DRDA, CPA

Adkisson's Captive Insurance Companies: An Introduction to Captives, Closely-Held Insurance Companies, and Risk Retention Groups

by Jay D. Adkisson

ISBN: 0595422373, Paperback BUY

A captive insurance company is, in a nutshell, an insurance company formed by a business owner to insure the risks of the operating business. The operating business pays premiums to the captive, and the captive insures the risks of the operating business. A captive is much more than an exotic form of self-insurance: It is the creation of a new insurance company that has the potential to grow from being a mere captive into a full-blown insurance company seeking to profit from underwriting the risks of others. Adkissons Captive Insurance Companies provides a basic introduction to captives and their benefits, including: utilize your own experience ratings; recapture underwriting profits; underwrite exposed risks and deductibles; access the reinsurance markets; and transfer wealth between generations. This book also provides a unique look at the wealth transfer, accumulation and preservation advantages of captives, as well as an overview of the types of captives, taxation of captives, and captive domiciles.

The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home

by Dan Ariely

ISBN: 0061995037, Hardback BUY

Ariely (Predictably Irrational) expands his research on behavioral economics to offer a more positive and personal take on human irrationality's implications for life, business, and public policy. After a youthful accident left him badly scarred and facing grueling physical therapy, Ariely's treatment required him to accept temporary pain for long-term benefit–a trade-off so antithetical to normal human behavior that it sparked the author's fascination with why we consistently fail to act in our own best interest. The author, professor of behavioral economics at Duke, leads us through experiments that reveals such idiosyncrasies as the IKEA effect (if you build something, pride and sentimental attachment are likely to give you an inflated sense of its quality) and the Baby Jessica effect (why we respond to one person's suffering but not to the suffering of many). He concludes with prescriptions for how to make real personal and societal changes, and what behavioral patterns we must identify to improve how we love, live, work, innovate, manage, and govern. Self-deprecating humor, an enthusiasm for human eccentricities, and an affable and snappy style make this read an enriching and eye-opening pleasure.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

by Patrick Lencioni

ISBN: 0787960756, Hardcover BUY

In keeping with the parable style, Lencioni (The Five Temptations of a CEO) begins by telling the fable of a woman who, as CEO of a struggling Silicon Valley firm, took control of a dysfunctional executive committee and helped its members succeed as a team. Story time over, Lencioni offers explicit instructions for overcoming the human behavioral tendencies that he says corrupt teams (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results). Succinct yet sympathetic, this guide will be a boon for those struggling with the inherent difficulties of leading a group.

Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy

by Raghuram G. Rajan

ISBN: 0691146837, Hardcover BUY

The left has figured out who to blame for the financial crisis: Greedy Wall Street bankers, especially at Goldman Sachs. The right has figured it out, too: It was government's fault, especially Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Raghuram Rajan of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business says it's more complicated: Fault lines along the tectonic plates of the global economy pushed big government and big finance to a financial earthquake. To him, this was a Greek tragedy in which traders and bankers, congressmen and subprime borrowers all played their parts until the drama reached the inevitably painful end. (Mr. Rajan plays Cassandra, of course.) But just when you're about to cast him as a University of Chicago free-market stereotype, he surprises by identifying the widening gap between rich and poor as a big cause of the calamity.

The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means

by Jeff Yeager

ISBN: 0767931327, Paperback BUY

Yeager (The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches) is back with another energetic, likably eccentric lesson on living happily well below your means. Interviewing a variety of self-professed cheapskates, he finds–despite a diversity of lifestyles, backgrounds, and beliefs– common practices and philosophies when it came to money; their knowledge of how to live on less has insulated them from the economic crash. He presents their tips on frugal living in grocery shopping, entertainment, and sensible parenting, but the real value is in Yeager's persuasive argument that an onset of Spending Anxiety Disorder is good for our wallets, our communities, and the environment. If we change the way we think about want vs. need, we can focus our time and attention on the truly valuable things–family, charity, passions, the early retirement that will make enjoying them longer possible–and if we consume sparingly, thoughtfully, and fully, our possessions will not consume us. Yeager and his Miser Advisers are proof that living more frugally isn't about sacrifice–it's about making choices every day to live a better, happier, more thoughtful life with less.

Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It)

by William Poundstone

ISBN: 080909469X, Hardcover BUY

Poundstone (Gaming the Vote) dives into the latest psychological findings to investigate how and why prices are allocated. Beginning with the controversial lawsuit in which a jury awarded $2.9 million in damages to a woman who had spilled a scalding cup of McDonald's coffee on herself, the author presents a readable history of how we are subtly manipulated into paying more (or less) for goods and servicesand the research that attempts to explain our baffling and irrational susceptibility to pricing. The idea of anchoring and adjustmentsetting an arbitrary number to subconsciously drive higher or lower estimatesis just one of many research areas explained at length. While Poundstone's case studies are vivid, the abundance of theories and experiments might prove overwhelming for the casual reader. Nevertheless, the scope of the analysisits attention to economic abstractions as well as real-world consequencesbraids together theory and practice to leave an indelible impression on the reader. Grocery shopping will never seem so simple again when one realizes how much work goes into assigning a price to a box of cereal.

If You're Not First, You're Last: Sales Strategies to Dominate Your Market and Beat Your Competition

by Grant Cardone

ISBN: 0470624353 , Hardcover BUY

In the real world, not everyone gets a prize just for showing up. You either win or you lose. If you're in business during a down economy, winning means one thing: being first.

If You're Not First, You're Last is your playbook for seizing the heights by boosting sales, increasing margins, and creating new opportunities no matter the economy. Let your rivals complain about miserable selling climates! They can hide under their beds as you use the practical tools and strategies in this guide to get to work and get results.

Pulling no punches and allowing no excuses, If You're Not First, You're Last gives you:

An advance-and-conquer attitude
The secret strength of "hunger"
Your Freedom Plan
Why dominance means disregarding social norms
How to deliver at "WOW" levels
How to convert unsold goods into sales NOW
The "Power" Schedulethe exact daily formula for personal success
And so much more!

Even in a down economy, you can get to the top in your career and businessand the top is the right place to be! If You're Not First, You're Last gives you a proven set of tools to find the opportunities and act on them before your competition does. Get this powerful guide and you won't just succeed, you'll dominate.

A Hedge Fund Tale of Reach and Grasp: Or What's a Heave For

by Barton Biggs

ISBN: 0470604549, Hardcover BUY

Barton Biggs' latest book is an inspirational rags to riches story of drive and financial talent. Told through the eyes of a fictional insider, this engaging story provides a detailed look at the hedge fund business in the late 1990s and through the first decade of the twenty-first century.

A Tale From the Hedge Fund World chronicles the life of a poor boy who ends up amassing more wealth than he ever thought possible. From studying Wall Street charts while sitting on the sidelines of football practice to realizing how so much money can be made in a short period of time, this book provides a bird's eye view of the inner workings of Wall Street and what it takes to make it there.

Puts the word of hedge funds in perspective and reveals the competitive and lucrative nature of this field
Other titles by Biggs: Hedgehogging and Wealth, War & Wisdom
Also describes the bursting of the mortgage bubble and the great financial crisis that followed

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