The Best Financial Analyst Books of All Time

Direct Path to the CFA Charter is the ultimate guide to passing the Chartered Financial Analyst exams. This is no ordinary “how-to” manual for CFA candidates. Written by an internationally published author who passed all three CFA exams on the first try, this book is packed with real strategies that get real results. Chapter List:. Part One: Answers to Big Questions. Chapter 1: CFA Program Overview. Chapter 2: Does Industry Experience Matter? Chapter 3: The First Secret to Passing CFA Exams. Chapter 4: The Second Secret to Passing CFA Exams. Chapter 5: What Ethics Is Really All About. Chapter 6: A Quiet, Important Statistic.

Part Two: Study Regimen. Chapter 7: The 300-Hour Trap. Chapter 8: A Study Plan from Start to Finish. Chapter 9: Curriculum Books or Study Notes? Chapter 10: The Power of Flashcards. Chapter 11: Transforming Knowledge into Test Performance. Chapter 12: A Differentiating Practice Test Strategy. Chapter 13: Study Groups Are Overrated. Chapter 14: Read This When You Want to Quit. Chapter 15: Test Day Suggestions. Chapter 16: Putting It All Together. Level I, II, and III Recap and Sample Schedules. Test Preparation Resources. Praise for Direct Path to the CFA Charter:. “Investing time and effort in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program is a wise decision for your future. Spending just a few days with this book is even wiser. Direct Path to the CFA Charter is overflowing with excellent advice that I wish I had known when I was in the CFA Program. If you’re looking for real advice on how to pass the exams the first time around, this book is the answer. Good luck!” –Michael Staruch, CFA. “Direct Path to the CFA Charter is truly a CFA candidate’s best friend and an indispensable guide at every CFA Level. This is not a conceptual, often inapplicable piece, written by a group of professional test takers or professors of finance. Instead, it provides an actionable, proven plan for tackling CFA exams by a CFA charterholder who is also a working professional, just like you and me. If you need straightforward, practical advice, this is the ideal guide for you.” –Jason Huang, CFA. “Avoid struggling in the CFA Program and read this book instead. Direct Path to the CFA Charter is the ultimate book for anyone contemplating the CFA Program. It is woven together as an incredibly readable, clever book full of practical insights. As a potential or current CFA candidate, you will be glad (and relieved) that you discovered this book.” –Derrick Chapman, CFA.

Critical insights for savvy financial analysts. Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management is the essential desk reference for CFOs, FP&A professionals, investment banking professionals, and equity research analysts. With thought-provoking discussion and refreshing perspective, this book provides insightful reference for critical areas that directly impact an organization’s effectiveness. From budgeting and forecasting, analysis, and performance management, to financial communication, metrics, and benchmarking, these insights delve into the cornerstones of business and value drivers.

Dashboards, graphs, and other visual aids illustrate complex concepts and provide reference at a glance, while the author’s experience as a CFO, educator, and general manager leads to comprehensive and practical analytical techniques for real world application. Financial analysts are under constant pressure to perform at higher and higher levels within the realm of this consistently challenging function. Though areas ripe for improvement abound, true resources are scarce―until now. This book provides real-world guidance for analysts ready to:. Assess performance of FP&A function and develop improvement programImprove planning and forecasting with new and provocative thinkingStep up your game with leading edge analytical tools and practical solutionsPlan, analyze and improve critical business and value driversBuild analytical capability and effective presentation of financial informationEffectively evaluate capital investments in uncertain timesThe most effective analysts are those who are constantly striving for improvement, always seeking new solutions, and forever in pursuit of enlightening resources with real, useful information. Packed with examples, practical solutions, models, and novel approaches, Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management is an invaluable addition to the analyst’s professional library. Access to a website with many of the tools introduced are included with the purchase of the book. Please see About the Website page for access instructions.

Gain the hands-on experience and knowledge to solve real financial problems while taking your Excel spreadsheet skills to a new level with Mayes' FINANCIAL ANALYSIS WITH MICROSOFT EXCEL, 9E. This edition provides a reader-friendly solid foundation in corporate finance while teaching you to maximize the spreadsheet tools that professionals use every day.

Packed with interesting examples, this edition covers today's most important corporate finance topics and tools, including financial statements, budgets, the Security Market Security Line, pro forma financial statements, cost of capital, Visual Basic Applications (VBA) programming and Excel pivot tables. You study the latest information on time series forecasting and work with Excel's Get & Transform feature to process large data files. This edition's self-directed learning approach and numerous self-study tools let you strengthen spreadsheet skills while equipping you with the expertise today's employers want in corporate finance.