Managerial-finance

I had this book for one of my classes at my University this semester, and although the content of the book is concise and updated, nonetheless the authors rely too much on self-reference. The book is written too much from a "USA is superior" perspective. I also found some errors such as translations from other languages that were completely off. If you have to get this book for Intl. Business it is overall a good book, but if you can get a better one, do so.

Ordered this book from Littletext.com as a new hard cover and recieved a softcover international addition. I wouldn't mind using international version since there is hardly any difference, but don't bait and switch on me I don't like it. I'd buy from someone else if the price was within a couple bucks. Got my book not from Chicago as advertised, but Thailand. However it was delivered in no time.

I took a course at my university requiring this book. What I found most useful is the numerous updated examples and cases that the author provided. In addition, the discussion is objective and thought-provoking.

This book did an excellent job of covering the entire gamut of internal control from the enviroment to procedure writing. The chapter on concepts of control was particularly well written.

This book definitely prepares you for the next step-writing an I/C policy for your business.

Spencer Pickett did an excellent job in explaining internal control. It's a broad introduction covering most aspects of the issue. The business novel style, successfully used by Blanchard, Goldratt, Landsberg etc. starts with a promising, crisp first chapter of 15 easily digestable pages. However, the remaining chapters are chunks of about 50 pages of nearly endless discussions of topics in the context of a dreadlock holiday. It's like half a bottle chilled high quality red wine in the morning. The high quality is in the examples and topics, the less digestable part is the story. On the other hand, without the story, it would be as dull as a Cobit or Basel2 manual.
Fair introduction!

This book will benefit both the new and seasoned professional. Its good for new managers and auditors wanting to get a broad understanding of internal control. The Picketts touch on just about every element of control and give good examples on application. New professionals can use this book as a development tool. I expect they will need to research some of the topics more.

I found the book beneficial because it helped me bring together my understanding of control and the link to our changing business environment. That is, a business environment that wants to balance control with creativity.

I found the writer's style enjoyable and made reading on a dry topic bearable.

Topics covered include: Objectives, Risk, Policy, Internal Control Elements, and how they fit together.