The Executive's Guide to Financial Management

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XXVI

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Dewey Norton

   Pages 1-20

3. Risk Management and Competitive Strategy

   • Dewey Norton

   Pages 21-59

4. Assess Senior Management and Relationships

   • Dewey Norton

   Pages 61-111

5. Assess Financial Performance

   • Dewey Norton

   Pages 113-156

6. Analyze Business Processes, then Optimize

   • Dewey Norton

   Pages 157-174

7. Manage Cash Flow

   • Dewey Norton

   Pages 175-182

8. Manage Assets, Liabilities, and Equity

   • Dewey Norton

   Pages 183-217

9. Improve Profits

   • Dewey Norton

   Pages 219-235

10. Strategic Plans, Budgets, and Financial Models

    • Dewey Norton

    Pages 237-273

11. International Financial Reporting Standards

    • Dewey Norton

    Pages 275-284

12. Systems: From Albatross to Advantage

    • Dewey Norton

    Pages 285-319

13. Work Smarter

    • Dewey Norton

    Pages 321-350

14. Develop, Sell, and Implement an Improvement Plan

    • Dewey Norton

    Pages 351-390

15. Paths to Success and Paths to Failure

    • Dewey Norton

    Pages 391-398

16. Conclusions

    • Dewey Norton

    Pages 399-401

17. Back Matter

    Pages 403-421

    PDF

A guide to expand and enhance the tools available to financial professionals to solve problems effectively, efficiently and to strengthen accounting controls. This is the result of an extensive effort to develop an innovative, highly practical approach to the task of improving financial management and cash flow.

• accounting
• cash flow
• finance

'The Executive's Guide to Financial Management is a substantial contribution to the discipline of financial management. In this work, Norton brings to bear his considerable talent and experience as a seasoned financial executive. His presentation is both thorough and thoughtful. This is a work that belongs on every CFO's desk.' - William F. Knese Vice President, Finance & Administration, Angus Industries, Inc.

'The Executive's Guide to Financial Management comprehensively dissects the myriad of challenges facing senior financial executives in today's global business environment. It backs up its recommendations with clear examples of what makes companies successful and what causes them to fail. It provides advice on how to make sure your company and your career succeed. A 'must read' for any current or aspiring financial officer.' - Tony Tripeny, Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller & Principal Accounting Officer, Corning Incorporated

'A comprehensive and compelling guide for leaders and decision makers to understand how to deliver financial performance and results expected by the most discerning investors' - Taylor Hawes, CFO Intellectual Property & Licensing, Microsoft Corporation

'The focus on strong, professional, and ethical financial management is essential to business success in these complex times. The tie of strategic issues to financial management highlighted in this book is the type of structure that is needed to navigate as abusiness today.' - Barry C. Melancon, CPA, CGMA, President and CEO, American Institute of CPAs

'In this book Dewey Norton covers most of the tools and techniques that senior financial executives do and should use. But he also does so much more, such as in providing advice about working effectively with key people, prioritizing tasks, and working smarter. There is a lot of wisdom in this book, and it is presented in an easily understandable style. I highly recommend this book.' Kenneth A. Merchant, Deloitte & Touche LLP Chair of Accountancy, University of Southern California

"I have worked with entrepreneurial companies and large corporations for over 40 years. Dewey Norton captures in this book information that is of great value to nonfinancial managers in all sizes of companies, but especially entrepreneurial managers in privately held companies. I have used excerpts from this book in recent consulting discussions with a private equity investor and with the president of one of his portfolio companies. I highly recommend this book to nonfinancial executives, private equity partners, MBA students, and students in university entrepreneurial programs." - Dale Wallis, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer (Retired), The Aerospace Corporation

• Marina del Rey, USA

  Dewey Norton

DEWEY NORTON has been the CFO and corporate controller of numerous international public companies in technology and manufacturing where he has led financial turnarounds, support of exponential growth, acquisitions, divestitures, formation of joint ventures, SEC reporting, negotiation of large scale loan agreements and raising equity. He has worked at Ford Motor Company, GKN, Baldwin Filters, Avista Laboratories, Robert Half Management Resources and several entrepreneurial companies. He has twice been named one of the five best managers worldwide in a NYSE company and most valuable employee of a pre IPO company. In addition to his work in finance and accounting, he has also led several successful implementations of enterprise wide business systems and published an article on how to do this. He has led supply chain management and human resources. Dewey is active in leadership of the profession in Financial Executives International where he has been President of the Los Angeles and Nebraska chapters, Vice Chairman of the international Committee on Finance and Information Technology, founder and for seven years editor of their Technology Survey for Financial Executives, Chairman of their international conference on business and technology, adviser to a Financial Executives Research Foundation study on data warehousing, and a member of the national Committee on (federal) Government Business. He has a BA and an MA from the University of Pennsylvania, USA and an MBA from Wharton School.

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