Book excerpt: As an HR manager, you're expected to use financial data to make decisions, allocate resources, and budget expenses. But if you're like many human resource practitioners, you may feel uncertain or uncomfortable incorporating financial numbers into your day-to-day work. In Financial Intelligence for HR Professionals, Karen Berman and Joe Knight tailor the groundbreaking work they introduced in their book Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean to present the essentials of finance specifically for HR experts. Drawing on their work training tens of thousands of managers and employees at leading organizations worldwide, Berman and Knight provide you with a deep understanding of the basics of financial management and measurement, along with hands-on activities to practice what you are reading. You'll discover: · Why the assumptions behind financial data matter · What your company's income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement really reveal · How to use ratios to assess your company's financial health · How to calculate return on investment · Ways to use financial information to support your business units and do your own job better · How to instill financial intelligence throughout your team Authoritative and accessible, this book empowers you to "talk numbers" confidently with your boss, colleagues, and direct reports--and with the finance department. About the Author Karen Berman and Joe Knight founded the Business Literacy Institute. They train managers at some of America's biggest and best-known companies. John Case has written or collaborated on several successful books. He has also written for Inc., Harvard Business Review, and other business publications.