The Essentials of Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers cover
The Essentials of Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers
by Edward Fields
Description: The Essentials of Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers covers key financial principles and accounting terms to help managers understand how financial statements are created and why accounting standards like GAAP matter in business
ISBN: 0814416241
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mmaunder · 2011-12-19 · Original thread
Here are a few books I recommend and have read:

Finance and accounting for non-financial managers. A great intro for beginners.

http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Finance-Accounting-Nonfinan...

A first year accounting textbook like:

http://www.amazon.com/Accounting-Principles-Jerry-J-Weygandt...

Then either buy a book on QuickBooks or put yourself on a course. QuickBooks is the best accounting software for startups by far. Only dive into QB once you have a good grasp of accounting principles because it abstracts away the basic accounting equation and double entry system and will give you a false sense of security.

Then to get a solid grasp of finance and how investors focusing on fundamentals view your business, read Security Analysis by Graham and Dodd. The '09 edition has some wonderful additions and updates from the finance gods.

The financial statements of public companies are available at sites like ycharts.com and I recommend reading them and testing your knowledge by spotting things like dips in net income with no corresponding dip in revenue and figuring out why.

What I've described above is about 2000 pages of reading. But slowly work through it and you will come out the other side empowered.