Thomas R. Ittelson’s master work for entrepreneurs, non-financial managers, business students, lawyers, lenders, and investors―the bestselling book of its kind, with over 200,000 copies in print―has gotten even better with this 20th anniversary edition.

Ittelson is an expert at translating complicated financial topics in an accessible way for non-financial audiences. In this book, he empowers readers by clearly and simply demonstrating how the three major accounting statements interact to offer a snapshot of a company’s financial health.

This book teaches readers how to use specialized accounting vocabulary and makes accessible the structure and purpose of the three major numeric statements that describe a company’s financial condition. Each statement paints a different and essential picture―the “three-legged stool” of company reporting:

The income statement shows the manufacturing (or service offerings) and selling actions of the company that result in profit or loss during a period. It gives a very important perspective on the company’s performance, its profitability.
• The cash flow statement details cash into and out of the company for a period. You need money to make money. Running out of cash is bad. Duh.
• The balance sheet records at the end of a period, an instant in time, what the company owns and what it owes, including the owners’ stake, called shareholders’ equity.

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