Corporate Counselor's Business Handbook

Heightened regulations - including Sarbanes-Oxley and the newly enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act - have placed greater responsibility upon attorneys involved in financial transactions. General Counsel are now even asked to sign off on financial statements. And they must understand what they’re signing.

Accounting is the language of business. And if you can't speak the language, you'll eventually run into errors in translation, confusion in meaning - or worse.

Corporate Counselor's Business Handbook provides very specific, practical guidance, enabling you to:

• Read Balance Sheets, Income Statements, and Cash Flow Statements with Confidence
• Understand a Company's Financial Metrics
• Competently Engage in Business Valuation
• Easily Interact with Clients on Business Topics
• Read Annual Reports Efficiently
• Fully Grasp the Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Types of Debt
• Identify Problems in a Wide Array of Business Areas
• Apply Basic Accounting Principles - and Recognize When They’re Not Being Applied!

If you're an attorney providing counsel on business matters, this book can save you months of study and perhaps years of headache.

Corporate Counselor's Business Handbook has been updated to include:

• Discussion of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
• New case study examining the financials of DreamWorks Animation, Inc.
• Updated analysis of financial statements for Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Toyota, McDonald's, Target, Starbucks, Sears, Southwest, and JetBlue

• PART I: ACCOUNTING AND CORPORATE FINANCE
  • OVERVIEW OF ACCOUNTING AND SCOPE
    • Basic Concepts
    • Recent Accounting Issues in the News
  • THREE TYPES OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
    • Introduction
    • The Balance Sheet
    • The Income Statement (or Statement of Earnings or Profit and Loss)
    • The Statement of Cash Flows
• PART II: ACCOUNTING
  • FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
    • Difference Between GAAP and Non-GAAP Accounting
    • Understanding Debits and Credits: The Accounting Process
    • Differences Between Financial Statements and Tax Accounting
    • Interaction Between Financial Statements
    • Auditing
  • THE BALANCE SHEET
    • Fundamental Equation of the Balance Sheet
    • Creating a Balance Sheet Using T-Accounts and Accounting
    • Conventions
    • Cash vs. Accrual Accounting Methods
    • Understanding the Balance Sheet and Relevant Accounts
    • Potentially Problematic Issues Regarding the Balance Sheet
    • Examples of Balance Sheets
    • Overview of Cost Accounting: What It Is and Why It Is Important
  • THE INCOME STATEMENT
    • Creating an Income Statement
    • Understanding an Income Statement and the Relevant Accounts
    • Understanding Gross and Net Margins
    • Timing of Revenue/Income Recognition
    • Other Line Items
    • Potential Problematic Issues Regarding the Income Statement
    • Examples of Income Statements
  • THE STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
    • Fundamental Operation and Relevance of Statement of Cash Flows
    • Creating a Statement of Flows Using the Direct and Indirect Methods
    • Understanding a Statement of Cash Flows and the Relevant Accounts
    • Corporate Distributions
    • Potential Problematic Issues Regarding the Statement of Cash Flows
    • Examples of Statement of Cash Flows
• PART III: ANALYZING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
  • VALUATION
    • The Integration of the Financial Statements
    • Notes to Financial Statements
    • Value of Financial Statement Analysis
    • Relevant Ratios
  • THREE EXAMPLE APPROACHES TO VALUATION
    • Interpreting the Data—Southwest Airlines
    • Comparing Two Companies—Southwest Airlines and JetBlue
    • One Company Year over Year—Sears Holding Company
• PART IV: CORPORATE FINANCE
  • CORPORATE FINANCE FRAMEWORK
    • Fundamental Concepts
    • The Nuts and Bolts: Important Concepts and Calculations
    • Capital Structure Policy
  • CORPORATE FINANCE AND THE FINANCIAL MARKETS
    • Market Valuation of the Corporation
    • Financial Markets
    • Securitization/Structured Finance
    • Derivatives
  • VALUING THE CORPORATION: A CLOSER LOOK
    • Understanding Project Finance: Discounted Cash Flows
    • Using Discounted Cash Flow Analysis in Other Settings
    • Financial Techniques for Evaluating Corporate Performance
    • Managing the Finances of the Corporation
  • BANK OF AMERICA CASE STUDY
    • Legal Structure and Litigation
    • General Business Description and Strategic Situation
    • Market Analysis
    • Financials
    • Summary Analysis
    • Stock Ownership and Insider Transactions
    • Value-Enhancing Transactions