Managerial-finance

For an experienced financial professional, this text does not add much value. The book touches upon a great many subjects, but does not appear to cover any one in any depth. The book may be most appropriate as an introductory text on the subject on the undergraduate level but not as a practioner's desk reference. As a professional with significant experience in investment banking with a CPA and MBA, I was looking for in-depth guide to the specific mechnanics of the contoller's function.

It has a broad coverage in topics and gives you a reasonably good introduction as well as some tips such as pros and cons of getting into certain types of transacrtions, etc., when you want to look up an topic that is not familiar to you. However, naturally due to the neture of any reference book, you would need to look for other textbooks if you want to dig into more. One thing that needs a little improvement is that there are at least a few errors in calculations and/or application of formulas (e.g. calculations related to lease transactions), which may bother you, especialy because you are looking to this handbook when you want to have a good idea on whatever the topic you are looking at since you are not too familiar with the topic....

I expected a "handbook" to show more useful detail. Not bad, but there are better desk books for the money.

There are many good books on Enron, but this isn't one of them. This book is a major disappointment. The authors cobbled together this book by reading articles about the Enron situation with no first hand research.

What should have been an interesting topic is given very dull treatment. You've read everything presented here on public policy before.

This books brings together the fundamental issues of Enron in a balanced educated way. Each author brings important experience and insight to the table about this amazing disater with more insight that those in Washington who attempt to regulate its aftermath. It is a true service to its readers.

Cornerstones of Decision Making provides an excellent perspective and grasp of the conceptual, technical, and practical aspects of enterprise activity-based management (ABM) and activity-based costing (ABC). It emphasizes the ultimate aim of enterprise-wide ABM systems-helping and improving the collective decision making throughout an organization. The generalizations regarding ABM are made practical by using 14 specific case studies of implementations of ABM systems. These studies extend far beyond manufacturing; they include service, not-for-profit, and government organizations. Examples are Blue Cross, Blue Shield, DHL, GTE Supply, and CinCFleet. Many cases span not only several continents but also industry segments and market size. Some organizations are trying to skip pilot projects and move directly to full enterprise-wide rollouts of ABM. Case examples includes American Seating and John Deere Health Care, Inc. The cases include the reports and reaction of the ABM Team members and key organization executives who have valuable implementation experiences to share. A highlight of the book is the Lessons Learned section that ends each case. Each lesson provides a brief generalization that ties directly to the individual case. Of course, there are several lessons that permeate nearly all the cases. Examples include the importance of full-time cross sectional teams, training, patience, and persistence. Above all, as the book's title implies, never lose sight of your objectives. These objectives should focus on improving collective decision making by operating managers. I strongly recommend this book for anybody who wants up-to-date knowledge about both the concepts and practices of enterprise-wide ABM. Its cases vividly illustrate the problems and solutions of how to implement ABM systems that improve collective decision making.