In this volume, John Fertakis provides the practical information corporate board members need to correctly interpret the financial data and operating statements presented to them for review and approval. Written in a style accessible to directors who are not financial specialists, the book shows how to spot clues in financial statements to potentially serious underlying problems, how to evaluate and understand financial presentations and how to obtain an accurate picture of a company's financial affairs. Broad in scope, the handbook's coverage ranges from the functions and responsibilities of the director and the nature of financial and cost accounting systems to the annual meeting and the types of questions that directors can be expected to answer. Fertakis presents basic financial analysis techniques and explains the relationships among financial statement items and their effects in specific areas such as customer receivables and credit policy, production and sales, capital investment and financial proposals. Several chapters are devoted to accounting and financial questions diectors should ask in order to effectively perform their stated review, oversight and control functions.