Antilogic

There are many strange phenomena in the world of business and finance. We discover many curious things, comic and contentious that are not all explained by conventional finance or economic theory rather they follow the rules of antilogic.

Financial practitioners have been attempting to quantify, monitor and control financial
risk and yet, in spite of modern quantitative analysis and highly sophisticated modelling techniques they are no more successful in this than in the past - the world of finance and business just doesn't add up.

This highly controversial and thought provoking book, written in a light and humorous style will not only entertain but also challenge readers to question conventional wisdom.

This book provides a clear look at the antilogic of the business world and financial markets. It describes the background conditions that encourage the creation of antilogic and demonstrates how business personalities generate the antilogic concept.

Shows the antilogic created by accountants and looks at the role of cash and makes the
discovery that much of antilogic stems from accepting as money, something different
which is defined in the book as Vapourcash and AnticashSchon seit der Einführung der doppelten Buchführung versuchen Finanzexperten das Finanzrisiko zu quantifizieren, zu überwachen und zu steuern, doch auch heute sind sie dabei nicht erfolgreicher wie damals. Autor Bruce McComish führt dies auf die grundlegenden Fehler der Wirtschaftstheorie zurück, die auf überholten Konzepten und unzulänglichen Managementverfahren beruhen, die zwar ihrerseits zur Schaffung von vielversprechenden Kassenbeständen geführt haben, nicht aber zu echter Wertschöpfung. "Antilogic" ist eine Sammlung witziger und nachdenklich stimmender Essays, in denen McComish die Anti-Logik der Geschäftswelt und der Finanzmarkte ganz genau unter die Lupe nimmt. Mit einer gehörigen Portion trockenem Humor stellt er die gesamte Basis der westlichen Finanzsysteme und -konzepte in Frage. Sein Ziel ist es, den Leser dazu zu bewegen, seine Einstellung neu zu überdenken und aktuelle Praktiken zu hinterfragen, die bislang als selbstverständlich angesehen wurden. Dazu bringt er seine äußerst originellen Ansichten in Verbindung mit seinem umfassenden Wirtschaftswissen ein, um so eine anregende Diskussion zur globalen Finanzstruktur in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart zu entfachen. Bruce McComish ist ein international erfahrener Finanzexperte; er kann auf eine mehr als 30-jährige Erfahrung im Senior Management multinationaler Konzerne zurückgreifen. "Antilogic" - eine ebenso interessante wie provozierende Lektüre für interessierte Business- und Finanzleser. Preface.

Introduction.

Believing Because of the Way Things are and Why We Think the Way We Do.

Believing the Corporation.

Guided by the Market.

Believing the Words.

Believing the Numbers: The Contribution of the Accountants.

Believing the Numbers: The Contribution of the Statisticians.

Buying the Forecast: Falling for the Non-Forecast-Forecast.

The Amazing Role of Cash.

Vapourcash Explained: Cash, Not as Real as You Thought.

Anticash Explained: Anticash and the History of Money.

Anticash: The Bankers and the Accountants.

Anticash More Real Than You Hoped.

References.

Index.

".... Bruce McComish has written a book that makes it clear that nothing is as it seems in the world of business and finance. Prepare to be shocked by the discovery that boardrooms and senior management ranks are populated by donkeys, market efficiency is a myth, accountants cook the books, economists are charlatans, forecasting is useless and cash is a myth. McComish is the latest in a long line of writers, from Keynes to Galbraith, who enjoy exposing the self-delusion that characterises the world of business.... The chapter on accounting is the best in the book.... If any one needs further evidence that Antilogic is alive and well and thriving in business, just think about those telephone companies who spent billions of pounds acquiring 3G licenses, which despite all the evidence to the contrary, remain on the balance sheet as assets." (Sunday Times, 16 September 2001)

"McCormish has produced a well researched account." (Lloyds List, 31 August 2001) BRUCE MCCOMISH has 20 years' experience in senior management roles with leading multi-national companies. His considerable boardroom expertise traverses products and services as wide-ranging as banking, food manufacture, cleaning products, forestry and mining in locations as far apart as the UK, Australia, New Zealand, US, Indonesia and Continental Europe.

He is a former Chief Financial Officer of National Australia Bank, in which capacity he was responsible for group-wide financial and management reporting, capital management, group funding, balance sheet quality, tax management, acquisitions and investor relations. His wide-ranging experience also includes, amongst others, the posts of Financial Director at Unilever Australia Ltd., Managing Director at Lever Industrial and Executive General Manager at North Ltd.

Bruce is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Burdett Buckeridge and Young, an Australian investment bank. He holds degrees in commerce and in economics and economic history and is a chartered accountant. This is a book that challenges the way we look at the world. It is a book for everybody who sometimes feels that they have fallen into a looking-glass world and they do not know how to get out, and for those who are so deeply in this reverse world that they do not even recognize they are there. Rich in history, philosophy and anecdote combined with the author's astute business expertise, this book examines the workings of the modern business world and recognizes that it is often driven by Antilogic.

Topics include:
* Believing because of the way things are and why we think the way we do

* Believing the corporation

* Guided by the market

* Believing the words

* Believing the numbers: the contribution of the accountants

* Believing the numbers: the contribution of the statisticians

* The amazing role of cash

* Vapourcash explained: cash not as real as you thought

* Anticash explained: Anticash and the history of money

* Anticash: the bankers and the accountants

* Anticash: more real than you hoped Antilogic is the opposite to logic, not the absence of logic as in random or chaotic events but the mirror image of logic, in a similar relationship that antimatter has to matter. It is the systematic pursuit of a course of action that may on the surface appear rational or impressive but in reality is little more than a generator of vapour. As with a looking-glass, if the reality and its mirror image meet they negate each other.

The word, 'Antilogic' has very early origins having been associated with the Sophists in ancient Greece. It is, however, alive and strong in the modern world of business and finance. All too frequently people have difficulty in distinguishing logic from Antilogic and cash from Vapourcash. Most people will be familiar with examples of Antilogic, such as share prices that drop on good results and poor managers who are given golden farewells or large salary increases while good staff is worked to exhaustion.

This thought-provoking book challenges conventional wisdom and helps readers to see through the vapour. It sweeps through time and over continents, from the Yap islanders to the English mercantilists, from Groucho Marx to the indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea. The author's wide-ranging knowledge and his astute business expertise will challenge, delight and inform the reader.