Best books for Financial Analysts

Financial Intelligence, Revised Edition

by Karen Berman, Joe Knight · 2006

~280 pages~7 hrs to read

Explains the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement in plain language, including where judgment and estimates hide in the numbers. Read it in your first weeks, before the models get complicated.

The Interpretation of Financial Statements

by Benjamin Graham, Spencer B. Meredith · 1937

~120 pages~3 hrs to read

A short guide to reading a balance sheet and income statement and testing what they say about a company's health. Useful early, as a quick check on whether you can read a set of accounts end to end.

The Little Book of Valuation

by Aswath Damodaran · 2011

~230 pages~6 hrs to read

Introduces discounted cash flow, relative valuation and the main inputs behind each, with worked examples. A compact first pass at valuation before you build your own models.

Financial Modeling in Excel For Dummies

by Danielle Stein Fairhurst · 2017

~340 pages~9 hrs to read

Walks through building a financial model in Excel from layout and formulas to forecasting and scenarios. Best for analysts who know the statements but have not yet built a full model.

Financial Shenanigans

by Howard Schilit, Jeremy Perler, Yoni Engelhart · 1993

~320 pages~8 hrs to read

Catalogues the accounting techniques companies use to flatter earnings and cash flow, and the warning signs in the filings. Read it once you are reading 10-Ks regularly and want to spot quality-of-earnings problems.

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies

by McKinsey & Company Inc., Tim Koller, Marc Goedhart, David Wessels · 1990

~960 pages~24 hrs to read

A thorough reference on enterprise DCF, return on invested capital, forecasting and the drivers of value. Come to it when you are building valuations that other people will rely on.

Investment Banking: Valuation, LBOs, M&A, and IPOs

by Joshua Rosenbaum, Joshua Pearl · 2009

~510 pages~13 hrs to read

Step-by-step coverage of comparable companies, precedent transactions, DCF, LBO analysis and merger models. Read it when your work moves into deals, transactions or detailed valuation models.

Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management

by Jack Alexander · 2018

~610 pages~15 hrs to read

Covers the corporate FP&A function: budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis and performance reporting. Fits analysts supporting business units and the finance team's planning cycle.

Storytelling with Data

by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic · 2015

~290 pages~7 hrs to read

Shows how to choose the right chart, remove clutter and structure a presentation around one message. Read it when your analysis is sound but your reports and slides are not landing with managers.

Expectations Investing

by Michael J. Mauboussin, Alfred Rappaport · 2001

~270 pages~7 hrs to read

Reverses the valuation process: start from the price, work out the expectations it implies, then judge whether they are reasonable. Helps senior analysts frame recommendations for decision-makers.

The Outsiders

by William N. Thorndike · 2012

~250 pages~6 hrs to read

Profiles eight chief executives and how they allocated capital: buybacks, acquisitions, debt and cash. A good read for anyone moving toward finance management or a CFO track.

Good Strategy Bad Strategy

by Richard P. Rumelt · 2011

~320 pages~8 hrs to read

Describes what a real strategy looks like: a diagnosis, a guiding policy and coherent actions. Useful when you advise on business decisions rather than just model them.