Paperback. Finance doesn't have to be complex to be clear. It can be seriously fun.Once Upon a Balance Sheet isn't your typical finance book. It's a story-driven experience designed for leaders, professionals, and teams who have always felt a little unsure around numbers and are finally ready to understand financials with clarity and confidence.Beyond formulas and ratios, you'll meet a cast of memorable characters such as Count Jargon, Miss Numbers and Master C FOO, inside the Financial Storyverse. Each one helps you make sense of concepts that once felt overwhelming. This is Financial Storytelling in action: visual, engaging, and surprisingly enjoyable. It's about making finance seriously fun while giving you the confidence to use numbers with purpose and clarity in real-world situations.Whether you're sharpening existing skills or starting from scratch, this book will help you read financial statements with new eyes, make smarter decisions, and build financially impactful teams, conversations, and culture. It equips you not just to understand numbers, but to interpret them, communicate them, and act on them with confidence.Inside, you'll discover how to: Understand the Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss, and Cash Flow without jargonSpot red flags early and avoid costly mistakesConnect numbers to real-world business decisions that drive growthEngage in confident conversations about financials, even without a finance backgroundTurn numbers into a strategic advantage for your organizationIn today's fast-changing world shaped by AI and accelerating change, finance must become more than just a language of business. It needs to become the language of leadership that blends clarity, empathy, and impact - where numbers are not just reported, but understood, communicated, and acted upon.That philosophy is what James C Foo Leong calls finance with heart and a smile. It is the foundation behind his Financial Storytelling way, an approach that not only makes finance simpler but also deeper, actionable, and unforgettable. Developed through years of teaching, leadership, and real-world application, it reflects a belief that financial clarity should be accessible to everyone, not just finance professionals.This approach has been applied in classrooms, boardrooms, and leadership settings, helping individuals and teams move from confusion to clarity, and from hesitation to confident decision-making. Endorsed by board chairs, independent directors of listed companies, CEOs, professors, entrepreneurs, and global business leaders, including leaders in finance, law, education, and the public sector.The mission of the book is to help organizations unlock one of the most overlooked levers of sustainable growth: financial learning, understanding, and capability - turning clarity into better decisions, stronger teams, and long-term impact.Once Upon a Balance Sheet is your gateway to the Financial Storyverse. Probably the happiest place to learn finance.An Amazon Bestseller in Management Accounting, it speaks directly to those who have long felt that finance was difficult, distant, or overly technical, and offers a refreshing alternative grounded in clarity and relevance.This makes the book especially valuable for non-finance leaders who need to engage with financials regularly, make informed decisions, and communicate with confidence. It bridges the gap between technical knowledge and practical application, helping readers move from passive understanding to active leadership. An Amazon bestseller, Once Upon a Balance Sheet introduces Financial Storytelling, helping non-finance professionals understand financial statements. Learn to read Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9789819427161

Contact seller

Report this item

Bibliographic Details

Title: Once Upon a Balance Sheet (Paperback)
Publisher: Financial Storytelling
Publication Date: 2025
Language: English
ISBN 10: 9819427169
ISBN 13: 9789819427161
Binding: Paperback
Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Finance doesn’t have to be complex to be clear. It can be seriously fun.

Once Upon a Balance Sheet isn’t your typical finance book. It’s a story-driven experience designed for leaders, professionals, and teams who have always felt a little unsure around numbers and are finally ready to understand financials with clarity and confidence.

Beyond formulas and ratios, you’ll meet a cast of memorable characters inside the Financial Storyverse�. Each one helps you make sense of concepts that once felt overwhelming. This is Financial Storytelling in action: visual, engaging, and surprisingly enjoyable. It’s about making finance seriously fun while giving you the confidence to use numbers with purpose.

Whether you’re sharpening existing skills or starting from scratch, this book will help you read financial statements with new eyes, make smarter decisions, and build financially impactful teams and culture.

Inside, you’ll discover how to:

Understand the Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss, and Cash Flow without jargon
Spot red flags early and avoid costly mistakes
Connect numbers to real-world business decisions that drive growth
Engage in confident conversations about financials, even without a finance background
Turn numbers into a strategic advantage for your organization

In today’s fast-changing world shaped by AI and accelerating change, finance must become more than just a language of business. It needs to become the language of leadership that blends clarity, empathy, and impact.

That philosophy is what James C Foo Leong calls finance with heart and a smile. It is the foundation behind his Financial Storytelling way, an approach that not only makes finance simpler but also deeper, actionable, and unforgettable. It underpins the visual finance tools he has created and the cast of characters from the Financial Storyverse, including Miss Numbers, Huat, Master C FOO, Count Jargon, and the STEPH Model�.

Endorsed by board chairs, independent directors of listed companies, CEOs, professors, entrepreneurs, and global business minds, including leaders in finance, law, education, and the public sector.

The mission of the book is to help organizations unlock one of the most overlooked levers of sustainable growth: financial learning.

Once Upon a Balance Sheet is your gateway to the Financial Storyverse�. Probably the happiest place to learn finance.

About the Author

James C Foo Leong is an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore and a Chartered Accountant of Singapore and Australia. He is the creator of the Financial Storyverse, a unique world of characters and metaphors that bring finance to life, and the founder of the Financial Storytelling approach, a visual, story-first method that makes finance clear and compelling. He is also the developer of trademarked systems such as the STEPH Model� and Accounting in a Box�, which are used by learners internationally.

He was featured in the SG60 Independent Showcase, honoring Singapore’s sixty most celebrated trainers and speakers during the nation’s 60th-year celebrations, and highlighted in an International Teachers’ Day Special by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) for his contributions to financial education and leadership development.

James has delivered programs for participants across Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. He is trusted across sectors including finance, healthcare, government, non-profit, and listed companies. Over the years, he has helped leaders from startups to Fortune 500 companies transform financial confusion into clarity, confidence, and results, making finance not only understandable but also practical and relatable.

Ready to see the story your numbers are telling?
Get your copy of Once Upon a Balance Sheet today and lead with clarity, confidence, and impact.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Online business

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

ABC BOOKS LIMITED
10 John Street, London, WC1N 2EB, United Kingdom

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Orders can be returned within 30 days of receipt.

Right of cancellation

If you are a consumer you can cancel the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE RIGHT OF CANCELLATION

Statutory Right to cancel

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us, CitiRetail, ABC Books c/o International Logistics, Unit 2D Gatwick Gate Industrial Estate, RH11 0TG, Lowfield Heath, United Kingdom, 44 020 3290 3457, of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory. You can also electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". If you use this option, we will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a cancellation on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

Effects of cancellation

If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel with contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to us or CitiRetail, ABC Books c/o International Logistics, Unit 2D Gatwick Gate Industrial Estate, RH11 0TG, Lowfield Heath, United Kingdom, 44 020 3290 3457, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your cancellation from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of cancellation

The right of cancellation does not apply to:

the delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
the supply of digital content (including ebooks) which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not cancel it once delivery had started.

Model withdrawal form

(complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

To: (CitiRetail, ABC Books c/o International Logistics, Unit 2D Gatwick Gate Industrial Estate, RH11 0TG, Lowfield Heath, United Kingdom, 44 020 3290 3457)

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following service (*),

Ordered on (*)/received on (*)

Name of consumer(s)

Address of consumer(s)

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper)

Date

* Delete as appropriate.

Shipping Terms

Please note that titles are dispatched from our US, Canadian or Australian warehouses. Delivery times specified in shipping terms. Orders ship within 2 business days. Delivery to your door then takes 7-14 days.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Order quantity	7 to 60 business days	7 to 14 business days
First item	� 37.00	� 37.00

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.