Accounting Books

A very well done, if a bit dated, introduction to how to invest without eating up your funds and profits with unnecessary fees. Basically stay away from brokers and anyone affiliated with them and you are much better off.

This is an excellent work for new investors, especially thosewho can only start on $50 a month to invest. Based upon his ownresearch as a professor, Craig states: "Investing in stock mutualfunds reduces the chance of experiencing negative returns compared toinvesting in individual stocks." And, he backs up this claim:"Investors who patiently and intelligently invest over a longperiod of time end up being rewarded by volatility rather than hurt byit." One should definitely check out his "Frugal FortyMutual Funds, Grouped by Equity Style" chart on p.39. This bookis meant for anyone to read and understand. It is an easy read--as ifyou were listening to Craig tell you about this. Before one reads"Mutual Funds for Dummies" or even any of Bach, Clements, orSuze Orman, read this first! His students love him, and so willeveryone that reads this short, very readable, and packed full of goodadvice book.

An excellent read that is current on the fast changing times in the stock market. A great deal of research went into this book and it would take many years of study and fact finding to replicate the data on your own. This book has the cutting edge investment strategies from the mid-90's through the new millennium to harnes your financial future, regardless of income or knowledge. This book is both a great tool of the trade for a seasoned investor and a great starting point for the beginning investor. Save yourself $...and four years of college with this book. If you already have your financial ducks in a row - then give this book to your children or a friend - it will pay dividends for generations. The author is a wonderful father, husband, community leader, friend and the best college professor I ever had. His advice has served me wonderfully over the years - it will do the same for you.

This new book is well-written, helpful and painstakingly researched. It's filled with dozens of interesting tables and charts. Israelsen preaches the benefits of long-term investing rather than day-trading and short-term buying and selling. The first chapter, "The Investment Thing," clearly answers such questions as: Why invest in stock? Why do corporations sell stock? What causes the price of a stock to go up or down? How does annual return translate into actual dollar gains? With these basic questions answered, you are ready to absorb chapters on investment risks, mutual funds, how to get into investing, buying stock directly from companies, taxes, and finally, a battle plan. Includes great information on how to save for your children's education as well as retirement. Filled with smart advice and written in an easy-to-understand fashion, "The Thrifty Investor" is a great investment of your time -- and money.

I have been to many trading seminars and spent thousands of dollars on my trading education. None of the so called "experts" have ever mentioned anything like what I learned in this book. For someone like me, it's taken my trading education holes and totally filled them! I would highly recommend this book to any novice trader looking to improve his results in daytrading the E-mini S&P or Russell Futures contracts! I can't say enough about how much it could improve your results.

This book is very inspiring. Mr. Cheung demonstrates hardworking can work in trading that trader need to spend time after market to research and practice in order to keep up with high performance during trading. After I read it, i purchased three more to send to my friends. It's beneficial and must read for traders.

great book with new idea. I haven't found a more valuable book in recent years. Mr. Cheung (the editor) gives out his trading secrets of using NQ to trade ES. In the past, I have seen traders using ES to trade Dow, bond to trade ES etc. But using NQ to trade ES is the first time. I think the editor has put in great effort in his own trading through a scientific approach. It's inspirable and I strongly recommend traders at all levels to read this book

The book starts out with the good trading advice that seems obligatory
these days. The big difference here is that it is presented in an easy
manner, and offers definitive, concrete rules to ensure adherence to
that advice.

The concept behind all the methods is the relationship between the SP500
and Nasdaq E-mini future contracts. These methods are the basis of the
system rated so highly in recent years by "Futures Truth," which thought
the concept unique for a system. Evidently, it is not so new, as Gary Smith,
in his book, "How I Trade For a Living" relates an anecdote of a
highly successful trader that used the difference between the SP500 and
the Dow.

As successful as the system is today, we know the markets are dynamic,
and the strategies as given will not hold up in the future. Also, no
effort is made to equalize the differences of the two index future contracts
in making comparisons, and constant point values are used as trigger points
in the strategies rather than some proportional method.

Another drawback is that the book is loaded with filler, mainly in the form
of constant unnecessary listings of five minute data in the examples.
And the book obviously has been written to hype the sale of related methods
and the seminars.

Still, these index future relationships add another dimension to trading
and should be explored. The ideas in the strategies have proven value,
and the rules in the strategies can easily be improved upon.

Robert Monks is a kind of a modern day "Don Quijote", battling single handed against corporate dirty tricks. This book tells the very interesting story of how the modern corporate governance movement got under way. A very important read.

Hilary Rosenberg has successfully woven together an engaging biography of a fascinating figure in the corporate world, an intriguing tale of the machinations of big business and government and a necessary primer for corporate shareholders, board members and officers on what rights, responsibilities and duties each has and should expect from the other. Ms. Rosenberg's writing style not only keeps the pages turning for the uninitiated reader but her excellent documentation throughout the volume allows the serious student to use this book as a reference source. A great read for all and a must read for every corporate shareholder, officer and board member.

A minister's son takes on the corporate establishment in this illuminating and exciting story of business, politics, and the power of ideas. Robert Monks says, "I've got this beautiful place, a beautiful wife, more than anyone can ask for. What else should I do with my time but think about big important issues?" He does much more than think -- as he also says, "You were not put on earth to be a spectator." His thoughts about big, important issues like corporate governance and accountability have transformed the behavior of every corporate director, every CEO, and every institutional investor in America. His adventures in breaking up Sears, replacing eight directors and three CEOs at Stone & Webster, and running in a roller coaster senatorial campaign read like a Tom Wolfe novel. Monks confronts CEOs (even picking one up and threatening to throw him through a window), takes out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal calling the Sears board "non-performing assets," and runs as an opposition candidate for one seat on the board of Sears. The lively and perceptive writing matches the lively and engaging subject. Must reading for anyone in the corporate world as a manager, director, or shareholder.

A Traitor to His Class, Robert A.G. Monks and the Battle to Change Corporate America, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. by Hilary Rosenberg

Consider a book about a large man who built a small fortune in order to carry out a big idea. This biographical work extends the lessons of Robert Monks' previous books, Power and Accountability (1993) and Corporate Governancej (1995), about the need for reform of American corporate governance and together they constitute the best source for the intellectual origins and history of that movement, a subject (now after twenty years) part of every business school syllabus.

To those who know him, Mr. Monks is a large man, not just in physical power but in the energy of his mind and vision. It must have taken more than rowing in the Harvard and Cambridge eights to generate the qualities needed to put his ideas on the national agenda. The words relentless, persistent, methodical, demanding, resilient, self-questioning, optimistic, risk-taking occur to many of his allies and opponents in the struggle. Experience counts, too. Along the way Mr. Monks is observed in various roles: lawyer, real estate businessman, CEO, venture capitalist, fund manager, director, politician (unsuccessful) and public servant. The battle plan appears to be to surround the problem and attack from every angle. Not every engagement is a victory. Time and again he bounces back.

There are plenty of numbers in the book for the specialist reader. You learn about how to take over a company without putting up any money, rather as a chef uses egg whites to conjure up a soufflé. The essence of the problem is that there are 800,000 pension funds governed by the Department of Labor's ERISA program. They own publicly traded shares to a value of $1.25 trillion or 25% of the U.S. equity market. The power of their ownership, until Mr. Monks and a few others came along, was unrepresented and therefore ignored by American corporations. Left unsaid is that the financial press must have been asleep for a few generations, accepting press handouts from corporations rather than responsibility to report on corporate America.

When you think about it, the idea is a big one. It dawned as an epiphany on Mr. Monks in 1977 when he chanced upon a proxy form of a large paper company which he knew to be polluting a river in Maine with its discharge. Why are corporations not accountable to their shareholding owners, what are the requirements of corporate governance? He becomes the Pensions Administrator at the Department of Labor where he is able to change some rules of the game. He goads major pension funds into recognizing their power and responsibility. He establishes the leading company in the field of proxy management. All the time he is amassing information, advocating his cause in any and every forum, writing the text book, girding for war.

Chance favors the prepared mind, said Louis Pasteur. Mr. Monks was ready to take the battle to corporate America. Sears, Westinghouse, American Express, Eastman Kodak, Stone and Webster and other poorly managed, undervalued companies became the targets. The names have a ring to them, like the names of Napoleon's battles. Mr. Monks called for better financial management, strategic planning and corporate governance. He asked for confidential shareholder voting, the addition of independent directors, the elimination of staggered boards, accountability to shareholders and (usually) the spin off of unprofitable businesses. The aim was to create greater value for shareholding owners through better management. The CEO's and the boardrooms didn't like it. Many of them slammed the door in Mr. Monks' face or kept him waiting for hours as a deliberate insult. Most of them could not survive. It was left for their successors to follow Mr. Monks' recommendations and watch the value of their shares rise. A good feature of the book is that the opposing CEOs were given a chance to have their say. Some of them preferred to keep quiet.

Mr. Monks is better off for it, and so are we. But most of all this book is a tribute to the power of an idea and what it takes to make it work.

George Herrick

I would like to recomend "Travel and Entertainment Best Practices" By Mary Schaeffer. I found the book to be very interesting and have applied the techinques when it comes to travel and entertainment concerning my business.

After getting Controller and CFO's Guide to Accounts Payable, I picked up Travel and Entertainment Best Practices. Again I have gotten what I needed. Using this book as an outline I can safely give sound advise on what and how to handle T&E. My situation is awkward as I have to fill the shoes of a much senior previous employee, I cant tell you valuable it is to have the wisdom of Mary imparted to me.

This book offers excellent tips/advice. Easy to read, you will use this advice over and over again if travel and entertainment are part of your working life.

I'm a financial professional from NY. I find that doing the paperwork after a business trip can sometimes be more trouble for me and and the Payable Department than the trip was worth.
Schaeffer's book will help you streamline the T&E process and provide you the information you need to put effective policies and procedures in place.
The information we used from this book helps our company save money on every trip our associates take.

I was debating for a few weeks on whether or not I should post my own comment on my book and decided that it is definitely something that I wanted to share. You obviously have to read the first story in this book which is about my mom Beverly. In a brief description, I live in San Diego but I am from Colorado. My mom lived in Colorado where I took 15 trips home to care for her while she was dying. I love Colorado and miss the snow! It has been three years on Feb 15th since she passed away. I was definitely feeling the sadness of her not being around and my wishful thinking was begging for another sign of some sort. I thought it would be the same as before if I would get anything at all. Something just to let me know she was still around. San Diego doesn't get much weather, and a snow storm, we only see those high up in Cuyamaca State Park an hour up the road, if we're lucky. I woke up on Friday Feb 15th to a very cold morning, instantly thinking about her death three years before. The News stations were buzzing about this freak snow storm that hit San Diego County. I looked out my bedroom window and in my amazement, the mountain in front of my house, just a few miles up the road, was covered in snow. This mountain is the same as on the cover of this book which is shining with "God Clouds". In the past 22 years that I have lived in San Diego, there has never been snow anywhere near this mountain. Just five minutes up the road from my house, Alpine had several inches of white fluffy snow covering the ground. I know for those out there who do not believe any of this is anything more than a mere co-incidence, you couldn't imagine the peace and comfort it gives to those of us who do believe.

I miss you mom <3

This is a great book and an easy read. I highly recommend. I have given 5 of these books away and they have all said how much they enjoyed reading it.

True Stories of Messages from Beyond gathers heart-touching true stories of those who experienced messages from loved ones who have passed on. Sometimes consoling, sometimes deeply personal, and on occasion literally life-saving, these communications and their impact on the lives of those who received them reveal that some mysteries of life and death simply cannot be explained by science. True Stories of Messages from Beyond a welcome contribution to metaphysical shelves and a comfort that the dearly departed are never truly, entirely gone.

This page turner, which is filled with stories written by those who've experienced encounters by their departed loved ones, will soften even the hardest skeptics. The first story is, by far, the most heart warming and captivating. Some of the later stories will make you seriously question your beliefs about life after death, if you haven't done so already. Many of the experiences the writers have had will give you goosebumps for there is often no logical explanation for what they describe. We recommend this book for those who love tales of encounters from the "other side" as well as those who enjoy expanding their mind and heart.

This is an extremely informative and well-written book. Building wealth is vitally dependent on legally reducing your taxes by forming companies and properly structuring your income between earned income and passive income. The author covers the various forms of company entities such as general and limited partnerships, S Corps, C Corps, and LLCs. I've read several books about corporate entities and this is the first one I've found with practical, real-world examples that explain why an S Corp is better in one situation, while a C Corp is better in another, and an LLC is better in other circumstances. I came away believing (rightly or wrongly!) that I actually understand the differences now. The author then builds on that and explain how you can use multiple entities of different types to create a solid asset protection plan. He gives an excellent example of how a actively traded investment account can be structured as a limited partnership (with brokerage accounts held inside it) and whose general partner is a corporation. I've noticed this same structure when reading annual reports over the years, and now I understand why this structure reduces liability and has very significant tax advantages.

There is much more than what I've covered here. I highlighted text on almost every page in the book. My highlighting ratio is the predominant factor of how high I will rate a book. I will continue to pull this book off the shelf and refer back to it.

I was really taken by just how vulnerable many of us are to attacks by lawsuits and other events. Asset Protection showed me a world that I never knew existed a world where greedy lawyers (who should be disbarred in my opinion) sue for a living. Actually targeting companies and individuals not because they did something wrong but simply because their assets were easy to get at. Once that target is found then an "offense" is "created".

A lot of the concepts I have heard of before but this book broke them down and made them simple to understand. I have already begun to shape my assets in line with the models in this book by working with my Lawyer and my Accountant both of whom have since bought a copy of this book and have begun to use it to discuss options with their clients. The list of missed tax deductions alone is worth a hundred times the cost of this book and I can not recommend it highly enough.

Asset Protection 101 is a book that everyone should read. We all know about corporations, LLC's, Revocable Living Trusts etc and we all know about law suits and being sued - but this book puts it altogether in an easy to read format that anyone can understand. If you want to save money on your taxes, if you want to keep from losing everything in a lawsuit, if you want to be able to pass on your estate to your family, without probate and with the least amount of taxes - then Asset Protection 101 is a "must reading" for everyone.

I know a little about business entities since I own a small business. I was worried that this book would either be over my head, or too basic. I found that it did a fantastic job of covering the basics without seeming to talk down to me. I also got some great ideas and strategies to really increase my protection and dramatically cut my taxes. JJ Childers manages to make complex strategies digestible for those not versed in legal jargon, yet doesn't talk down to anyone with familiarity in the areas he covers. Since studying JJ's strategies, I find I can understand and speak with my CPA and attorney with more confidence and comprehension. I have also found that I can make better tax and legal decisions with my new knowledge and my tax and legal advisors were impressed with my understanding of the topics of asset protection, estate planning and tax reduction. Thanks, Mr. Childers!

I am in the process of implementing some of what this suggested, and the step by step approach makes it a lot easier.

I am sure any number of businesses will benefit greatly from his book. Mr.Servens keen insight into the corporate world has proven invaluable. I especially recommend this book to budding entreprenuers, social climbers and misanthropes.

Every book I have read about shareholder value has been long on theory and short on application, but Value Planning is different. It provides a hands on blueprint for creating a value management system to grow shareholder value. It's about time!

A lot has been written about shareholder value, but there has been little written about how to put theory into practice, which is what this book does. I highly recommend it.

Required reading if you are in the appraisal business, even though it is a little dated.

This is a great book for a business library

I open this book every time I do a valuation. It is a great resource when you need to refresh your memory. The example of a professional practice valuation has been especially helpful. It's probably a little much for the business owner wanting to estimate the value of his/her business, but I would definitely recommend it to a professional.

Business Valuation is the single largest niche practice area for the CPA today. Dr. Pratt covers an extensive amount of material in this text. No valuation specialist should be without this text in his or her reference library.

This excellent, accessible, and extremely well documented integration of the economics, administrative infrastructure and politics of the economy is a must read. Canterbery clearly deflates current politically correct talking point that Dubyah's skewed tax cut is in any meaningful way related to "capital formation". With only 5% of the transactions in the stock and bond market attributable to the "primary" capital raising markets (i.e. IPOs and new treasury debt) the churning of the remaining 95% of the secondary market is the "overhead" that's necessary to achieve "efficient" pricing for capital. That's like a shop owner who has to sustain $95 in operating overhead to keep his store open in order to make $5 in sales.

Witty, insightfully integrative and deadly accurate, this is a must read.

The past decade of financial euphoria has slowly built in the public's mind the myth of the "millionaire next door," and the belief that democratic redistribution, through capital markets accessible to all, existed. This book, owing to a thorough analysis of the US capital markets, definitely draws an accurate and realistic picture of who the real "winners" are. The answer is explosive and the statements fully backed up with data. If you want to have a better understanding of how the Fed, the government, and the markets have been creating this "dream come true," this book is definitely a must read.

This book explains why the health of the stock market is not equivalent to the health of the economy. The Wall Street bull has transferred enoumous amounts of wealth from the bottom 95% to the top 5% of the population. The result is an economy that is producing goods and services at a rate that is well below its capacity to produce, reducing the standard of living of all but those few who are winning the speculative Wall Street lottery. The book is written in an engaging style with plenty of data to back up the claims. A very important book for a very crucial time in the economic history of the US.

If you want to try to understand what's going on in the financial markets, especially the role played by the Fed, then this is the book to read. Extremely stimulating, with interesting statistics to firm up the author's arguments.

Where Did the Money Go? is a must read for anyone who runs a business. Ellen Rohr has debunked the myth that one has to have a degree in accounting to understand financial reporting. That is good news for many people! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever been intimidated by the mysterious world of debits and credits.

"Where Did The Money Go?" should be required reading for anyone going into business for themselves! Ellen simplifies one of the most daunting tasks of small business...understanding financials! "Where Did The Money Go?" and it's companion book "How Much Should I Charge?" are must reads for small business owners. Without a clear understanding of YOUR cost of doing business, you'll never know how much to charge. This book will walk you step by step along the path towards really understanding the numbers. That path leads to what all businesses seek...being profitable! Paul Swan Swan Plumbing & Heating

As a business owner of multiple companies, I knew I needed to understand the numbers. But, I have always struggled with the terms and just what the numbers really meant. This book helped me read the numbers and understand the terms in a way that allowed me to deal with the "real world" financial data.

An extrodinary job of educating the basic business owner about accounting. It spells out the basics in an interesting format that keeps you turning the pages. You will feel exillerated to finally have a solid understanding of the simple terms that play such a huge "turn key" role in making money. If you want to make money, then you've got to have this one. It won't just sit on your shelf, it's an instant "plug and play" tool!