Top Best Books for Finance for Non-Finance Managers [2025]
There are different books available that give an understanding of the finances to the non-finance managers. Below is the list of such best books on finance for non-finance managers to read in 2025 –
- Finance for Non-Financial Managers (Briefcase Book Series) ( Get this book )
- The Essentials of Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers ( Get this book )
- Finance for Non-Financial Managers and small business owners ( Get this book )
- HBR Guide to Finance Basics for Managers (HBR Guide Series) ( Get this book )
- Finance for the Nonfinancial Managers ( Get this book )
- Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers: All the Basics You Need to Know ( Get this book )
- Finance & Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers ( Get this book )
- The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course: Finance for Non-Financial Managers (McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Courses) ( Get this book )
- Finance & Accounting for Non-Financial Managers ( Get this book )
- Finance for Strategic Decision-Making: What Non-Financial Managers Need to Know (J-B-UMBS Series) ( Get this book )
Let us discuss each finance for non-finance manager's books in detail and its key takeaways and reviews.
#1 - Finance for Non-Financial Managers, Second Edition (Briefcase Book Series)
by Gene Sicilliano
It is one of the books that you can start with. It is particularly written for non-financial managers. Find out more in the review and best takeaways.
Book Review
The author has written this book in a very lucid manner. Even if finance is a dry and complex subject, you won’t feel the same while reading this book. Each section contains examples so that you can quickly run through them and understand what the section is all about. And as per some readers, the author has mixed humor so that you will thoroughly enjoy reading this book. It is not a detailed book, though. If you are a beginner in finance and want to understand why and how you should pick it up.
The best takeaway
There are a few things for which you should buy this book –
- It covers the foundational knowledge so well that you can think of reading a detailed, advanced book on finance after reading this book.
- It’s full of examples, anecdotes, and humor.
- It’s very easy to read and doesn’t contain any complexity in any section.
- It’s reasonably priced and value for money.
#2 - The Essentials of Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers
by Edward Fields
Even if you have never felt the need to understand numbers before, this book will come to your aid. It will help you understand the basic numbers and how you can eventually be a master of them.
Book Review
You can’t understand finance unless you have the foundational knowledge of accounting. This book will teach you how to understand the balance sheets, cash flow statements, income statement, and annual reports. Everybody who has read this book has transformed their view of finance altogether. But there’s one warning sign. The text is dense, and you need to make an effort to read every chapter. However, if you’re eager to learn finance, that won’t be an issue.
The best takeaway
Here are the reasons for which you should buy the finance for the non-finance book –
- It’s more than 40,000 copies sold, and it’s a perfect reference book for nonfinancial managers.
- If you don’t understand numbers, you will find it invaluable as it’s full of case studies, concepts, terminologies, and glossaries.
- You will learn budgeting, cash flow, balance sheet, fraud detection tools etc.
#3 - Finance for Non-Financial Managers and small business owners
by Lawrence Tuller
Managers who work in big and small organizations and are part of marketing, sales, human resources, and operations are not very good with finance. For them, this book is an invaluable resource.
Book Review
If you’re confused about which book to pick up as non-financial managers to understand the nitty-gritty of finance in the most practical format, pick this book up. It’s quite old. Thus the fundamentals in this book are clear and concise. Don’t demean this book because it was written almost nine years ago. If you ever have doubts about it, look at the author's name. He is a Harvard scholar and author of 27 books. This book is thus particularly useful for people who are directly or indirectly related to business and who need to understand cash management, banking, planning, obtaining capital, etc.
The best takeaway
Following are the reasons for which you should buy this finance for non-finance book –
- The author is an authority on the subject. Besides being a Harvard graduate, he has owned and operated 12 separate businesses. So whatever he shares is useful advice.
- Old is gold, and after reading this book, you would say the same thing.
- It’s not a book that only blabbers about theory. It’s practical, and you will be able to relate to practical business.
#4 - HBR Guide to Finance Basics for Managers (HBR Guide Series)
You may have heard about Harvard Business Review if you're into learning. They create books, articles, and products that are of immense help to business students. This guide is also similar.
Book Review
Suppose you start a business. Now, do you know when you would break even? Or how should you calculate the break-even point? The question 'why' is very important. If you’re a beginner in finance or need a refresher, pick this book up, and you will learn the basics of finance within 192 pages. This book is significant because it's lucid or short; rather, it will tell you everything behind everything. Picking up this book will help you get the answer to 'why' in finance.
The best takeaway from this book
Here are the best things you will learn from this finance for the non-finance book –
- You will begin to understand the jargon of finance lucidly. After reading this book, you won't stumble with it when someone mentions the term.
- You will learn to use financial data to find out whether you can accept any more budget requests or not.
- You will learn to do the math of finance to understand cost-benefit, ratio analysis, and you will also begin to decipher the financial parts of your rivals.
#5 - Finance for the Nonfinancial Managers
by Herbert T. Spiro
Even if you’re not directly related to finance, in this age of cutting-edge competition, it's prudent to have yourself equipped with tools and concepts of finance. Finance is the core of any business, and without the knowledge of finance, you may miss something under the appearance of triviality.
Book Review
Only very few books are able to instill confidence in you about finance. Most books can only touch the scratch on the surface. Few can lucidly cover the fundamentals. This particular book will be able to make you confident about finance. It doesn’t cover anything complex in its 320 pages manual, but you will become good with numbers in finance by reading it. Professionals who have read this book have reported that they have become appreciative of the financial data in reports that are completely delusional about finance.
The best takeaway
Following things, you will learn from the book –
- First of all, you will be able to apply break-even analyses after reading this book.
- You would be able to create Profit and Loss accounts and budgets.
- You will be able to interpret your company's balance sheets and your rivals.
- You will also gain enough expertise to understand other related financial statements like income statement, cash flow statement, etc.
#6 - Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers: All the Basics You Need to Know
by William G. Droms & Jay O. Wright
The main characteristic of this book is its case studies. You can’t miss this book if you're new to finance.
Book Review
This book is different in a way that connects real-life with bookish knowledge. Financial concepts are useful when non-financial managers can apply them in real life. By taking the help of this book, they really can. First of all, it's full of practical examples; secondly, it doesn't seem tough at all even if you're coming from a non-technical background; thirdly, it gives you enough depth to understand the ongoing financial affairs of the company. In a sense, it’s a complete book for non-financial managers.
The best takeaway
Here are the reasons for which you should buy this book –
- It would help you make decisions regarding long term investments.
- You will not only learn the basics of finance, but you will also get to know to accounting through and through.
- You will learn to read balance sheet and interpret financial statements.
- You will also be able to do a break-even analysis to understand revenue and how much profits you can make at the end of the day.
#7 - Finance & Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers
by Steven Finkler
This book will help you understand financial management from the core. And you will also get a CD-ROM with interactive excel templates.
Book Review
This book is one of its kind because it claims to meet all your needs regarding financial terms, jargon, concepts, and a basic understanding of finance. The best part of this book is the inclusion of an excel application, which is invaluable to non-financial managers. This book will help you understand concepts, but it will also help you make critical decisions on behalf of your firm. What seemed to you as gibberish, after reading this book, will make perfect sense. What more can you ask for from a book?
The best takeaway
It would be best if you bought this book for the following reasons –
- This book is recognized as the best book on the subject. It’s also recommended for graduate course study.
- People from different domains like Engineers, Architects, etc., can also learn a lot from this book. This book is not only applicable to managers or people who have a business understanding but also to those who don’t have anything to do with business.
- This volume has 23 chapters and it’s 352 pages. If you can read this book and follow the application, you don’t need to read anything else.
#8 - The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course: Finance for Non-Financial Managers (McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Courses)
by H. George Shoffner, Susan Shelly, Robert Cooke
When someone tells you that you need to invest just 36 hours in understanding a subject, it becomes interesting suddenly. And when you're already willing to learn finance, nothing can stop you from understanding the subject better.
Book Review
If you want to learn finance's foundational principles and concepts in under 36 hours, you shouldn’t delay. Because with this book, the demand is too high, and the supply is moderate! It has been used for the MBA course and for understanding financial reports. People from all walks of life can read it through as a beginner course or refresher course. If you’re someone who doesn’t have any experience in seeing the Profit & Loss account, grab this book, and you will learn for sure.
The best takeaway from this book
There are a few reasons for which you should buy this finance for non-finance managers book –
- It’s an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to learn finance. Even people in the finance profession have reported that this book was able to bridge some of the gaps in their understanding.
- The bridging from one career to another is very tough. If you’re planning to move to finance by any means from any other profession, pick this book up.
- It’s very reasonably priced and has an absolute value for money.
#9 - Finance & Accounting for Non-Financial Managers
by Samuel Weaver & J. Fred Weston
It is another McGraw-Hill book that will help you understand finance better.
Book Review
This book is not as exhaustive as you want it to be, but it works. We included this book among the best finance books for non-financial managers because many readers have recommended this book as more proficient than an entire course. It is not only recommended by people who have been students but also by those who have been CFOs and executive officers of Fortune 1000 companies. And if you can get a book of this sort for a few bucks, why not try it.
The best takeaway from this book
Here are the things you would learn from this finance for a non-finance book –
- You will not only learn the financial statements and foundation of finance; you will also learn how to align these concepts with real business scenarios.
- The best addition is performance measurements which very few books of the same domain have covered.
#10 - Finance for Strategic Decision-Making: What Non-Financial Managers Need to Know (J-B-UMBS Series)
by M. P. Narayanan & Vikram K. Nanda
Why know finance? Because you need to make many strategic decisions, and if you don’t have thorough knowledge about finance, it would be difficult to make any decision, small or big.
Book Review
This book is particularly for you if you don't have any knowledge of finance. It's one of the books under Wiley Finance, and it talks about the basics of what non-financial managers need to know. This book includes great cases and appropriate explanations for many decisions an organization makes, and these will surely help you understand the nitty-gritty of financial decision-making. This book acts as great reference material for you.
The best takeaway
Here are the best takeaways –
- This book will cover topics like risk management, divestitures, performance evaluation, mergers & acquisitions, capital structure, etc.
- This book is particularly helpful if you’re in a position to make decisions, and when your decisions affect the whole organization in the long run.
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