Cover of Financial intelligence for entrepreneurs

Financial intelligence for entrepreneurs

by Karen Berman, Joe Knight · first published 2008

10mentions
9recommended by
10HN commenters
2013–2026first – last mentioned

90% recommend10% neutral

Why HN recommends it

A plain-language guide to reading financial statements and the numbers behind a business. It explains why figures matter, not just what they are, and suits small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Summarised by Claude from recommending comments

"In this essential guide, Karen Berman and Joe Knight customize the approaches and insights from their acclaimed book Financial Intelligence specifically for entrepreneurs. The authors not only demystify common financial terms and tools, they also show how you can use this knowledge to gauge your company's performance and make better decisions."--Back cover.

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Mentions per year

30 2007: 0 mentions2008: 0 mentions2009: 0 mentions2010: 0 mentions2011: 0 mentions2012: 0 mentions2013: 1 mention2014: 0 mentions2015: 2 mentions2016: 3 mentions2017: 0 mentions2018: 0 mentions2019: 0 mentions2020: 1 mention2021: 0 mentions2022: 1 mention2023: 1 mention2024: 0 mentions2025: 0 mentions2026: 1 mention200720172026

What Hacker News says

  • joshkaufman · Jan 30, 2013 · Recommends

    …http://book.personalmba.com For common funding and legal issues, I recommend "Venture Deals" by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470929820 For finance and accounting, I recommend "Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs" by Karen Berman, Joe Knight, and John Case: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1422119157/ Here's my complete list of recommended business books, sorted by topic: http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/ Hope…

    on “Suggest HN: Write a book on business for Hackers” ↗
  • arihant · May 28, 2015 · Recommends

    Another great resource is Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs: http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Intelligence-Entrepreneurs-R... So far is the only book I know that explains why and not just what.

    on “Accounting for Developers” ↗
  • t23 · Aug 21, 2015 · Recommends

    …following books: Financial Statements Step by Step (http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Statements-Step-Step-Underst...) Financial Intelligence (http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Intelligence-Revised-Edition...) Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs (http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Intelligence-Entrepreneurs-R...)

    on “Financial Misstatements” ↗
  • known · Sep 23, 2016 · Recommends

    Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs – Karen Berman & Joe Knight Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits – Greg Crabtree The 1% Windfall – Rafi Mohammed Accounting Made Simple – Mike Piper How to Read a Financial Report – John A.…

    on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗
  • noufalibrahim · Dec 23, 2016 · Recommends

    …Spufford) - Fascinating fictionalised account of the history of the USSR. Gets a little tedious at times but worth it. 2. Anils Ghost (Michael Ondaatje) - Drama with a war background. Nice read. 3. Financial intelligence for Entrepreneurs - Very useful now that I have a small company of my own. 4. How to Speak How to listen (Mortimer Adler) - Worth it. I enjoy public speaking and this was well written and quite useful. 2016's been a…

    on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗
  • lanstein · Mar 15, 2023 · Recommends

    …Wharton's Introduction to Financial Accounting course: [https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-accounting](https://w... - How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart About the Numbers (Mihir Desai) - Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs: What You Really Need to Know About the Numbers (Karen Berman and Joe Knight) Open-Book Company (Employee Ownership, Financial Literacy, Goal-setting) - The Great Game of Business (Jack Stack and Bo…

    on “Ask HN: What books helped you in your entrepreneurship journey?” ↗
  • newbie578 · Aug 4, 2020 · Recommends

    …gets skipped too many times too often in discussions like these. Forget Robert Kiyosaki and Brian Tracy for finance books, they are reserved for the "self-help" section. What I definitely recommend is "Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs" and "Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits" as some of the pillars for startup finances.

    on “Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs” ↗
  • DomB · Sep 4, 2022 · Recommends

    Financial Intelligence for entrepreneurs - What you really need to know about the numbers

    on “Ask HN: Economics 101 for Entrepreneurs” ↗
  • areactnativedev · Aug 14, 2026 · Recommends

    …share? From the top of my head and of my Goodreads I have enjoyed The art of Electronics, Understanding Earth, Material World, The world for sale, Beej’s Guide to C, The Five Dysfunctions of a team, Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs, The Lean Startup, Fouché by S. Zweig https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/

    on “Understanding Is the New Bottleneck” ↗
  • luxpir · Feb 24, 2016 · Mentions

    …take it some of you might have, as this CLI accounting approach seems to appeal to us DIY'ers. This year I do intend to get serious about accounting and my approach to finances. First I'm going to read Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs [1], as previously recommended on HN and elsewhere, to get a handle on what I ought to be looking at on a regular basis. Then I'm going to start to follow my new YNAB [2] account closely, although the…

    on “Plain Text Accounting, a Guide to Ledger and Friends” ↗

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