Accounting & Business Glossary

I am currently studying business and accounting, two important fields that help us understand how companies manage money, make decisions, and grow. In this glossary, you will find key terms that are commonly used in accounting, finance, and business management.

account

noun

A record or statement of financial expenditure and receipts relating to a particular period or purpose.

Example: This competition caused a dramatic decline in profits which can be seen in the profit and loss ACCOUNT, in the appendix of the article.

fr: compte

budget

noun

An estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time.

Example: SEN2 is a new product, thus a BUDGET $4000 needs to be spent on advertising to make consumers aware of the product.

fr: budget

invoice

noun

A list of goods sent or services provided, with a statement of the sum due for these; a bill.

Example: The client receives one itemized INVOICE for the total services performed.

fr: facture

receipt

noun

A written acknowledgment by a receiver of money, goods, etc, that payment or delivery has been made.

Example: In this case David sometimes contracted orally and other times, where he signed the RECEIPT, he had a written contract.

fr: reçu

profit

noun

A financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.

Example: More total revenue (demand inelastic) Less total revenue (demand elastic) Most owners want to maximize their PROFIT. A supermarket cannot continue to operate if it does not make any PROFIT and so it is essential to know how to increase the total revenue.

fr: profit

loss

noun

Making less money than is spent buying, operating, or producing something.

Example: Post harvest management In order to minimise post harvest LOSS, on-farm storage facilities should be constructed and managed properly.

fr: perte

expense

noun

The cost required for something; the money spent on something.

Example: The budget analysis is used to set out expected expenditures and then to review what actually happens, it is done using four budgets these are EXPENSE, revenue, cash and capital budgets.

fr: dépense

revenue

noun

Income, especially when of a company or organization and of a substantial nature.

Example: This shows that Audi is more efficient in "utilizing capital to generate REVENUE".

fr: revenu

tax

noun

A compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits, or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions.

Example: They are calling for large spending cuts and tax increases. His decision to return to a form of property tax is the right one. Husband and wife are now taxed separately on their incomes.

fr: impôt

salary

noun

A fixed regular payment, typically paid on a monthly or biweekly basis but often expressed as an annual sum, made by an employer to an employee, especially a professional or white-collar worker.

Example: Today businesses are still using SALARY as a will influencing factor on their employees.

fr: salaire

loan

noun

A thing that is borrowed, especially a sum of money that is expected to be paid back with interest.

Example: Taking risks should not be always avoided and a well thought through marketing plan can easily justify a LOAN.

fr: dette

investment

noun

The action or process of investing money for profit or material result.

Example: Although one reason may be to high INVESTMENT, it could also be due to a good farm system and if this farm were to adapt it should be able to produce goods to the same standards and therefore compete in the market.

fr: investissement

profit margin

noun

The amount by which revenue from sales exceeds costs in a business.

Example: Every business is primarily interested in creating large profit margins. Technology plays a large role in this as the performance of the programs and systems in place are directly proportional to the size of the PROFIT MARGIN.

fr: marge bénéficiaire

supplier

noun

A person or organization that provides something needed such as a product or service.

Example: A 30% reduction in the cost of buying in yarn would cause it to be cheaper than producing it, but if the SUPPLIER's reliability is questionable, it may be more sensible to try and gain a 20% reduction from the current SUPPLIER.

fr: fournisseur

customer

noun

A person or organization that buys goods or services from a store or business.

Example: The conducted analysis revealed the distinguished profile of the Waitrose organic CUSTOMER, who tends to be older and better off than the average buyer of organic-labelled food across all of the identified spending categories.

fr: client

balance

noun

A figure representing the difference between credits and debits in an account; the amount of money held in an account.

Example: The month of August 1977 showed a BALANCE - of - payment surplus of £316 m., the largest ever recorded in numerical terms for one month.

fr: solde

capital

noun

Wealth in the form of money or other assets owned by a person or organization or available or contributed for a particular purpose such as starting a company or investing.

Example: Companies are having difficulty in raising CAPITAL. A large amount of CAPITAL is invested in all these branches.

fr: capital

liability

noun

A debt or obligation or a personal flaw that stands in your way. A company's liabilities are simply the debts on its ledger.

Example: The company's balance sheet showed a significant increase in LIABILITIES due to the recent large loan they took out to fund their expansion.

fr: passif

asset

noun

Property owned by a person or company, regarded as having value and available to meet debts, commitments, or legacies.

Example: This implies that the accountants should be cautious in the valuation of assets. The lowest reasonable estimate of an ASSET's value should be taken.

fr: actif

balance sheet

noun

A financial statement that lists a company's assets and liabilities.

Example: The submission of a BALANCE SHEET to every annual general meeting of the association helped to guarantee financial probity.

fr: bilan

This glossary was made with the Virtual Writing Tutor glossary maker and grammar checker.