above par /əbv pɑ / adjective referring to a share with a market price higher than its face value

above par
|

above-the-line /əbv ðə lain / adjective, adverb 1. used to describe entries in a company’s profit and loss accounts
above-the-line |

that appear above the line which separates entries showing the origin of the funds that have contributed to the profit or
loss from those that relate to its distribution. Exceptional and extraordinary items appear above the line. Exceptional
items are noted above the line in company accounts. below-the-line 2. relating to revenue items in a government budget
abridged accounts /ə brid d ə kaυnts/ plural noun financial statements produced by a company that fall outside the
abridged accounts | |

requirements stipulated in the Companies Act absorb /əb zɔb/ verb 1. to take in a small item so that it forms part of a
absorb
|

larger one a business which has been absorbed by a competitor a small business which has been made part of a larger
one 2. to assign an overhead to a particular cost centre in a company’s production accounts so that its identity becomes
lost. absorption costing
absorbed overhead /əbzɔbd əυvəhed/ noun an overhead attached to products or services by means of overhead
absorbed overhead |

absorption rates
absorption /əb zɔpʃən/ noun the process of making a smaller business part of a larger one, so that the smaller
absorption |

company in effect no longer exists absorption costing /əbzɔpʃən kɒstiŋ/ noun 1. a form of costing for a product
absorption costing |

that includes both the direct costs of production and the indirect overhead costs as well 2. an accounting practice in which
fixed and variable costs of production are absorbed by different cost centres. Providing all the products or services can be
sold at
absorption rate
a price that covers the allocated costs, this method ensures that both fixed and variable costs are recovered in full. marginal costing
absorption rate /əbzɔpʃən reit / noun a rate at which overhead costs are absorbed into each unit of production abstract /bstrkt/ noun a short form of a report or document to make
absorption rate | abstract

an abstract of the company accounts

abusive tax shelter /ə bjusiv tks ʃeltə/ noun a tax shelter used illegally in order to avoid or reduce tax payments
abusive tax shelter |

Academy of Accounting Historians Academy of Accounting Historians

/əkdəmi əv ə kaυntiŋ hi stɔriənz/ noun a US organisation, founded in 1973, that promotes the study of the history of accounting
| ||

ACAUS abbreviation Association of Chartered Accountants in the United States

ACAUS

ACCA abbreviation Association of Chartered Certified Accountants accelerate /əkseləreit / verb to reduce the amount of time before a maturity date
ACCA accelerate |

accelerated cost recovery system accelerated cost recovery system

/
/k selrəreitid kɒst rikvəri sistəm / noun a system used in the United States for calculating depreciation in a way that reduces tax liability accelerated
| | depreciation ək accelerated depreciation |

seləreitid dipriʃi eiʃ(ə)n/ noun a system of depreciation which reduces the value of assets at a high rate in the early years to encourage companies, as a result of tax advantages, to invest in
|

new equipment
acceleration acceleration
/ək seləreiʃ (ə)n/ noun
| |
the speeding up of debt repayment
acceleration clause /əkselə reiʃ(ə)n acceleration clause | |

klɔz/ noun US a clause in a contract that provides for immediate payment of the total balance if there is a breach of contract
acceptance /ək septəns/ noun 1. the act of signing a bill of exchange to show that you agree to pay it to present a bill for acceptance to present a bill for payment by the person who has
acceptance
|

accepted it 2. a bill which has been accepted 3. the act of accepting an offer of new shares for which you have applied

banker’s acceptance banker’s acceptance /bŋkəz ək septəns/ noun a bill of exchange guaranteed by a bank
|

Bankers’ Automated Clearing Serv- ices Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services /bŋkəz ɔtəmeitid kliəriŋ
svisiz/ plural noun full form of BACS
banker’s bill /bŋkəz bil/ noun an order by one bank telling another bank, usually in another country, to pay money to someone. Also called bank bill
banker’s bill

banker’s credit card /bŋkəz kredit banker’s credit card

kɑd/ noun a credit card issued by a bank, as opposed to cards issued by stores. Typical such cards are Visa, Egg or MasterCard.
banker’s draft /bŋkəz drɑft/ noun a draft payable by a bank in cash on presentation. Abbreviation B/D
banker’s draft

banker’s lien /bŋkəz lin/ noun the right of a bank to hold some property of a customer as security against payment of a debt
banker’s lien

banker’s order /bŋkəz ɔdə/ noun an order written by a customer asking a bank to make a regular payment He pays his subscription by banker’s order.
banker’s order

banker’s reference
banker’s reference
/bŋkəz ref(ə)rəns/ noun a written report issued by a bank regarding a particular customer’s creditworthiness
bank giro /bŋk d airəυ/ noun a method used by clearing banks to transfer money rapidly from one account to another
bank giro

bank reconciliation
bank holiday bank holiday
/bŋk hɒlidei/ noun a weekday which is a public holiday when the banks are closed New Year’s Day is a bank holiday. Are we paid for bank holidays in this job?
bank identification number /bŋk bank identification number

aidentifi keiʃ(ə)n nmbə/ noun an internationally organised six-digit number which identifies a bank for charge card purposes. Abbreviation BIN
|

banking /bŋkiŋ/ noun the business of banks He is studying banking. She has gone into banking.
banking

banking account /bŋkiŋ ə kaυnt/ noun US an account which a customer has with a bank banking
banking account covenants /bŋkiŋ kvənənts/ plural noun a set of conditions imposed by a
|
banking covenants

bank when it lends an institution a large amount of money Banking Ombudsman /bŋkiŋ ɒmbυdzmən/ noun an official whose duty is to investigate complaints by members of the
Banking Ombudsman

public against banks banking products /bŋkiŋ prɒdkts/ plural noun goods and services produced by banks for customers, e.g. statements, direct debits
banking products
bank loan /bŋk ləυn/ noun a loan made by a bank to a customer, usually against the security of a property or asset She asked for a bank loan to start her business. Also called bank
bank loan

advance bank manager /bŋk mnid ə/ noun the person in charge of a branch of a bank They asked their bank manager for a loan. bank mandate
bank manager
/bŋk mndeit/ noun a written order bank mandate

to a bank, asking it to open an account and allow someone to sign cheques on behalf of the account holder, and giving specimen signatures and relevant information
banknote /bŋk nəυt/ noun 1. a piece of printed paper money a counterfeit £20 banknote (NOTE: The US term is bill.) 2. US a non-interest bearing note, issued by a Federal Reserve Bank,
banknote

which can be used as cash

Bank of England /bŋk əv iŋlənd/ noun the UK central bank, owned by the state, which, together with the Treasury, regulates the nation’s finances
Bank of England

bank reconciliation /bŋk rekənsili bank reconciliation |

eiʃ(ə)n/ noun the act of making sure that the bank statements agree with the company’s ledgers
bank reserves
bank reserves /bŋk ri zvz/ plural noun cash and securities held by a bank to cover deposits
bank reserves |

bank return /bŋk ritn / noun a regular report from a bank on its financial position
bank return |

bankrupt /bŋkrpt/ noun, adjective (a person) who has been declared by a court not to be capable of paying his or her debts and whose affairs are put into the hands of a receiver a
bankrupt

bankrupt property developer She was adjudicated or declared bankrupt. He went bankrupt after two years in business. verb to make someone become bankrupt The recession bankrupted
my father.

calculate /klkjυleit/ verb 1. to find the answer to a problem using numbers The bank clerk calculated the rate of exchange for the dollar. 2. to estimate I calculate that we have six
calculate

months’ stock left.

calculation /klkjυleiʃ (ə)n/ noun the answer to a problem in mathematics According to my calculations, we have six months’ stock left. we are £20,000 out in our calculations we have
calculation |

made a mistake in our calculations and arrived at a figure which is £20,000 too much or too little
calendar variance /klində veəriəns/ noun variance which occurs if a company uses calendar months for the financial accounts but uses the number of actual working days to calculate
calendar variance

overhead expenses in the cost accounts calendar year /klində jiə/ noun a year from the 1st January to 31st December call /kɔl/ noun 1. a demand for repayment of a loan by a lender
calendar year
call

2. a demand to pay for new shares which then become paid up verb to ask for a loan to be repaid immediately call in /kɔl in/ phrasal verb 1. to visit Their sales representative called in twice
last week. 2. to ask for a debt to be paid call up /kɔl p/ phrasal verb to ask for
share capital to be paid callable bond callable bond
/kɔləb(ə)l bɒnd/ noun a bond which can be redeemed before it matures
callable capital /kɔləb(ə)l kpit(ə)l/ noun the part of a company’s capital which has not been called up
callable capital

call account /kɔl ə kaυnt/ noun a type of current account where money can be withdrawn without notice
call account |

call-back pay /kɔl bk pei/ noun pay given to an employee who has been called back to work after his or her usual working hours
call-back pay

called up capital /kɔld p kpit(ə)l/ noun share capital in a company which has been called up. The share capital becomes fully paid when all the authorised shares have been called up.
called up capital

‘…a circular to shareholders highlights that the company’s net assets as at August 1, amounted to £47.9 million – less than half the company’s called-up share capital of £96.8 million.
Accordingly, an EGM has been called for October 7’ [Times]
call-in pay /kɔl in pei/ noun payment guaranteed to employees who report for work even if there is no work for them to do Call-in pay is often necessary to ensure the attendance of
call-in pay

employees where there is at least the possibility of work needing to be done.

call loan /kɔl ləυn/ noun a bank loan repayable at call
call loan

call money /kɔl mni/ noun money loaned for which repayment can be demanded without notice. Also called money at call, money on call
call money

call option /kɔl ɒpʃən/ noun an option to buy shares at a future date and at a specific price. Also called call
call option

call price /kɔl prais/ noun a price to be paid on redemption of a US bond

call price

call provision /kɔl prə vi (ə)n/ noun a clause that allows a bond to be redeemed before its maturity date call purchase
call provision |
/kɔl ptʃis/, call sale /kɔl seil/ noun a transaction where thecall purchase

seller or purchaser can fix the price for future delivery

calls in arrear /kɔls in ə riə/ plural noun money called up for shares, but not paid at the correct time and a special calls in arrear account is set up to debit the sums owing
calls in arrear |

Canadian Institute of Chartered Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

Accountants /kəneidiən institjut əv tʃɑtəd ə kaυntənts/ noun in Canada, the | |

cap
principal professional accountancy body that is responsible for setting accounting standards. Abbreviation CICA cap /kp/ noun 1. an upper limit placed on something, such as an interest cap

rate. The opposite, i.e. a lower limit, is a ‘floor’). 2. same as capitalisation (informal) Last year the total market cap of all the world’s gold companies fell from $71 billion to $46 billion.
verb to place an upper limit on something to cap a department’s budget

commercial law /kə mʃ(ə)l lɔ/ noun the laws regarding the conduct of businesses commercial lawyer
commercial law | commercial lawyer /kəmʃ
| (ə)l lɔjə/ noun a person who specialises in company
law or who advises companies on legal problems
commercial loan /kə mʃ(ə)l ləυn/ noun a short-term renewable loan or line of credit used to finance the seasonal or cyclical working capital needs of a company
commercial loan |

commercially /kə mʃ(ə)li/ adverb 1. for the purpose of making a profit 2. in the operation of a business
commercially
|

commercial paper commercial paper /kə mʃ(ə)l | peipə/ noun an IOU issued by a company to raise a short-term loan. Abbreviation CP
commercial property
commercial property /kə mʃ(ə)l prɒpəti/ noun a building, or buildings, used as offices or shops commercial report
| /kə mʃ(ə)l ri pɔt/ noun an investigative commercial report | |

report made by an organisation such as a credit bureau that specialises in obtaining information regarding a person or organisation applying for something such as credit or employment
commercial substance /kə mʃ(ə)l sbstəns/ noun the economic reality that underlies a transaction or arrangement, regardless of its legal or technical denomination. For
commercial substance |

example, a company may sell an office block and then immediately lease it back: the commercial substance may be that it has not been sold. commercial year /kəmʃ (ə)l jiə/ commercial year |

noun an artificial year treated as having 12 months of 30 days each, used for calculating such things as monthly sales data and inventory levels
commission /kəmiʃ
commission
(ə)n/ noun 1. money paid to a salesperson or agent, usually a percentage of the sales made She gets 10% commission on everything she sells. He is paid on a
|

commission basis. 2. a group of people officially appointed to examine some problem He is the chairman of the government commission on export subsidies. commission agent commission agent

/kəmiʃ | (ə)n eid ənt/ noun an agent who is paid a percentage of sales commissioner commissioner /kəmiʃ
| (ə)nə/ noun an ombudsman
committee
Commissioner of the Inland Reve- Commissioner of the Inland Revenue nue /kə miʃ(ə)nəz əv θi inlənd
|

revənju/ noun same as Appeals Commissioner

commission house commission house /kə miʃ(ə)n haυs/ noun a firm which buys or sells for clients, and charges a commission for this service commission rep
|
commission rep
/kə miʃ(ə)n
| rep/ noun a
representative who is not paid a salary but receives a commission on sales commit /kə mit/ verb to commit yourself to to guarantee something, especially a loan issue, or to guarantee to
commit
|

do something commitment /kə mitmənt/ noun something which you have agreed to do to make a commitment or to enter into a commitment to do something The company has a
commitment |

commitment to provide a cheap service.

commitment document /kə mitmənt dɒkjυmənt/ noun a contract, change order, purchase order or letter of intent which deals with the supply of goods and services and
commitment document |

commits an organisation to legal, financial and other obligations

commitment fee /kə mitmənt fi/ noun a fee paid to a bank which has arranged a line of credit which has not been fully used
commitment fee |

commitments basis /kə mitmənts beisis/ noun the method of recording the expenditure of a public sector organisation at the time when it commits itself to it rather than when it
commitments basis |

actually pays for it

commitments for capital expendi- ture /kəmitmənts fə kpit (ə)l ik commitments for capital expenditure | |

spenditʃə/ plural noun the amount a company has committed to spend on fixed assets in the future. In the United Kingdom, companies are legally obliged to disclose this amount, and any
additional commitments, in their annual report.
committed credit lines /kəmitid kredit lainz/ plural noun a bank’s agreement to provide a loan on the borrower’s request, with a fee paid by the borrower for any undrawn
committed credit lines |

portion of the agreed loan

Committee of European Securities Committee of European Securities Regulators

Regulators /kə miti əv jυərəpiən si kjυəritiz rejυleitəz/ noun an independent organisation of securities regulators established to promote consistent supervision of the European market for
| |

financial services
decision theory /disi (ə)n θiəri/ noun the mathematical methods for weighing the various factors in making decisions In practice it is difficult to apply decision theory to
decision theory |

our planning. Students study decision theory to help them suggest strategies in case-studies.
decision tree decision tree /disi | (ə)n tri/ noun a model for decision-making, showing the possible outcomes of different decisions This computer programme incorporates a decision tree.
declaration /deklə reiʃ(ə)n/ noun an official statement
declaration |

declaration date /deklə reiʃ(ə)n deit/ noun US the date on which a board of directors declares the dividend to be paid declaration
declaration date | of bankruptcy /dekləreiʃ(ə)n əv declaration of bankruptcy

bŋkrptsi/ noun an
official statement that someone is bankrupt
declaration of income /dekləreiʃ(ə)n əv inkm/ noun same as income tax return declaration
declaration of income of solvency /dekləreiʃ(ə)n əv sɒlv(ə)nsi/ noun a declaration of solvency

document, lodged with the Registrar of Companies, that lists the assets and liabilities of a company seeking voluntary liquidation to show that the company is capable of repaying its debts
within 12months declare /dikleə / verb to make an official statement of something, or announce something to the public to declare someone bankrupt The company declared an
declare
|

interim dividend of 10p per share.

declared /di kleəd/ adjective having been made public or officially stated declared value
declared
| /dikleəd vlju / noun the value of goods entered on a customs declaration declared value |

decline /diklain / verb to fall slowly or decrease Shares declined in a weak market. New job applications have declined
decline
|

deed of covenant
over the last year. The economy declined during the last government. The purchasing power of the pound declined over the decade.
‘Saudi oil production has declined by three quarters to around 2.5m barrels a day’ [Economist]
‘…this gives an average monthly decline of 2.15 per cent during the period’ [Business Times (Lagos)]
‘…share prices disclosed a weak tendency right from the onset of business and declined further, showing losses over a broad front’ [The Hindu]
declining balance method /di klainiŋ declining balance method |

bləns meθəd/ noun US same as reducing balance method

decrease /di kris/ verb to fall or to become less Imports are decreasing. The value of the pound has decreased by 5%.
decrease
|

deduct /didkt / verb to take money away from a total to deduct £3 from the price to deduct a sum for expenses After deducting costs the gross margin is only 23%. Expenses are still to
deduct
|

be deducted.
deductible /didktib (ə)l/ adjective possible to deduct
deductible
|

deduction /di dkʃən/ noun the removing of money from a total, or the amount of money removed from a total Net salary is salary after deduction of tax and social security. The
deduction
|

deduction from her wages represented the cost of repairing the damage she had caused to the machinery. deductions from salary, salary deductions, deductions at source money which a
company removes from salaries to give to the government as tax, National Insurance contributions, etc. deed /did/ noun a legal document or written agreement deed

deed of arrangement /did əv ə deed of arrangement |

reind mənt/ noun an agreement made between a debtor and creditors whereby the creditors accept an agreed sum in settlement of their claim rather than make the debtor bankrupt
deed of assignment /did əv ə sainmənt/ noun a document which legally transfers a property from a debtor to a creditor
deed of assignment |

deed of covenant /did əv kvənənt/ noun a legal document in which a person or organisation promises to pay a third party a sum of money on an annual basis. In certain countries this
deed of covenant

arrangement may have tax advantages. For example, in the United

economic /ikə nɒmik/ adjective 1. providing enough money to make a profit The flat is let at an economic rent. It is hardly economic for the company to run its own warehouse. 2.
economic
|

referring to the financial state of a country economic trends Economic planners are expecting a consumer-led boom. The economic situation is getting worse. The country’s economic
system needs more regulation.
‘…each of the major issues on the agenda at this week’s meeting is important to the government’s success in overall economic management’ [Australian Financial
Review]
economical /ikə nɒmik(ə)l/ adjective saving money or materials or being less expensive This car is very economical. an economical use of resources the fact of using resources as
economical
|

carefully as possible Economic and Monetary Union /ikənɒmik ən mnit(ə)ri junjən/ noun Economic and Monetary Union

same as European Monetary Union

economic crisis /ikənɒmik kraisis/, economic depression /ikənɒmik di preʃ(ə)n/ noun a situation where a country is in financial collapse The government has introduced import
economic crisis
|

controls to solve the current economic crisis.

economic cycle economic cycle
/ikənɒmik saik(ə)l/ noun a period during which trade expands, then slows down and then expands again
economic development /ikənɒmik diveləpmənt / noun improvements in the living standards and wealth of the citizens of a country The government has offered tax
economic development |

incentives to speed up the economic development of the region. Economic development has been relatively slow in the north, compared with the rest of the country. economic economic forecaster

forecaster /ikənɒmik fɔkɑstə/ noun a person who says how he or she thinks a country’s economy will perform in the future
economic growth /ikənɒmik rəυθ/ noun the rate at which a country’s national income grows
economic growth

economic life /ikənɒmik laif/ noun the extent of trade and manufacturing in a country, regarded as a measure of its relative prosperity
economic life

economic model /ikənɒmik mɒd(ə)l/ noun a computerised plan of a country’s

economic model

economic order quantity

economic system, used for forecasting economic trends
economic order quantity /ikənɒmik ɔdə kwɒntiti/ noun the quantity of stocks which a company should hold, calculated on the basis of the costs of warehousing, of lower
economic order quantity

unit costs because of higher quantities purchased, the rate at which stocks are used, and the time it takes for suppliers to deliver new orders. Abbreviation EOQ economic planning economic planning

/ikənɒmik plniŋ/ noun plans made by a government for the future financial state of a country economics /ikə nɒmiks/ noun the study of the production, distribution, selling and
economics |

use of goods and services plural noun the study of financial structures to show how a product or service is costed and what returns it produces I do not understand the economics of the coal
industry. (NOTE: [all senses] takes a singular verb)
economic sanctions
economic sanctions
/ikənɒmik sŋkʃ(ə)nz/ plural noun restrictions on trade that foreign governments impose with the aim of influencing the political situation of a
country to impose economic sanctions on a country
economic stagnation /ikənɒmik st neiʃ(ə)n/ noun a lack of expansion in the economy
economic stagnation
|

economic value added /ikənɒmik vlju did/ noun a way of judging financial performance by measuring the amount by which the earnings of a project, an operation or a
economic value added

company exceed or fall short of the total amount of capital that was originally invested by its owners. Abbreviation
EVA
economies of scale economies of scale /ikɒnəmiz əv skeil/ plural noun the cost advantages of a company producing a product in larger quantities so that each unit costs less to make. Compare
|

diseconomies of scale

factoring charges factoring charges

/fktəriŋ tʃɑd iz/ plural noun the cost of selling debts to a factor for a commission
factors of production /fktəz əv prə factors of production |

dkʃən/ plural noun land, labour and capital, i.e. the three things needed to produce a product
factory gate price /fkt(ə)ri eit prais/ noun the actual cost of manufacturing goods before any mark-up is added to give profit (NOTE: The factory gate price includes direct costs such as
factory gate price

labour, raw materials and energy, and indirect costs such as interest on loans, plant maintenance or rent.)
factory overhead /fkt(ə)ri əυvəhed/ noun same as production overhead
factory overhead

FAE abbreviation Final Admitting Exam fail /feil/ verb to be unsuccessful The prototype failed its first test.
FAE fail

failure /feiljə/ noun an act of breaking down or stopping the failure of the negotiations
failure

failure costs /feiljə kɒsts/ plural noun costs that include external failure costs as well as associated costs, e.g. the cost of running a complaints department fair /feə/ adjective reasonable,
failure costs fair

with equal treatment

fair dealing /feə diliŋ/ noun the legal buying and selling of shares
fair dealing

fair market value /feə mɑkit vlju/ noun same as fair value
fair market value

fair price /feə prais/ noun a good price for both buyer and seller fair trade /feə treid/ noun an international business system where countries agree not to charge import duties on some
fair price fair trade

items imported from their trading partners fair value /feə vlju/ noun 1. a price paid by a buyer who knows the value of what he or she is buying, to a seller who also knows the value of
fair value

what is being sold, i.e., neither is cheating the other 2. a method of valuing the assets and liabilities of a business based on the amount for which they could be sold to independent parties at
the time of valuation

green card /rin kɑd/ noun 1. a special British insurance certificate to prove that a car is insured for travel abroad 2. an identity card and work permit for a person going to live in the US
green card

green currency /rin krənsi/ noun formerly, a currency used in the EU for calculating agricultural payments. Each country had an exchange rate fixed by the Commission, so there were
green currency

‘green pounds’, ‘green francs’, ‘green marks’, etc.

greenmail /rinmeil/ noun the practice of making a profit by buying a large number of shares in a company, threatening to take the company over, and then selling the shares back to the
greenmail

company at a higher price ‘…he proposes that there should be a limit on greenmail, perhaps permitting payment of a 20% premium on a maximum of 8% of the stock’ [ Duns Business
Month] Green Paper /rin peipə/ noun a report from the British government on proposals for a new law to be discussed in Parliament. Compare White Paper
Green Paper

green pound /rin paυnd/ noun a value for the British pound used in calculating agricultural prices and subsidies in the
green pound

EU
green report /rin ri pɔt/ noun a part of a company’s annual report dealing with ecological matters
green report |

grey market /rei mɑkit/ noun an unofficial market run by dealers, where new issues of shares are bought and sold before they officially become available for trading on the Stock
grey market

Exchange even before the share allocations are known gross /rəυs/ noun twelve dozen (144) He ordered four gross of pens. (NOTE: no plural) adjective total, with no deductions adverb
gross

with no deductions My salary is paid gross.

‘…gross wool receipts for the selling season to end June appear likely to top $2 billion’ [Australian Financial Review]
gross domestic product /rəυs də gross domestic product |

mestik prɒdkt/ noun the annual value of goods sold and services paid for inside a country. Abbreviation GDP
gross earnings /rəυs niŋz/ plural noun total earnings before tax and other deductions
gross earnings

gross income /rəυs inkm/ noun a salary before tax is deducted

gross income

gross interest gross interest /rəυs intrəst/ noun the interest earned on a deposit or security before the
gross interest

deduction of tax. net interest gross margin /rəυs mɑd in/ noun the percentage difference gross margin

between the received price and the unit manufacturing cost or purchase price of goods for resale.
Abbreviation GM
gross margin pricing /rəυs mɑd in gross margin pricing

praisiŋ/ noun pricing that takes into account the total production costs of a product
gross margin ratio /rəυs mɑd in reiʃiəυ/ noun same as gross profit margin gross
gross margin ratio national product /rəυs gross national product

nʃ(ə)nəl prɒdkt/ noun the annual value of goods and services in a country including income from other countries. Abbreviation GNP
gross profit /rəυs prɒfit/ noun a profit calculated as sales income less the cost of the goods sold, i.e. without deducting any other expenses
gross profit

gross profit analysis gross profit analysis /rəυs prɒfit ə |

nləsis/ noun analysis of the discrepancy between actual profit and budgeted profit or previous year’s profit gross profit margin gross profit margin /rəυs prɒfit
mɑd in/ noun the percentage of each pound of income from sales that remains after goods sold have been paid for by the producer or retailer gross profit method /rəυs prɒfit meθəd/ gross profit method

noun a method of estimating inventory at the point of preparing an interim report

gross receipts /rəυs ri sits/ plural noun the total amount of money received before expenses are deducted
gross receipts |

gross salary /rəυs sləri/ noun same as gross income

gross salary

gross sales /rəυs seilz/ plural noun money received from sales before deductions for goods returned, special discounts, etc. Gross sales are impressive since many buyers seem to be
gross sales

ordering more than they will eventually need.

gross turnover /rəυs tnəυvə/ noun the total turnover including VAT and discounts
gross turnover

gross yield /rəυs jild/ noun a profit from investments before tax is deducted ground landlord
gross yield
/raυnd lndlɔd/ noun a person or company that owns the freehold of a property which
ground landlord

is then let and sublet Our ground landlord is an insurance company.

half-year /hɑf jiə/ noun six months of an accounting period

half-year

half-yearly /hɑf jiəli/ adjective happening every six months, or referring to a period of six months half-yearly accounts halfyearly payment half-yearly statement a half-yearly meeting
half-yearly

adverb every six months We pay the account half-yearly. handling charge /hndliŋ tʃɑd / noun money to be paid for packing, invoicing and dealing with goods which are being
handling charge

shipped
hard cash /hɑd kʃ/ noun money in notes and coins, as opposed to cheques or credit cards
hard cash

hard currency /hɑd krənsi/ noun the currency of a country which has a strong economy, and which can be changed into other currencies easily to pay for imports in hard currency to
hard currency

sell raw materials to earn hard currency Also called scarce currency
hardening /hɑd(ə)niŋ/ adjective (of a market) slowly moving upwards hard landing
hardening
/hɑd lndiŋ/ noun a change in economic strategy to counteract inflation which has serious results
hard landing

for the population such as high unemployment, rising interest rates, etc.
head and shoulders /hed ən ʃəυldəz/ noun a term used by chartists showing a share price which rises to a peak, then falls slightly, then rises to a much higher peak, then falls sharply
head and shoulders

and rises to a lower peak before falling again, looking similar to a person’s head and shoulders when shown on a graph
headlease /hedlis/ noun a lease from the freehold owner to a tenant
headlease

headline inflation rate /hedlain in fleiʃ(ə)n reit/ noun a British inflation figure which includes items such as mortgage interest and local taxes, which are not included in the
headline inflation rate |

inflation figures for other countries. Compare underlying inflation

rate
head office /hed ɒfis/ noun an office building where the board of directors works and meets
head office

headquarters /hedkwɔtəz / plural noun the main office, where the board of directors meets and works The company’s headquarters are in New York.
headquarters
|

/
industrial arbitration tribunal in industrial arbitration tribunal |

dstriəl ɑbi treiʃ(ə)n trai bjun(ə)l/ noun a court which decides in industrial disputes
| |

industrial tribunal /in dstriəl trai bjun(ə)l/ noun a court which can decide in disputes about employment
industrial tribunal | |

‘ACAS has a legal obligation to try and solve industrial grievances before they reach industrial tribunals’ [Personnel
Today]
inflation /infleiʃ (ə)n/ noun a greater increase in the supply of money or credit than in the production of goods and services, resulting in higher prices and a fall in the purchasing power of
inflation
|

money to take measures to reduce inflation High interest rates tend to increase inflation. we have 3% inflation or inflation is running at 3% prices are 3% higher than at the same time
last year
inflation accounting /infleiʃ (ə)n ə inflation accounting | |

kaυntiŋ/ noun an accounting system in which inflation is taken into account when calculating the value of assets and the preparation of accounts
inflationary /in fleiʃ(ə)n(ə)ri/ adjective tending to increase inflation inflationary trends in the economy
inflationary
|

‘…inflationary expectations fell somewhat this month, but remained a long way above the actual inflation rate, according to figures released yesterday. The annual rate of inflation
measured by the consumer price index has been below 2 per cent for over 18 months’ [Australian Financial
Review]
inflation-proof /in fleiʃ(ə)n pruf/ adjective referring to a pension, etc. which is index-linked, so that its value is preserved in times of inflation
inflation-proof |

inflow /infləυ/ noun the act of coming in

inflow

or being brought in
‘…the dollar is strong because of capital inflows rather than weak because of the trade deficit’ [Duns Business Month]
influx /inflks/ noun an inflow, especially one where people or things come in in large quantities an influx of foreign currency into the country an influx of cheap labour
influx

into the cities

‘…the retail sector will also benefit from the expected influx of tourists’ [Australian
Financial Review] inherit /in herit/ verb to get something from a person who has died When her father died she inherited the shop. He inherited £10,000 from his grandfather.
inherit
|

inheritance /in herit(ə)ns/ noun property which is received from a dead person
inheritance |

inheritance tax /in herit(ə)ns tks/ noun tax payable on wealth or property worth above a certain amount and inherited after the death of someone. The current threshold is £285,000,
inheritance tax |

and the estate is liable

input cost
for 40% tax on the excess amount. Abbreviation IHT. Also called death duty
in-house /in haυs/ adverb, adjective done by someone employed by a company on their premises, not by an outside contractor the in-house staff We do all our data processing in-house.
in-house

initial capital initial capital

/i niʃ(ə)l
|
kpit(ə)l/ noun capital which is used to start a business
initial public offering /i niʃ(ə)l pblik initial public offering |

ɒf(ə)riŋ/ noun US the process of offering shares in a corporation for sale to the public for the first time. Abbreviation IPO (NOTE: The UK term is offer for sale.)
initial sales initial sales
/i niʃ(ə)l
| seilz/ plural noun the first sales of a new product
initial yield /i niʃ(ə)l jild/ noun the estimated yield of an investment fund at the
initial yield |

time when it is launched

J curve /d ei kv/ noun a line on a graph shaped like a letter ‘J’, with an initial short fall, followed by a longer rise, used to describe the effect of a falling exchange rate on a country’s
J curve

balance of trade JIT abbreviation just-in-time job card /d ɒb kɑd/ noun a record card relating to a job and giving details of the time taken to do a piece of work and the materials used.
JIT job card

This is used to allocate direct labour and materials costs.

job costing /d ɒb kɒstiŋ/ noun the process of calculating the cost of a single job or batch of work. Also called specific order costing
job costing

job order /d ɒb ɔdə/ noun an authorised order for the production of goods or services
job order

job order costing /d ɒb ɔdə kɒstiŋ/ noun the accumulation of costs incurred by fulfilling specific orders for goods or services
job order costing

joint /d ɔint/ adjective 1. carried out or produced together with others a joint undertaking 2. one of two or more people who work together or who are linked They are joint beneficiaries of
joint

the will. The two countries are joint signatories of the treaty. joint account /d ɔint ə kaυnt/ noun a bank or building society account shared by two people Many married couples have
joint account |

joint accounts so that they can pay for household expenses.

joint and several liability /d ɔint ən joint and several liability

sev(ə)rəl laiə biliti/ noun a situation where someone who has a claim against a group of people can sue them separately or together as a group
|

joint cost /d ɔint kɒst/ noun the cost of which can be allocated to more than one product, project or service
joint cost

joint-life annuity /d ɔint laif ənjuəti / noun an annuity that continues until both parties have died. They are attractive to married couples as they ensure that the survivor has an income
joint-life annuity |

for the rest of his or her life. jointly /d ɔintli/ adverb together with one or more other people to own a property jointly to manage a company jointly They are jointly liable for damages.
jointly

Keogh plan /kiəυ pln/ noun US a private pension plan allowing self-employed businesspeople and professionals to set up pension and retirement plans for themselves key-person
Keogh plan

insurance /ki ps(ə)n inkey-person insurance |

ʃυərəns/ noun an insurance policy taken out to cover the costs of replacing an employee who is particularly important to an organisation if he or she dies or is ill for a long time
key rate /ki reit/ noun an interest rate which gives the basic rate on which other rates are calculated, e.g. the former bank base rate in the UK, or the Federal Reserve’s discount rate in the
key rate

USA kickback /kikbk/ noun an illegal commission paid to someone, especially a government official, who helps in a business deal
kickback

kicker /kikə/ noun a special inducement to buy a bond, e.g. making it convertible to shares at a preferential rate (informal) kite /kait/ verb 1. US to write cheques on one account which
kicker kite

may not be able to honour them and deposit them in another, withdrawing money from the second account before the cheques are cleared 2. to use stolen credit cards or cheque books
kitty /kiti/ noun money which has been collected by a group of people to be used later, such as for an office party We each put £5 into the kitty.
kitty

Know How Fund /nəυ haυ fnd/ noun formerly, a fund created by the UK government to provide technical training and advice to countries of Eastern Europe. This function is now
Know How Fund

carried out by the Department for International Development.

knowledge management /nɒlid mnid mənt/ noun the task of co-ordinating the specialist knowledge possessed by employees so that it can be exploited to create benefits and
knowledge management

competitive advantage for the organisation

labour costs labour costs

/leibə kɒsts/ plural noun the cost of the employees employed to make a product, not including materials or overheads
labour efficiency variance /leibə i labour efficiency variance |

fiʃ(ə)nsi veəriəns/ noun the discrepancy between the usual or expected labour time used to produce something and the actual time used
labour force /leibə fɔs/ noun all the employees in a company or in an area The management has made an increased offer to the labour force. We are opening a new factory in the Far
labour force

East because of the cheap local labour force.

‘70 per cent of Australia’s labour force is employed in service activity’ [Australian
Financial Review]
labour market /leibə mɑkit/ noun the number of people who are available for work 25,000 school-leavers have just come on to the labour market.
labour market
labour rate (price) variance /leibə reit prais veəriəns/ noun any change to labour rate variance

the normal hourly rate paid to workers

labour relations /leibə ri leiʃ(ə)nz/ plural noun relations between management and employees The company has a history of bad labour relations.
labour relations |

labour turnover /leibə tnəυvə/ noun the movement of employees with some leaving their jobs and others joining. Also called turnover of labour
labour turnover

labour variance /leibə veəriəns/ noun any discrepancy between the actual cost of labour in an organisation and the standard industry cost
labour variance

Laffer curve /lfə kv/ noun a chart showing that cuts in tax rates increase output in the economy. Alternatively, increases in tax rates initially produce more revenue and then less as the
Laffer curve

economy slows down. lag /l/ verb to be behind or to be slower than something lag

lagging indicator /liŋ indikeitə/ noun an indicator which shows a change in economic trends later than other indicators, e.g. the gross national product. Opposite leading indicator
lagging indicator

landlord /lndlɔd/ noun a person or company which owns a property which is let land register
landlord
/lnd red istə/ noun a list of pieces of land, showing who owns each and what buildings
land register

are on it
land registration /lnd red i streiʃ(ə)n/ noun a system of registering land and its owners
land registration |

Land Registry /lnd red istri/ noun a government office where details of land ownership and sales are kept land tax /lnd tks/ noun a tax on the amount of land owned
Land Registry land tax

lapse /lps/ verb to stop being valid, or to stop being active The guarantee has lapsed.
lapse

lapsed option /lpst ɒpʃən/ noun an option which has not been taken up, and now has expired
lapsed option

last in first out /lɑst in fst aυt/ phrase an accounting method where stock is valued at the price of the earliest purchases. Abbreviation LIFO. Compare first in first out
last in first out

last quarter /lɑst kwɔtə/ noun a period of three months at the end of the financial year
last quarter

last will and testament /lɑst wil ən last will and testament

testəmənt/ noun a will, a document by which a person says what he or she wants to happen to their property when they die
launder /lɔndə/ verb to pass illegal profits, money from selling drugs, money which has not been taxed, etc., into the banking system to launder money through an offshore bank
launder

‘…it has since emerged that the bank was being used to launder drug money and some of its executives have been given lengthy jail sentences’ [Times]
LAUTRO /laυtrəυ/ abbreviation Life
LAUTRO

Assurance and Unit Trust Regulatory Organisation

law /lɔ/ noun 1. laws 2. inside or within the law obeying the laws of a country against or outside the law not according to the laws of a country The company is possibly operating
law

outside the law. to break the law to do something which is not allowed by law He is breaking the law by trading without a licence. 3. a rule governing some aspect of human activity made
and enforced by the state lawful /lɔf(ə)l/ adjective acting within the law lawful

law of supply and demand /lɔ əv sə law of supply and demand |

plai ən di mɑnd/ noun a general rule that the amount of a product which is available is related to the needs of potential customers laws /lɔz/ plural noun rules by which a country is governed
|
laws

and the activities of people and organisations controlled lay out phrasal verb to spend money We had to lay out half our cash budget on equipping the new factory. LBO abbreviation LBO

leveraged buyout
L/C abbreviation letter of credit
L/C

LCM abbreviation lower of cost or market LDT abbreviation licensed deposit-taker lead bank /id bŋk/ noun the main bank in a loan syndicate
LCM LDT lead bank

leading indicator /lidiŋ indikeitə/ noun an indicator such as manufacturing order books which shows a change in economic trends earlier than other indicators. Opposite lagging
leading indicator

indicator lead manager /lid mnid ə/ noun a person who organises a syndicate of underwriters for a new issue of securities leads and lags
lead manager
/lidz ən lz/ plural noun in businesses that
leads and lags

deal in foreign currencies, the practice of speeding up the receipt of payments (leads) if a currency is going to weaken, and slowing down the payment of costs (lags) if a currency is thought
to be about to strengthen, in order to maximise gains and reduce losses
leasehold
lead time /lid taim/ noun the time between deciding to place an order and receiving the product The lead time on this item is more than six weeks.
lead time

lead underwriter /lid ndəraitə/ noun an underwriting firm which organises the underwriting of a share issue
lead underwriter