Everyone in business wants to improve their performance. But how to choose between the bewildering number of ways in which success is measured? Do you choose cash flow, added value, operating ratios? - and what kind of profit measure suits your business? This book provides you with an easy-to-follow guide covering over 50 different measurements. It explains each measure's uses and describes the situations for which it is best suited, giving you the snags and merits.

"This is a well-written book; the complex ideas are clearly expressed and the arguments well stated. There is some apparent rediscovery (and renaming) of old ideas, but the process is made palatable and worthwhi le by the crispness of the discussion and the un wavering penetration to the root of each issue as it arises. Most difficult problems in the social sciences, the authors note, have no definitive solutions, but simply outcomes. This book deserves a niche among the classic works in the business income literature as a significant milestone on the road to whatever outcome the future holds." --The Journal of Business "Professors Edwards and Bell give us a most satisfying study of different concepts of business income. It is rare to find authors so much at home in both economics and accounting. As they themselves suggest, time may show that their programme needs amendment; but they state the problem clearly and provide an excellent starting point. In passing, they give help on many other questions--when to replace plant, how to measure depreciation, which rate of compound interest to use in budgets, and so on. Beyond doubt their book is the most wise and original contribution to accounting theory since Professor Bonbright wrote 'The Valuation of Property' a quarter of a century ago." --The Economist

An accessible, and intuitive, guide to stock valuation Valuation is at the heart of any investment decision, whether that decision is to buy, sell, or hold. In The Little Book of Valuation, expert Aswath Damodaran explains the techniques in language that any investors can understand, so you can make better investment decisions when reviewing stock research reports and engaging in independent efforts to value and pick stocks. Page by page, Damodaran distills the fundamentals of valuation, without glossing over or ignoring key concepts, and develops models that you can easily understand and use. Along the way, he covers various valuation approaches from intrinsic or discounted cash flow valuation and multiples or relative valuation to some elements of real option valuation. Includes case studies and examples that will help build your valuation skills Written by Aswath Damodaran, one of today's most respected valuation experts Includes an accompanying iPhone application (iVal) that makes the lessons of the book immediately useable Written with the individual investor in mind, this reliable guide will not only help you value a company quickly, but will also help you make sense of valuations done by others or found in comprehensive equity research reports.