A Novel Introduction to Corporate Finance

By: Jonathan Manley Godbey, Jason Mehl

Narrated by: David Baker

Many introductory Corporate Finance textbooks tout their engaging, real-world examples, but they often fail to hold students' interest. A Novel Introduction to Corporate Finance offers a unique, innovative, and refreshing contrast. Structured as a work of literary fiction, the book successfully uses a compelling narrative to tell the “story” of corporate finance.

Students read about struggling finance major Derek Foster, and his relationship with Eric Bensen, the CEO of Caspian Sea Drinks. Eric becomes a mentor to Derek. The two meet weekly as Eric shares the story of how Caspian Sea Drinks grew from a humble lemonade stand to a publicly traded company. Their conversations provide an engaging context in which the fundamental concepts and principles of Corporate Finance are presented, both to Derek and to the student reader.

Plot twists provide opportunities for additional examination and discussion of ethics in the corporate world. A Novel Introduction to Corporate Finance successfully employs fiction to provide students with a realistic, coherent view of what a corporation is, how it comes to be, and why finance plays an important role in corporate development and growth.

©2012 Cognella, Inc. (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Are study sets available for audible listeners?

What did you like best about A Novel Introduction to Corporate Finance? What did you like least?

I haven't finished the book but so far I'm enjoying it. It's a good story with interesting characters. The overall plot about a finance student being wrapped up in corporate intrigue was unexpected and so far I'm enjoying the narrative. The only problem I have - Is there a way for Audible Listeners to receive the study sets? I know with other finance or "how to" books, the authors often make PDFs available for things that are difficult to follow by listening - in this case, the formulas and 'hwk' problems.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Novel Introduction to Corporate Finance?

The authors do a good job of creating different, flawed characters.

Have you listened to any of David Baker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. But I'm enjoying the narration. (note: I listen at 1.5 speed)

Who do you think would benefit most from listening to A Novel Introduction to Corporate Finance?

Probably those who are just beginning. Basic terms like discount rate and time / value of money will probably be known by more advanced students. However, that's also why a pdf or companion is needed since the target reader should be those unfamiliar with these concepts and trying to hear the formulas is not a very efficient way to retain the information.

Any additional comments?

Please make the study sets available for your audible listeners.
Thanks.

Didn't care for

Thought the story line was very cheesy and the "homework" would have been better as a pdf. Full review on Goodreads.

Corporate finance made easy

The story-telling approach made it an interesting audible book to learn about corporate finance.
The story kept me glued to the end. Great job .

Only useful if you have the physical book.

Would you try another book from Jonathan Manley Godbey and Jason Mehl and/or David Baker?

Absolutely, just not in an audio book format.

How could the performance have been better?

The performer could have had true variation between the characters' voices. He used two voices throughout, which can be generalized as follows:

1. Male character
2. Any female character regardless of age, or any male character age 25 or younger.

It actually made it fairly difficult to keep track of the characters.

Any additional comments?

The audiobook is useless without any sort of visual companion for the charts, formulas, and and "homework" sections. Instead, the performer reads all of these sections, and if you're at the level for which this publication was intended and exclusively relying on the audiobook, I can't imagine actually grasping the topics being illustrated.

Many "audio" formulas, but no supplementary PDF.

The story-telling approach is well-done. However, the book soon goes into financial calculations. Related calculation formulas are spoken letter by letter in this audio book and whereas many other audio books supply a PDF so one can also see such information this book leaves the listener completely hanging in that regard. As a result, much relevant corporate finance information is provided in a very cumbersome format, and it is difficult to retain and apply the information without at least a summary of the key formulas and concepts in written and, thus, visual form.