project management and Section 404 compliance under Sarbanes-Oxley. The book provideds an abundance of checklists and questions that will make this an ongoing well used reference for ensuring continued corporate governance. The reality of project fraud and its widespread impact is clearly spelled out. Rollins and Lanza accomplished their objective with well stated structures for breaking down the work steps needed to prevent fraud and establish effective internal controls for managing projects. You get your money's worth with this book.

Sub-Title: Preventing Project Fraud And Ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

Sarbanes-Oxley is one of those things that you really wish Congress had to apply to themselves rather than just imposing it on the rest of us. It has certainly made life interesting. In terms of project management, it's intent is to ensure that a project proceeds to work on its stated mission, correctly utilizing the projects resources, and eliminate improper dealings with project vendors for personal enrichment.

A key problem is to distinguish between fraud and mismanagement, conspiracy and incompetence. An interesting project discussed in the book is the California State Welfare Automation Project where the project was so confused that they still can't say if fraud ocurred. From this example the reporting procedures that may prevent the reocurrance of such situations is developed by looking as many areas where fraud can at least be expected to occur.

This situation wouldn't be so critical if the law weren't written so that people can be put in jail for not instituting proper controls where proper controls are a matter of opinion. This book gives the best analysis of current thinking, subject to change of course as the courts deal with the problem.

As a project manager, I was very interested to read this book. The consequences of unchecked fraudulent activity in the public and private sectors does more than affect the "bottom line." It erodes public confidence in the ability of managers to protect the assets assigned to their care.

Within organizations, fraud robs employees of the resources they need to fulfill their obligations. This book gives project managers, auditors, and fraud investigators a "blueprint" for taking effective collaborative action to both uncover and prevent fraud during the life of projects. Since so much business activity is project-based, it's a wonder we had to wait so long for it.

The book's organization makes it easy to follow the argument that fraud can be dealt with effectively. The Preface clearly states the purpose of the book. Each chapter is divided by important topics within. This is accurately reflected in the table of contents. Each chapter is also neatly summarized at the end. It has a helpful index at the back of the book as well.

The Appendices are helpful, too. They supplement the text by providing a "List of Sarbanes-Oxley Act Sections," "Decision Tree for Software Development Projects," and "Project Fraud Management Policy Template."

The authors have the necessary professional credentials and the extensive experience needed to synthesize the subject matter. They have the all-important credibility to support their contentions.

I thought the book brought together the best of project management and financial auditing to offer concerned professionals a "roadmap" to more control. It provides checklists and guidelines that enable project managers and internal auditors to work together.

The book should, of course, appeal to the above-mentioned professionals. It should also be read and understood by top-level corporate managers who want to make use of available professional skills to effectively fight fraud.

When I first bought this book, I expected yet another book on maximizing your wealth, to the exclusion of any other consideration. But I was intrigued by the book's claims that it was written specifically for women, so I bought it.

This book understands that many of my goals and values are qualitative and are not specifically tied to my net asset value. But it also realizes that income and wealth can directly affect my ability to do the things I do find important, whether it is allowing me to contribute to my favorite charity, taking that much needed trip to Paris every other year or making sure I have the flexibility a few years from now to choose a different career.

I liked the practical step by step approach, the fact that it addressed all aspects of wealth management from judicious use of debt to saving and investing to understanding your spending to maximizing your employment income and opportunities. As someone no longer in her twenties, I also appreciated that for once their was a book with a practical guide to getting started that was geared toward starting at any age.

Much like the periodic reviews it advocates, I am going to put this book on my calendar and return to it once a year to make sure my life goals and my financial goals are still aligned.

I highly recommend this for women of any age who want to gain a healthy perspective on money and wealth.

When I first bought this book, I expected yet another book on maximizing your wealth, to the exclusion of any other consideration. But I was intrigued by the book's claims that it was written specifically for women, so I bought it.

This book understands that many of my goals and values are qualitative and are not specifically tied to my net asset value. But it also realizes that income and wealth can directly affect my ability to do the things I do find important, whether it is allowing me to contribute to my favorite charity, taking that much needed trip to Paris every other year or making sure I have the flexibility a few years from now to choose a different career.

I liked the practical step by step approach, the fact that it addressed all aspects of wealth management from judicious use of debt to saving and investing to understanding your spending to maximizing your employment income and opportunities. As someone no longer in her twenties, I also appreciated that for once their was a book with a practical guide to getting started that was geared toward starting at any age.

Much like the periodic reviews it advocates, I am going to put this book on my calendar and return to it once a year to make sure my life goals and my financial goals are still aligned.

I highly recommend this for women of any age who want to gain a healthy perspective on money and wealth.

When I sat down with this book, I thought that I would read the first couple of pages for the night. However, this book hit so many personal aspects of my life that I was into four chapters before I put the book down.

Not only does it illustrate what women are faced with in this day and age, but it shows that each one of us are different and yet, we are all trying to accomplish one goal. This book is making me come to terms with money management issues that I have been ignoring for some time. But, it also lets me know that I am not alone.

I like the step by step approach that the author has taken to help us look at ourselves and to help us set realistic goals for ourselves.

This book is a must for all women, whether you are trying to make it on your own or you are trying to get out of the shadows of your spouse. You are not alone. Read it and enjoy some truly remarkable ideas for a better tomorrow.

When I first bought this book, I expected yet another book on maximizing your wealth, to the exclusion of any other consideration. But I was intrigued by the book's claims that it was written specifically for women, so I bought it.

This book understands that many of my goals and values are qualitative and are not specifically tied to my net asset value. But it also realizes that income and wealth can directly affect my ability to do the things I do find important, whether it is allowing me to contribute to my favorite charity, taking that much needed trip to Paris every other year or making sure I have the flexibility a few years from now to choose a different career.

I liked the practical step by step approach, the fact that it addressed all aspects of wealth management from judicious use of debt to saving and investing to understanding your spending to maximizing your employment income and opportunities. As someone no longer in her twenties, I also appreciated that for once their was a book with a practical guide to getting started that was geared toward starting at any age.

Much like the periodic reviews it advocates, I am going to put this book on my calendar and return to it once a year to make sure my life goals and my financial goals are still aligned.

I highly recommend this for women of any age who want to gain a healthy perspective on money and wealth.

A solid, fluid look at experimental economics! In these turbulent times on Wall Street (and really in markets around the world) this proves to be a great source of how we've come to this point, but more importantly, where we can go from here.

Miller provides in-depth insight into past financial market events and by doing so sheds light on what might happen today on several fronts. Three examples: His discussion of the 1998 Long-Term Capital Management debacle is relevant for understanding current risks in hedge funds. His analysis of 1980s portfolio insurance should add to concerns about the proliferation of capital guaranteed notes. His take on market circuit breakers, which he describes as regulatory folly, raises the question of what would happen today if these were triggered.

While the book reviews a large and varied body of academic research, focusing heavily on the experimental economics that the author subscribes to, it offers practical conclusions that anybody interested in finance will find worthwhile. As a financial journalist, I found it very useful.

However, because it covers a lot of ground, readers may want to pick and choose what they want to read from the index. The chapter and section headings, while entertaining, are not good guides for this purpose.

But that's not my only reason for thinking this a great book.

Ross M. Miller makes three large claims here. I think he makes good on the first two. I'm not so sure about the third, but even there he makes a case that needs to be made.

First, he explains that one branch of economics has become an experimental science.

Second, he says that this variant of economics has produced important results - theorems disclosing how markets might best be structured or restructured, and how the privatization of now-public goods might be accomplished, in ways that could produce enormous productivity gains.

He more pessimistically claims though, thirdly, that these theorems probably won't produce such gains, because in doing so they would hurt politically powerful interests.

The idea of "experimental economics" is simple enough: a college professor need only ask his students to co-operate in a simple auction-based game, so that he (and they) can observe the process by which prices come into existence under simplified conditions. Once a body of observations has developed, he and other experimenters can vary the rules and conditions of the game and observe the effect the changes have upon the trading strategies of the players and the game outcomes.

It was at Harvard University, in the 1940s, that such experiments got their start, in the classroom of Professor Edward Chamberlain. In the decades since, a body of observations has developed that in some respects supports neoclassical economic theory, but that in one crucial respect calls for its modification. Neoclassical theory needs to be modified to account for the possibility of irrational price bubbles. What is of greater policy importance, though, is that post-Chamberlainian experiments have given us a good idea of how markets can be structured to prevent bubble formation.

About 1975, when Ross Miller and I were grad students in economics, there was a consensus "economic view of the world." Economists who had to deal with the real world -- policy makers and development types -- didn't really believe it, but the mainstream did. Not only believed it, but took it for granted.

That's not true today. The consensus is fragmenting. If you want to understand the underpinnings of this intellectual shift, read Ross's book. It's written clearly, even excitingly, with well-chosen examples. And it is written by a real economist, who's trying to understand what's right and what's wrong about how we think about the economic world.

This is the best book of its kind, and, as we all know, there are thousands of books on finance and money matters available. It has Suze Ormond beat hands down. This book is informative, amusing, and well written. It deals with a topic that can at times be dry, but because of the breezy style and frequent use of personal anecdotes and quotes from other well-known financial people, this book is a fast read. One of its great features is that each chapter deals with a separate and specific topic, so that one can read the chapters out of order as one's interest dictates, or skip chapters altogether that are not of particular interest. Another excellent feature not found in other books of this kind is the workbook which allows you to assess your level of understanding. In conclusion, this woman really knows her stuff. I thought I knew a lot about money, but I knew a lot more after reading this book.

Lorayne's financial advice parallels that of Warren Buffet! She is adament about gaining control of your personal finances and suggests simple yet extremely effective ways to accomplish this. Her stories are as comical as witty, and to imagine this city gal off in the midst of the bucolic backwoods is as comedic a senario as on could imagine. Although I have never met her, Lorayne's vivacious personality pours out through every page and her motivation and love of finances becomes very infectious. It is my civic duty and fiduciary responsibility to implore you to take charge of your finances by leanding her an ear! Get one hell of a financial workout with her! If you seek financial freedom-this is the information that will send you sprinting to the bank, laughing all the way!

This is the best book of its kind, and, as we all know, there are thousands of books on finance and money matters available. It has Suze Ormond beat hands down. This book is informative, amusing, and well written. It deals with a topic that can at times be dry, but because of the breezy style and frequent use of personal anecdotes and quotes from other well-known financial people, this book is a fast read. One of its great features is that each chapter deals with a separate and specific topic, so that one can read the chapters out of order as one's interest dictates, or skip chapters altogether that are not of particular interest. Another excellent feature not found in other books of this kind is the workbook which allows you to assess your level of understanding. In conclusion, this woman really knows her stuff. I thought I knew a lot about money, but I knew a lot more after reading this book.

I found this book very informative and helpful. It is well written and keeps you interested. It is not just a bunch of boring financial dribble. I would have given it 5 stars but there were some sections in the book that did not apply at all to me so I skipped a few chapters. Overall a good book especially for those who want to head a certain direction financially but just don't quite know how.

The Financial Management 101 book has been a good book of reference. When I need to be sure of what should be debited or credited, I used this book for reference. It also helps me to keep good business sense in perspective and in its rightful place. I also have the bookkeeping resource book as well.

This is a fantastic book - so much cheaper than spending the money for an accountant to explain all to you. The book is easy to read and understand even for a dummy like me just setting up a business. Just like her other book ("Bookkeeper's Boot Camp"), the case studies keep the information from being too dry and helps explain in layman's terms what each chapter is teaching. More books in this series please !!!

Financial Management 101: Get A Grip On Your Business Numbers by business columnist Angie Mohr (who is also a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant) is an thoroughly "reader friendly" guidebook designed specifically for small business owners and managers, and which methodically teaches the reader all of the basics about balance sheets, income statements, monthly budget reports, ratio analysis, dealing with inventory problems, dealing with debt, and more. Financial Management 101 is an absolute "must-read" for any business owner new to the complexities of finance and needing to competently analyze financial data, measure business success, and have an accurate and on-going comprehension of their fiscal bottom line.

An excellent book from the new Numbers 101 series (see Bookkeepers' Boot Camp). The author shows you how to get the most profit from a small business as you possibly can by using simple financial management techniques -- something like what a person who has a degree in finance or business would know and use. But it's all spelled out in easy steps. It's sort of like hiring an MBA consultant for your small business, but for a lot less money!

I USED THIS BOOK FOR MY UNDERGRADUATE COURSE IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCE COURSE. IT HAS HELPED ME TO LIKE THE SUBJECT AND GET A FIRST CLASS GRADE ON THE SUBJECT. THANK YOU

This book is clearly written, it has many numerical examples and case studies and has a strong theoretical underpinning. I strongly recommend this book to students studying for Internatioanl Business and Finance at undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

This book is clearly written, it has many numerical examples and case studies and has a strong theoretical underpinning. I strongly recommend this book to students studying for Internatioanl Business and Finance at undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

One of the most interesting and helpful textbooks available on the market for studying International aspects of Financial Management and Business. This book is suitable for Business and Accounting students in their second and third year undergraduate studies as well as for post graduate students. Especially useful for students from Europe and the USA as it has many practical examples and case studies from European and US companies and markets. The book also reviews the findings of many current empirical and theoretical research studies published in top academic journals, thus provides a strong theoretical foundation for the subjects covered in the book. The book has three main sections: International Financial Markets; Internatioanl Risk Management and International Performance Evaluation and Control in Multinational Companies. A Highly recommended text book for anyone interested in studying International Business and Finance.

Before I read Greg Rogers book, I thought accountants were mere number crunchers and that the lion's share of the crunching would eventually be performed by a sophisticated software package-- or at least people in India. The happy truth (for accountants, anyway,) is that accounting is an inherently SUBJECTIVE (and, therefore, not highly-outsourcable discipline.) A less happy (and somewhat scary) truth is that I actually found Rogers' treatment of accounting fascinating. Yes, it may be that I need to get a life, but this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to excel in the environmental industry.

As a testament to the readability of the book, I will share a short anecdote. In preparation for a presentation that I was to give at a large accounting firm in New Jersey on behalf of my environmental consulting company(Hydrotechnology Consultants, Inc.), I asked my assistant to order Rogers' book on Amazon. She unwittingly requested shipping via media mail (a.k.a. snail mail.) As the date for the seminar approached, she assured me that the book was scheduled to arrive "any day." It was two days before the seminar and the book had apparently taken a detour to media mail hell. I told her that she needed to secure the book for me by the next day or invest in a warm hat and a pair of gloves-- because it tends to get rather cold in the unemployment line. In desperation, she called Greg Rogers and begged him to ship the book overnight. Greg took pity on her plight and shipped the book for morning delivery-- leaving me exactly one day to read the book, digest its contents and regurgitate it to an audience of accountants. To make a long story short, the presentation went off without a hitch. The accountants were highly impressed with my knowledge of environmental accounting, but seemed somewhat uncomfortable with my level of enthusiasm. Therefore, I offer this advice to Greg Rogers: place a label on the book cover which reads, "Caution: Contents May Shock and Awe!"

I have been an environmental lawyer for over 20 years and say without hestitation that this is the best single volume book on SEC and Environmental Disclosure that I have ever read. Other books explain how accounting principles operate but Greg Rogers not only easily dissects these complex concepts in a way that is easily understandable to lawyers without any financial or accounting background but also illustrates their application to environmental issues. You will feel like an expert after reading this book.

This books pulls together brilliantly the complexities of the multi-disciplinary challenges of reporting environmental liabilities after Sarbanes-Oxley and FIN 47.

All other books and papers I read are focused on one angle of the topic, looking at environmental liabilities in just one dimension. This book saves hours of study and research, all work is done for the reader. Quick read, logically structured.

Finally, someone got it right. This might be the most important book written about environmental management in years.

New accounting standards will feed environmental management into the teeth of Sarbanes-Oxley. Readers get all the information they need in a format that is accessible to a wide variety of professional disciplines.

It is a very useful book for the people who don't know anything about risk management and especially financial risk management in banks.

The author gives a brief history of the banking history, mainly in the USA and thus motivates the introduction of the several subsequent regulations put in place, and of the different methods os assesing risk and optimising capital allocation. The book excells in simple yet powerful risk management techniques for banks. I have recommended (and, in fact some times given away) this book both to my students and my colleagues in the asset management industry.

Asset liability management can get rather complicated. The authors treat this subject in a very user friendly way that the layperson can understand, and the technician can get good guidance out of.

They cover all the basics really well. After studying this book, you will have a very good understanding of gap analysis, duration, shareholder value added, liquidity management, and other related subject.

The book offers a perfectly simple approach to ALM in banking. I cannot imagine a more concise framework for this subject. The authors fully attain their objective of providing fun reading for a banking subject,something really out of this world.

"Foundation and Endowment Investing" by Larry Kochard (himself a top Chief Investment Officer) and Cathleen Rittereiser is a very well written and valuable book. While providing an excellent general overview of how the investment landscape has changed for some of the most innovative investors today, I found the most interesting and valuable section to be the profiles of 12 of the top endowment and foundation CIOs. The authors obviously spent hours interviewing and gaining insights from these titans of the investing world, resulting in a very readable and valuable book.

Clearly Kochard and Rittereiser know how to ask CIOs important questions as they themselves are insiders in the foundation/endowment field. Their years of industry experience and network with these accomplished CIOs has made reading their book an eye-opening experience. The interviews are conducted with highest quality that are conducive to bringing out sharpest, practical and candid observations by these industry-recognized CIOs. I also think that the writing is sharp and clear-cut that help to drive home key takeaways for readers . Many investment professionals, whether or not working in the endowment/foundation field will benefit from reading the book to have a grasp of today's fast-changing and more complexed global investing. I do hope to see sequels from the two authors as they have proven to work together so well.

Authors Larry Kochard and Cathleen Rittereiser have published an instructive and rare look behind the scenes of a collection of elite endowments and foundations. Their important text enhances and expands the good work of David Swensen in "Pioneering Portfolio Management" by revealing the thoughts and investment processes of a dozen accomplished Chief Investment Officers. "Foundation & Investment Investing" will be valuable for a broad universe of readers including CIOs, board members, investment staff professionals, portfolio managers and analysts, fund marketing professionals, business professors and their students, and individual investors. As foundation and endowment investment offices can be challenging to understand, I have bought additional copies for my colleagues in our equity hedge fund. I have also bought copies for a few individual investors who have asked for my guidance on managing their retirement portfolios in this increasingly volatile and complex investment environment. The final chapter observes that the CIOs interviewed are "all likable people". I agree, and enjoyed the sharp and candid insights of each of the CIOs. The interviews with Mark Yusko and Alice Handy were particularly enjoyable and instructive.

As CIO of Georgetown University and investment management executive of Alternative Asset Managers, respectively, the authors' historical perspectives and informed commentary are interesting, and their organizations are lucky to have them.

I hope Kochard and Rittereiser are interviewing another dozen CIOs for a sequel to this excellent and important investment management book!

Starting with the thorough introduction, this book taught me volumes about foundation investing. I sit on a foundation board, and I feel much more comfortable with investment policy discussions now! I recommend this book and have loaned my copy out to our executive director.

In this lengthy and detailed survey of the private banking and wealth management business, David Maude offers a picture of the current condition of the industry and provides historical detail about how the very wealthy manage their affairs. His objective and balanced chapters examine the challenges confronting the business today, as client relationships change, and he offers a vision for the future. This book probably belongs on the shelf of those in the private banking and wealth management business, or those rich enough to need the advice. We recommend it to anyone with an interest in how other people's money is managed.

If you are experienced wealth manager of just starting the carrier in this book you will find everything you need - from most recent trends in the market to client profiling, segmentation to business structures. That is the book I was looking for ages. My respect and acknowledgement to the author.

A book any banking professionnal should read to understand the stategics underlying the wealth management industrie.

Fantastic book. Genuinely global perspective and bang up to date. includes difficult-to-get data on industry economics and benchmarks, a fascinating future perspective on industry growth, and incisive analysis of a vast range of surveys and reports that I (a financial services strategy veteran) never knew existed. Very clear and well written. Invaluable for helping our organisatn develop a wealth management strategy.