Naked Finance: Business Finance Pure and Simple is a friendly, accessible, jargon-free guide that makes finance fun and interesting for ordinary humans-essential reading for all managers, not just the financial ones! Stripping the subject down to basics, Naked Finance provides a clear view of the three key skill sets necessary for all managers: know where you're going, understand what's going on around you and take control of where you're going.Naked Finance clears away all the technical issues surrounding financial management and lays bare the practical basics needed to make sound financial decisions. It shows how to identify financial objectives, outlines how to use financial information to understand a situation and create a plan to control costs, sales, profit, cash flow and long-term projects. Simply put, Naked Finance provides the skills necessary to manage a profitable business."Nobody makes this subject more interesting and enjoyable to understand. If you want to be credible in any business conversation this book is an essential tool. You can try and pretend that understanding finance is not important to you, but actually it is essential in any business role. If you don't know your asset turnover from your cash flow, read this now!"-Fraser Longden, Director of Retail HR, B & Q "Naked Finance combines many aspects that are not seen in books that introduce finance to managers. It is written by an outstanding practitioner; it has a high degree of sophistication which will not be perceived by the technically untrained reader; it outlines how managers can understand and use finance in their jobs; and it explains it all in a clear, witty and informative manner. It is a practical and reliable guide for managers in any type of business. All in all it is a stunning introduction to finance which should be part of every manager's toolkit."-John Smullen, Senior Academic Advisor, University of Greenwich"A straightforward and easy to read book, with very clear concepts and content, extraordinary well explained, great examples."-Fernando Pina, Stores Training Manager, Nike Europe "Naked Finance takes readers on a painless (even fun) journey of financial management discovery, steering through a complex maze of financial management reports and jargon, truly stripping it down to the 'bare bones.' What I find particularly helpful is, regardless of the 'point of entry,' there is a recap on all that has gone before, which gives a clear line of sight from the journey's start point over the ground covered to date. I found it clear, concise and an easy read."-Audrey McLaren, Operations Director, Standard Life Assurance Germany "Here is a complex subject stripped to its bare essentials and delivered in an easily digestible format by a master of his brief. Over the years David Meckin has made the business of understanding finance interesting and fun for thousands of managers. This is an opportunity for everyone to benefit from his unique style-every business should have a copy to hand."-John Dean, Chief Executive, British Shops and Stores Association "...Newcomers to the subject will benefit from its nuts and bolts explanations....[Meckin's] friendly tone leads readers through explanations of such concepts as calculating profit, a dividend yield's significance and the relationship between cash management and profit management, leaving nothing to interpretation. At heart the book is an introduction to accounting principles." -Publishers Weekly, November 12, 2007 CONTENTS What is Naked Finance?PART ONE: SETTING FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES Is It All About Making a Profit?How Do You Make a Profit?How Do You Measure Financial Success?Which Are the Figures That Count?PART TWO: USING FINANCIAL INFORMATIONWhy Produce Financial Statements?What Can You Learn From Financial Statements?What Can You Learn From the Financial Press?How Do You Know if a Company is Being Well Managed?PART THREE: PROVIDING FINANCIAL CONTROLHow Do You Create a Financial Plan?How Do You