Business-valuation

This book is clearly designed for accountants and tax attorneys. While a layperson might find some of the checklists and so on helpful, there is also a lot of verbiage about sections of the tax code, and terminology a layperson would need to look up in the glossary. (Extra star for having a glossary, though!) I think there is a limit to how much a topic like this can be "simplified" --- it is irreducibly complex.

I was dismayed to see the number of editing errors in the book, especially given the high list price. Some of them are merely annoying, such as missing words or wrong word forms that make a sentence ungrammatical. However, some errors affect the content. In one paragraph about retirement plans, the first sentence was about "defined contribution plans"; the next sentence also started with "defined contribution plans" when it should have said "defined benefit plans". Someone who didn't already know better could be led astray by this error.

My advice: be forewarned that this book is highly technical, and buy it used unless you are a divorce professional who can write off the expense.

My rating: 3 stars, plus an extra star for the glossary

The idea is good. However, it is NOT NEW at all. Banking training companies, like Euromoney Training have been showing in their 'Bank Credit Analysis' classes for the last 14 years the importance of Non-Financial Analysis in evaluating creditworthiness of a company. They have been pointing out ever since that non-financial analysis is far more important than financial analysis (but should be carried out jointly) in understanding potential company performance. Also, there are various books published in late 1980s and early 1990s which elaborated on that point. So you see, the idea of valuing 'non-financial' intangible factors has been around for quite a while. We can only say, regarding this book, that it provides further evidence to a well-known argument. That's all.

When it comes to other points and 12 areas, i.e. the importance of branding and brands, human capital, property rights (intellectual capital), strategy execution, innovation, networking and alliances etc., there is also ample literature on the importance and detailing of these issues. We have known these factors for at least 15-20 years in their coming. So, if the book is pointing to the increasing incidence of these occurences, we can only agree with the authors. However, the discovery of these developments date back to much earlier times and the points are already "obvious" for the students of "doing business in modern times".

So, I would reccommend the book if you are a novice to the field. However, if you have a more than slight familiarity with the changing conditions of doing business in the last 10 years, the book is certainly NOT for you. It is just an ecclectic effort on a very familiar subject.