Bookshelf

Detecting Red Flags in Board Reports: A Guide for Directors
Comptroller of the Currency, Administrator of National Banks
60 pages
$15

Good decisions begin with good information. A banku00e2u20acu2122s board of directors needs concise, accurate, and timely reports to help it perform its fiduciary responsibilities. This booklet describes information, generally found in board reports, that national bank directors use to meet their fiduciary responsibility. It highlights red flagsu00e2u20ac”or trends that may signal existing or potential problems.

To order, visit the OCC website at www.occ.treas.gov.

The Strategy Paradox
by Michael E. Raynor
Published by Currency, Random House, Inc.
320 pages
Hardcover; e-book
$17.95

A compelling vision. Bold leadership. Decisive action. Unfortunately, these prerequisites of success are almost always the ingredients of failure, too. The truth is that most companies have left their futures almost entirely to chance, and donu00e2u20acu2122t even realize it. Why? Managers feel they must make choices with far-reaching consequences today, but must base those choices on assumptions about a future they cannot predict. It is this collision between commitment and uncertainty that creates The Strategy Paradox.

With detailed case studies of success and failure at Sony, Microsoft, Vivendi Universal, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, and other major companies in industries from financial services to energy, Raynor presents a concrete framework for strategic action that allows companies to seize todayu00e2u20acu2122s opportunities while simultaneously preparing for tomorrowu00e2u20acu2122s promise.

To order, visit Random House at www.randomhouse.com.

The Banker’s Handbook on Credit Risk
by Morton Glantz and Jonathan Mun
Published by Academic Press
432 pages
$79.95

The current u00e2u20acu0153credit crisisu00e2u20ac from the subprime mortgage meltdown is just the most recent example of how essential good credit risk measurement and modeling tools are for bankers. Thanks in part to the Basel II accords, banking has evolved into a rigorous discipline based on advanced quantitative tools. Many otherwise capable bankers find it difficult to keep up with the latest quantitative tools.

The Banker’s Handbook on Credit Risk shows you how to comply with Basel II regulations on credit risk step by step, building on the basics in credit risk up to advanced credit risk methodologies. This advanced credit/risk management book takes a “new tools” approach to Basel II implementation. The book comes complete with a DVD filled with sample modeling videos, case studies, and software applications to help the reader get started immediately.

Available through Elsevier.com or Amazon.com or by calling 781-221-1615.

The Governance Game
by Marilyn Seymann and Michael Rosenbaum
Published by Aspatore
154 pages
$24.95

A pair of insiders and a host of corporate directors reveal the all-too-human failings that lead to corporate mismanagement and malfeasance. In plain English, Seymann and Rosenbaum dissect the corporate practices that defy logic, the questions that are never asked or answered, and the hidden traps that snare so many corporate boards. This is the book for every investor who wants to know what went wrong and every director who wants to get it right.

To order, visit www.aspatore.com/mgmtbookstore.asp or call 617-369-7007.

The Recurrent Crisis in Corporate Governance
by Paul W. MacAvoy and
Ira M. Millstein
Published by
Palgrave MacMillan
168 pages
$65

Since the mid-1980s two crises have overtaken governance of the American corporationu00e2u20ac”the loss of competitiveness in the 1980s and the loss of investor trust in financial management in the late 1990s. This book proposes specific changes in conduct to resolve these crises, principally by putting the board of directors in charge of management. This detailed analysis and critique of performance of current governance specifies reforms that will make that possible. The reforms are tightly connected to the authorsu00e2u20acu2122 analysis of the causes of breakdowns in the largest corporations in which management has been subject to criminal and civil investigation.

To order, visit Palgraveu00e2u20acu2122s website at www.palgrave.com or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

The Art of Risk in Community Banks
by Jay Brew and Dr. Edmond Seifried
Published by BNK Advisory Group
102 pages
$150

Most community bank directors donu00e2u20acu2122t understand the risks that their bank is takingu00e2u20ac”particularly since every banku00e2u20acu2122s risk profile is so unique. The Art of Risk is specially written to provide the guidance community bank directors need to fully understand the risk/reward profile of their institution. And like its predecessor in this series, it is designed to be a concise, easy read for the committed bank director, because balancing risk and reward is truly an art.

This book can help you assess risk by providing advice, case studies, a do-it-yourself risk assessment process, and insights on how your bank may or may not be dynamically modeling risk.

To order, visit seifriedbrew.com or contact Kyle Kuster at 800-445-4430.