|
"The
timing for publication of Eleanor Bloxham’s Economic Value Management is
providential. We are assailed by the reality that the Board of Directors
of leading companies have approved, no, have directed, accounting
practices that inflate the reported earnings but that lack economic
substance. Audit firms in search of personal wealth have been selling
"earnings" from their consulting division to their full client list.
This volume is uniquely couched to restore integrity to the financial
understanding of corporate functioning. If you want - and you should -
to start getting American business back on the right track, you should
read this book."
Robert A.G. Monks, Publisher of
http://www.ragm.com and several books
about Corporate Governance, several of
which can be directly (and without charge) downloaded from his web site.
|
|
"Economic Value Management would have limited much of the
economic turmoil we have experienced in the last 18 months. It is the
way a company should be managed."
John McCoy, Chairman of
Battelle
Memorial Institute; retired Chairman and CEO of Bank One Corporation.
|
|
"In Economic Value
Management, Eleanor Bloxham
calls upon the metaphor of digging as a way to strike oil, to gain
intelligence and to understand one's business. As a former director of a
company whose impatient management made an unsuccessful pass at the use
of EVA (economic value added), I can attest to the importance of
thorough digging, for it is all too easy to base assessments on
incomplete or surface data that may lead to erroneous conclusions, and,
worse, ill-considered actions.
Ms. Bloxham goes beyond EVA to what she calls Economic Value
Management. As a guide to the big dig this book is invaluable. Economic
Value Management requires sustainable improvement in multiple dimensions
and this book, replete with real-life examples and richly illustrated by
charts, tables and other exhibits, shows us exactly how to make this
happen."
Thomas R. Horton, former CEO, American Management Association
|
|
Posted by a reader on
Amazon.Com "This Book is
a Must Read to Understand Economic Profit
When practitioners, who have actually rolled up their sleeves and
implemented, write a book, it is usually a good read. In Eleanor
Bloxham's
case, this is a great read.
There is so much confusion about what operational and strategic levers
an organization should push or pull to create rather than destroy
shareholder wealth. Most articles slip into gross platitudes and
sloganeering and
sidestep the "how to." Bloxham's book dives in but explains admittedly
complex interrelationships in a way you can understand them. She does a
fine job integrating the component tools, like the balanced scorecard
and activity based costing, into economic value management.
Some day boards of directors may find this to be the standard book for
assisting their shareholders make, not lose, money.
|
|
|
"Educated
investors are essential to successfully functioning capital markets. At
this critical time in our financial history, restoring the confidence in
our financial system lost over the past year will depend upon financial
advisers and investors truly understanding the companies they invest in.
As Economic Value Management shows, being educated means more than
understanding the unique language of the stock market, it is more than
reading a prospectus or an annual report, it is more than listening to an
analyst's opinions. Being educated requires a genuine understanding of the
value of a company."
Mary L. Schapiro, Vice Chairman, President, Regulatory Policy and
Oversight, National Association of Securities Dealers.
|
|
"In an era when EPS has been redefined as
'expecting prison sentence',
Eleanor Bloxham's call for back-to-value-basics is a breath of fresh
air. Any CEO, director, or investor who wants to get a handle on the real
numbers that show how companies perform should grab a hold of Economic Value
Management. Viva EVM!"
Patrick McGurn, Vice President & Special Counsel,
Institutional Shareholder Services
|
|
"The word 'book' means many things ranging from any written
communication that is securely bound, to the 'total available knowledge and experience that can be brought to bear
on a task or problem' (Webster s Ninth Collegiate). Eleanor Bloxham's Economic Value
Management fills the latter bill. The author has given her all - rigorous scholarship, systematic thinking, and first-hand cases and the result is an authoritative guide for corporate leaders who want to break
out of financial ratio boxes to build sustainable value."
Alexandra R. Lajoux, Editor in Chief of Director's Monthly and co-author
(with J. Fred Weston) of
The Art
of M&A: Financing and Refinancing
|
From CEO Refresher
"Operating from a perspective that includes all
constituents of the organization, Economic Value Management makes an
organization more effective by clarifying decision-making and
establishing management practices that are replicable. Stressing the
importance of consistent stewardship and the perils of failed
stewardship, Eleanor Bloxham presents Economic Value Management as a
means of integrating management processes, generating immediate returns,
and paving the way for long-term success."
|
|
Posted by a reader on Amazon.com
Essential, but enjoyable reading for executives
A friend of mine recommended this book to be, but when I
first saw the title of the book I wasn't sure what it was going to be
about. It seemed a bit intimidating. However, the book is very easy to
read, has incredible insights and having read it, I now can certainly
understand why the book was named a late addition candidate to "ONE OF
THE BEST BOOKS of 2002" and a CEO "RECOMMENDED READ" by CEO refresher,
an independent editorial board recognized by the Harvard Business School
and the Wall Street Journal. I think it is one of the best books on
business I've ever read. I'm on my second reading of this book and as I
go through it I'm revising my business unit's plans for the coming
fiscal year. As Bloxham points out,
change is a difficult process, but worth it, so I'm sure I'll be
referring to this book for years to come.
|
|
|
"Nothing could be more
appropriate and needed at this time in history than understanding how
decisions affect corporate economic value. Eleanor Bloxham's
exploration of this issue is clear, easy to follow, and thorough in its
breadth. Had corporate officers used Economic Value Management
techniques throughout their organizations, and investors focused on such
issues, there would have been much greater rationality in the stock
market with much less eventual "blood letting." Indeed, in the
aftermath of recent disclosures, the focus on economic value management
metrics should increase substantially, and this book provides a solid
foundation for understanding such an approach."
Joseph A. Alutto, Dean and John W.
Berry, Sr. Chair in Business,
Fisher
College of Business, The Ohio State University
|
|
"Bloxham has a clear, common-sense, practical approach that provides welcome guidance to managers and directors
on how to measure, create, and reward value. She avoids the usual jargon with sharply drawn examples and illuminating illustrations and the result is well worth reading."
Nell Minow, Editor,
The Corporate
Library,
and co-author of several books including
Corporate Governance
and
Watching the
Watchers
|
|
From the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in Australia
"This book, by Eleanor Bloxham, is designed to assist
development of the financial understanding of corporate functioning,
including assessment, creation and protection of a company’s value. The
book includes an explanation and overview of economic value management
and how it relates to organisations, as well as addressing topics such
as: performance measurement and management and the impacts of these,
demonstration and assessment of economic value management approaches;
applications and techniques; evaluations and their context; and the
customer, value drivers and changes over time."
|
|
Posted by a reader on
Amazon.Com
Cutting
Through the Confusion about Performance Metrics
Corporate senior executives are subjected to pressure for performance
from many constituents - shareholders, customers, employees,
governmental and regulatory authorities, rating agencies, board members,
and securities analysts. And, since these are by definition high
achieving individuals, some of the greatest pressure is from within. The
existence of many constituents, many with conflicting objectives, often
makes it very difficult for CEO's, CFO's and board members to focus on
key performance goals and metrics. Over the course of my 34 year career
as a corporate banker, I've seen many confused executives, pressured for
EPS growth, revenue growth, ROE, but not necessarily understanding the
long run impact of any or all of these performance metrics.
Ms. Bloxham has produced a superb book that takes a
"holistic" view of the process of identifying performance criteria for
senior executives, and not just for those in the private sector. She and
I share common views about the benefits of economic value added metrics,
but she has gone well beyond this to address many of the conflicts for
performance faced by executives. She provides an excellent framework for
establishing a set of logical goals and performance metrics for managing
complex businesses and non-profit organizations.
|
|
