Dictionary of Accounting Terms Barron''''s Business Guides_3 doc

fittings 98 ‘…last fiscal year the chain reported a 116% jump in earnings’ [Barron’s] fittings fittings /ftŋz/ plural noun items which are sold with a property but are not perma- nently fixed, e.g. carpets or shelves. ı fix- tures fixed assets fixed assets /fkst sets/ plural noun property or machinery which a company owns and uses, but which the company does not buy or sell as part of its regular trade, including the company’s investments in shares of other companies fixed asset turnover fixed asset turnover /fkst set tnəυvə / noun a measure of how efficient a company’s property and equipment is in generating revenue fixed asset unit fixed asset unit /fkst set junt/ noun a single item of the fixed assets of a company, e.g. a specific piece of equipment fixed budget fixed budget /fkst bdt/ noun a budget which refers to a specific level of business, i.e., a sales turnover which pro- duces a specific level of profit fixed capital fixed capital /fkst kpt(ə)l/ noun capital in the form of buildings and machin- ery fixed charge fixed charge /fkst tʃɑd/ noun a charge over a particular asset or property fixed costs fixed costs /fkst kɒsts/ plural noun business costs which do not change with the quantity of the product made fixed deduction fixed deduction /fkst d | dkʃən/ noun a deduction agreed by the Inland Revenue and a group of employees, such as a trade union, which covers general expenditure on clothes or tools used in the course of employment fixed deposit fixed deposit /fkst d | pɒzt/ noun a deposit which pays a stated interest over a set period fixed exchange rate fixed exchange rate /fkst ks | tʃend ret / noun a rate of exchange of one cur- rency against another which cannot fluctu- ate, and can only be changed by devaluation or revaluation fixed expenses fixed expenses /fkst k | spensz/ plu- ral noun expenses which do not vary with different levels of production, e.g. rent, staff salaries and insurance fixed income fixed income /fkst nkm/ noun income which does not change from year to year, as from an annuity fixed-interest fixed-interest /fkst ntrəst/ adjective having an interest rate which does not vary fixed-interest investments fixed-interest investments /fkst ntrəst n | vestmənts/ plural noun invest- ments producing a level of interest which does not change fixed-interest securities fixed-interest securities /fkst ntrəst s | kjυərtiz/ plural noun securities such as government bonds which produce a level of interest which does not change fixed-price fixed-price /fkst pras/ adjective hav- ing a price which cannot be changed fixed-price agreement fixed-price agreement /fkst pras ə | rimənt/ noun an agreement where a company provides a service or a product at a price which stays the same for the whole period of the agreement fixed rate fixed rate /fkst ret/ noun a rate, e.g. an exchange rate, which does not change fixed rate loan fixed rate loan /fkst ret ləυn/ noun a loan on which the rate of interest stays the same for the duration of the loan fixed scale of charges fixed scale of charges /fkst skel əv tʃɑdz / noun a set of charges that do not vary according to individual circumstances but are applied consistently in all cases of a particular kind fixed yield fixed yield /fkst jild/ noun a percent- age return which does not change fixtures fixtures /fkstʃəz/ plural noun items in a property which are permanently attached to it, e.g. sinks and lavatories fixtures and fittings fixtures and fittings /fkstʃəz ən ftŋz / plural noun objects in a property which are sold with the property, both those which cannot be removed and those which can. Abbreviation f. & f. flash report flash report /flʃ r | pɔt/ noun an interim financial report produced before the full accounts have been drawn up, and used to identify or resolve potential problems flat flat /flt/ adjective 1. used to describe mar- ket prices which do not fall or rise, because of low demand ć The market was flat today. 2. not changing in response to different con- ditions ć a flat rate ‘…the government revised its earlier reports for July and August. Originally reported as flat in July and declining by 0.2% in August, industrial production is now seen to have risen by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively in those months’ [Sunday Times] flat rate flat rate /flt ret/ noun a charge which always stays the same ć a flat-rate increase of 10% ć We pay a flat rate for electricity each quarter. flat tax flat tax /flt tks/ noun a tax levied at one fixed rate whatever an individual’s income Accounting.fm Page 98 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM 99 forecast flat yield flat yield /flt jild/ noun an interest rate as a percentage of the price paid for fixed- interest stock flex flex /fleks/ verb to adjust figures in order to reflect changes in circumstances since the original figures were produced ć flexing a budget flexibility flexibility /fleks | blti/ noun the ability to be easily changed ć There is no flexibility in the company’s pricing policy. ‘…they calculate interest on their ‘flexi- ble’ mortgage on an annual basis rather than daily. Charging annual interest makes a nonsense of the whole idea of flexibility which is supposed to help you pay off your mortgage more quickly’ [Financial Times] flexible flexible /fleksb(ə)l/ adjective possible to alter or change ć We try to be flexible where the advertising budget is concerned. ć The company has adopted a flexible pricing pol- icy. flexible budget flexible budget /fleksb(ə)l bdt/ noun a budget which changes in response to changes in sales turnover or output flight of capital flight of capital /flat əv kpt(ə)l/ noun a rapid movement of capital out of one country because of lack of confidence in that country’s economic future flight to quality flight to quality /flat tə kwɒlti/ noun a tendency of investors to buy safe blue-chip securities when the economic outlook is uncertain float float /fləυt/ noun 1. cash taken from a cen- tral supply and used for running expenses ć The sales reps have a float of £100 each. 2. the process of starting a new company by selling shares in it on the Stock Exchange ć The float of the new company was a com- plete failure. 3. the process of allowing a currency to settle at its own exchange rate, without any government intervention 4. the period between the presentation of a cheque as payment and the actual payment to the payee, or the financial advantage provided by this period to the drawer of a cheque í verb to let a currency settle at its own exchange rate on the international markets and not be fixed ć The government has let sterling float. ć The government has decided to float the pound. floating floating /fləυtŋ/ adjective not fixed ć floating exchange rates ć the floating pound ‘…in a world of floating exchange rates the dollar is strong because of capital inflows rather than weak because of the nation’s trade deficit’ [Duns Business Month] floating capital floating capital /fləυtŋ kpt(ə)l/ noun the portion of capital invested in cur- rent assets, as distinct from that invested in fixed assets or capital assets floating charge floating charge /fləυtŋ tʃɑd/ noun a charge linked to any of the company’s assets in a category, but not to any specific item floating rate floating rate /fləυtŋ ret/ noun 1. same as variable rate 2. an exchange rate for a currency, which can vary according to mar- ket demand, and is not fixed by the govern- ment floating-rate notes floating-rate notes /fləυtŋ ret nəυts / plural noun Eurocurrency loans arranged by a bank which are not at a fixed rate of interest. Abbreviation FRNs floor floor /flɔ/ noun the bottom level of some- thing, e.g. the lowest exchange rate which a government will accept for its currency or the lower limit imposed on an interest rate ć The government will impose a floor on wages to protect the poor. floor price floor price /flɔ pras/ noun the lowest price, a price which cannot go any lower floor space floor space /flɔ spes/ noun an area of floor in an office or warehouse ć We have 3,500 square metres of floor space to let. flop flop /flɒp/ noun a failure, or something which has not been successful ć The new model was a flop. flow chart flow chart /fləυ tʃɑt/, flow diagram / fləυ daərm/ noun a chart which shows the arrangement of work processes in a series fluctuate fluctuate /flktʃuet/ verb to move up and down ć Prices fluctuated between £1.10 and £1.25. ć The pound fluctuated all day on the foreign exchange markets. fluctuation fluctuation /flktʃu | eʃ(ə)n/ noun an up and down movement ć the fluctuations of the yen ć the fluctuations of the exchange rate FOB FOB, f.o.b. abbreviation free on board folio folio /fəυliəυ/ noun a page with a number, especially two facing pages in an account book which have the same number í verb to put a number on a page forced sale forced sale /fɔst sel/ noun a sale which takes place because a court orders it or because it is the only way to avoid a finan- cial crisis force majeure force majeure /fɔs m | / noun something which happens which is out of the control of the parties who have signed a contract, e.g. a strike, war, or storm forecast forecast /fɔkɑst/ noun a description or calculation of what will probably happen in Accounting.fm Page 99 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM forecast dividend 100 the future ć The chairman did not believe the sales director’s forecast of higher turno- ver. forecast dividend forecast dividend /fɔkɑst dvdend/ noun a dividend which a company expects to pay at the end of the current year. Also called prospective dividend forecaster forecaster /fɔkɑstə/ noun a person who says what he or she thinks will happen in the future forecasting forecasting /fɔkɑstŋ/ noun the proc- ess of calculating what will probably happen in the future ć Manpower planning will depend on forecasting the future levels of production. foreclose foreclose /fɔ | kləυz/ verb to sell a prop- erty because the owner cannot repay money which he or she has borrowed, using the property as security ć to foreclose on a mortgaged property foreclosure foreclosure /fɔ | kləυə/ noun an act of foreclosing foreign banks foreign banks /fɒrn bŋks/ plural noun banks from other countries which have branches in a country foreign branch foreign branch /fɒrn brɑntʃ/ noun a branch of a company in another country. The accounts of foreign branches may cause problems because of varying exchange rates. foreign company foreign company /fɒrn kmp(ə)ni/ noun a company that is registered in a for- eign country foreign currency foreign currency /fɒrn krənsi/ noun money of another country foreign currency account foreign currency account /fɒrn krənsi ə | kaυnt/ noun a bank account in the currency of another country, e.g. a dollar account in a UK bank foreign currency reserves foreign currency reserves /fɒrn krənsi r | zvz/ plural noun foreign money held by a government to support its own currency and pay its debts. Also called foreign exchange reserves, international reserves ‘…the treasury says it needs the cash to rebuild its foreign reserves which have fallen from $19 billion when the govern- ment took office to $7 billion in August’ [Economist] foreign earnings foreign earnings /fɒrn nŋz/ plural noun earnings received from employment in a foreign country foreign entity foreign entity /fɒrn entti/ noun a per- son or incorporated company based in a for- eign country foreign exchange foreign exchange /fɒrn ks | tʃend/ noun 1. the business of exchanging the money of one country for that of another 2. foreign currencies ‘…the dollar recovered a little lost ground on the foreign exchanges yesterday’ [Financial Times] foreign exchange broker foreign exchange broker /fɒrn ks | tʃend brəυkə/, foreign exchange dealer / fɒrn ks | tʃend dilə/ noun a person who deals on the foreign exchange market foreign exchange dealing foreign exchange dealing /fɒrn ks | tʃend dilŋ/ noun the business of buy- ing and selling foreign currencies foreign exchange market foreign exchange market /fɒrn ks | tʃend mɑkt/ noun 1. a market where people buy and sell foreign currencies ć She trades on the foreign exchange market. 2. dealings in foreign currencies ć Foreign exchange markets were very active after the dollar devalued. foreign exchange reserves foreign exchange reserves /fɒrn ks | tʃend r | zvz/ plural noun same as for- eign currency reserves foreign exchange transfer foreign exchange transfer /fɒrn ks | tʃend trnsf/ noun the sending of money from one country to another foreign income foreign income /fɒrn nkm/ noun income derived from sources in a foreign country foreign investments foreign investments /fɒrn n | vestmənts/ plural noun money invested in other countries foreign money order foreign money order /fɒrn mni ɔdə / noun a money order in a foreign cur- rency which is payable to someone living in a foreign country foreign tax credit foreign tax credit /fɒrn tks kredt/ noun a tax advantage that applies in the case of taxes paid to or in another country foreign trade foreign trade /fɒrn tred/ noun a trade with other countries forensic forensic /fə | rensk/ adjective referring to the courts or to the law in general forensic accounting forensic accounting /fə | rensk ə | kaυntŋ/ noun the scrutinisation of an entity’s past financial activities in order to discover whether illegal practices have been used at any time forensic partner forensic partner /fə | rensk pɑtnə/ noun a partner in an accountancy firm who deals with litigation foreseeable loss foreseeable loss /fɔ | siəb(ə)l lɒs/ noun a loss which is expected to occur dur- ing a long-term contract forfaiting forfaiting /fɔftŋ/ noun the action of providing finance for exporters, where an agent or forfaiter accepts a bill of exchange Accounting.fm Page 100 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM 101 fraction from an overseas customer; he or she buys the bill at a discount, and collects the pay- ments from the customer in due course forfeit forfeit /fɔft/ verb to have something taken away as a punishment ˽ to forfeit shares to be forced to give back shares if money called up is not paid on time forfeit clause forfeit clause /fɔft klɔz/ noun a clause in a contract which says that goods or a deposit will be taken away if the contract is not obeyed forfeiture forfeiture /fɔftʃə/ noun the act of for- feiting a property form form /fɔm/ noun 1. ˽ form of words words correctly laid out for a legal document ˽ receipt in due form a correctly written receipt 2. an official printed paper with blank spaces which have to be filled in with information ć a pad of order forms ć You have to fill in form A20. ć Each passenger was given a customs declaration form. ć The reps carry pads of order forms. formal formal /fɔm(ə)l/ adjective clearly and legally written ć to make a formal applica- tion ć to send a formal order ć Is this a for- mal job offer? ć The factory is prepared for the formal inspection by the government inspector. formal documents formal documents /fɔm(ə)l dɒkjυmənts/ plural noun documents giv- ing full details of a takeover bid formality formality /fɔ | mlti/ noun something which has to be done to obey the law form letter form letter /fɔm letə/ noun a letter which can be sent without any change to several correspondents, e.g. a letter chasing payment forward forward /fɔwəd/ adjective in advance or to be paid at a later date forward accounting forward accounting /fɔwəd ə | kaυntŋ/ noun the practice of using accounting procedures to forecast a busi- ness’s future performance forwardation forwardation /fɔwəd | eʃ(ə)n/ noun a situation in which the cash price is lower than the forward price (NOTE: The opposite is backwardation.) forward contract forward contract /fɔwəd kɒntrkt/ noun a one-off agreement to buy currency, shares or commodities for delivery at a later date at a specific price forward cover forward cover /fɔwəd kvə/ noun an arrangement to cover the risks on a forward contract forward delivery forward delivery /fɔwəd d | lv(ə)ri/ noun a delivery at some date in the future which has been agreed between the buyer and seller forward exchange rate forward exchange rate /fɔwəd ks | tʃend ret/ noun a rate for purchase of foreign currency at a fixed price for delivery at a later date ć What are the forward rates for the pound? Also called forward rate forward financial statement forward financial statement /fɔwəd fa | nnʃ(ə)l stetmənt/ noun an estimate of a company’s future financial position forwarding agent forwarding agent /fɔwədŋ edənt/ noun a person or company which arranges shipping and customs documents forward integration forward integration /fɔwəd ntə | reʃ(ə)n/ noun a process of expansion in which a company becomes its own distribu- tor or takes over a company in the same line of business as itself ć Forward integration will give the company greater control over its selling. ć Forward integration has brought the company closer to its consumers and has made it aware of their buying hab- its. Compare backward integration forward margin forward margin /fɔwəd mɑdn/ noun the difference between the current price and the forward price forward market forward market /fɔwəd mɑkt/ noun a market for purchasing foreign currency, oil or commodities for delivery at a later date forward price forward price /fɔwəd pras/ noun a price of goods which are to be delivered in the future forward rate forward rate /fɔwəd ret/ noun same as forward exchange rate forward sales forward sales /fɔwəd selz/ plural noun sales of shares, commodities or foreign exchange for delivery at a later date forwards spreading forwards spreading /fɔwədz spredŋ/ noun the act of spreading lump sum income over several years in the future forward trading forward trading /fɔwəd tredŋ/ noun the activity of buying or selling commodi- ties for delivery at a later date founder founder /faυndə/ noun a person who starts a company 401 plan 401(k) plan /fɔ əυ wn ke pln/ noun US a personal pension plan arranged by an employer for a member of staff, invested in bonds, mutual funds or stock (the employee contributes a proportion of salary, on which tax is deferred; the employer can also make contributions) fourth quarter fourth quarter /fɔθ kwɔtə/ noun a period of three months from 1st October to the end of the year fraction fraction /frkʃən/ noun a very small amount ć Only a fraction of the new share issue was subscribed. Accounting.fm Page 101 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM fractional 102 fractional fractional /frkʃənəl/ adjective very small fractional certificate fractional certificate /frkʃənəl sə | tfkət/ noun a certificate for part of a share franc franc /frŋk/ noun 1. a former unit of cur- rency in France and Belgium ć French francs or Belgian francs 2. a unit of currency in Switzerland and several other currencies ć It costs twenty-five Swiss francs. franchise franchise /frntʃaz/ noun a licence to trade using a brand name and paying a roy- alty for it ć He’s bought a printing franchise or a pizza franchise. í verb to sell licences for people to trade using a brand name and paying a royalty ć His sandwich bar was so successful that he decided to franchise it. ‘…many new types of franchised busi- nesses will join the ranks of the giant chains of fast-food restaurants, hotels and motels and rental car agencies’ [Franchis- ing Opportunities] franchisee franchisee /frntʃa | zi/ noun a person who runs a franchise franchiser franchiser /frntʃazə/ noun a person who licenses a franchise franchising franchising /frntʃazŋ/ noun the act of selling a licence to trade as a franchise ć She runs her sandwich chain as a franchis- ing operation. franco franco /frŋkəυ/ adverb free franked franked /frŋkd/ adjective on which tax has already been paid fraud fraud /frɔd/ noun the act of making money by making people believe something which is not true ć He got possession of the property by fraud. ć She was accused of frauds relating to foreign currency. fraudulent fraudulent /frɔdjυlənt/ adjective not honest, or aiming to cheat people ć a fraud- ulent transaction fraudulently fraudulently /frɔdjυləntli/ adverb not honestly ć goods imported fraudulently fraudulent misrepresentation fraudulent misrepresentation /frɔdjυlənt ms | reprzen | teʃ(ə)n/ noun the act of making a false statement with the intention of tricking a customer fraudulent trading fraudulent trading /frɔdjυlənt tredŋ / noun the process of carrying on the business of a company, knowing that the company is insolvent FRB FRB abbreviation 1. Federal Reserve Bank 2. Federal Reserve Board free free /fri/ adjective, adverb 1. not costing any money ć I have been given a free ticket to the exhibition. ć The price includes free delivery. ć All goods in the store are deliv- ered free. ć A catalogue will be sent free on request. 2. with no restrictions ˽ free of tax with no tax having to be paid ć Interest is paid free of tax. ˽ free of duty with no duty to be paid ć to import wine free of duty í verb to make something available or easy ć The government’s decision has freed mil- lions of pounds for investment. ‘American business as a whole is increas- ingly free from heavy dependence on man- ufacturing’ [Sunday Times] free cash flow free cash flow /fri kʃ fləυ/ noun the level of cash flow after the deduction of interest payments, tax payments, dividends and ongoing capital expenditure free competition free competition /fri kɒmpə | tʃ(ə)n/ noun the fact of being free to compete with- out government interference free currency free currency /fri krənsi/ noun a cur- rency which is allowed by the government to be bought and sold without restriction free enterprise free enterprise /fri entəpraz/ noun a system of business free from government interference freeholder freeholder /frihəυldə/ noun a person who owns a freehold property freehold property freehold property /frihəυld prɒpəti/ noun property which the owner holds for ever and on which no rent is paid free issue free issue /fri ʃu/ noun same as bonus issue free market free market /fri mɑkt/ noun a market in which there is no government control of supply and demand, and the rights of indi- viduals and organisations to physical and intellectual property are upheld free market economy free market economy /fri mɑkt  | kɒnəmi/ noun an economic system where the government does not interfere in busi- ness activity in any way free on board free on board /fri ɒn bɔd/ adjective 1. including in the price all the seller’s costs until the goods are on the ship for transpor- tation. Abbreviation f.o.b. 2. including in the price all the seller’s costs until the goods are delivered to a place free reserves free reserves /fri r | zvz/ plural noun the part of a bank’s reserves which are above the statutory level and so can be used for var- ious purposes as the bank wishes free-standing additional voluntary contribution free-standing additional voluntary contribution /fri stndŋ ə | dʃ(ə)nəl vɒlənt(ə)ri kɒntr | bjuʃ(ə)n/ noun a payment made by an individual into an inde- pendent pension fund to supplement an occupational pension scheme. The antici- pated benefits from the two schemes together must be less than the maximum Accounting.fm Page 102 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM 103 full permitted under the rules laid down by the Inland Revenue. Abbreviation FSAVC free trade free trade /fri tred/ noun a system where goods can go from one country to another without any restrictions free trade area free trade area /fri tred eəriə/ noun a group of countries practising free trade free trader free trader /fri tredə/ noun a person who is in favour of free trade free trade zone free trade zone /fri tred zəυn/ noun an area where there are no customs duties freeze freeze /friz/ noun ˽ a freeze on wages and prices period when wages and prices are not allowed to be increased í verb to keep something such as money or costs at their present level and not allow them to rise ć to freeze wages and prices ć to freeze credits ć to freeze company dividends ć We have frozen expenditure at last year’s level. (NOTE: freezing – froze – frozen) freight freight /fret/ noun the cost of transporting goods by air, sea, or land ć At an auction, the buyer pays the freight. freightage freightage /fretd/ noun the cost of transporting goods freight costs freight costs /fret kɒsts/ plural noun money paid to transport goods freight forward freight forward /fret fɔwəd/ noun a deal where the customer pays for transport- ing the goods friendly society friendly society /frendli sə | saəti/ noun a group of people who pay regular sub- scriptions which are used to help members of the group when they are ill or in financial difficulties fringe benefit fringe benefit /frnd benft/ noun an extra item given by a company to employees in addition to a salary, e.g. company cars or private health insurance ć The fringe bene- fits make up for the poor pay. ć Use of the company recreation facilities is one of the fringe benefits of the job. FRNs FRNs abbreviation floating-rate notes front front /frnt/ noun ˽ money up front pay- ment in advance ć They are asking for £10,000 up front before they will consider the deal. ć He had to put money up front before he could clinch the deal. front-end front-end /frnt end/ adjective referring to the start of an investment or insurance front-end loaded front-end loaded /frnt end laυdd/ adjective used to describe an insurance or investment scheme in which most of the management charges are incurred in the first year of the investment or insurance, and are not spread out over the whole period. Com- pare back-end loaded front-end loading front-end loading /frnt end ləυdŋ/ noun the practice of deducting commission and administrative costs relating to an investment or insurance plan from the early payments the customer makes frozen frozen /frəυz(ə)n/ adjective not allowed to be changed or used ć Wages have been frozen at last year’s rates. frozen account frozen account /frəυz(ə)n ə | kaυnt/ noun a bank account where the money can- not be moved or used because of a court order frozen assets frozen assets /frəυz(ə)n sets/ plural noun a company’s assets which by law can- not be sold because someone has a claim against them frozen credits frozen credits /frəυz(ə)n kredtz/ plu- ral noun credits in an account which cannot be moved FRRP FRRP abbreviation Financial Reporting Review Panel FRSs FRSs abbreviation Financial Reporting Standards frustrate frustrate /fr | stret/ verb to prevent something, especially the terms of a con- tract, being fulfilled FSA FSA abbreviation Financial Services Authority FSAVC FSAVC abbreviation free-standing addi- tional voluntary contribution FT FT abbreviation Financial Times FTASI FTASI abbreviation FTSE Actuaries Share Indices FTSE 100 FTSE 100 /fυtsi wn hndrəd/ noun an index based on the prices of one hundred leading companies (this is the main London index) ‘…the benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the session up 94.3 points’ [Times] FTSE Actuaries Share Indices FTSE Actuaries Share Indices /fυtsi ktjυəriz ʃeə ndsiz / plural noun sev- eral indices based on prices on the London Stock Exchange, which are calculated by and published in the Financial Times in con- junction with the Actuaries Investment Research Committee. Abbreviation FTASI. ı Financial Times full full /fυl/ adjective 1. with as much inside it as possible ć The train was full of commut- ers. ć Is the container full yet? ć We sent a lorry full of spare parts to our warehouse. ć When the disk is full, don’t forget to make a backup copy. 2. complete, including every- thing ‘…a tax-free lump sum can be taken partly in lieu of a full pension’ [Investors Chron- icle] Accounting.fm Page 103 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM full cost recovery 104 full cost recovery full cost recovery /fυl kɒst r | kvəri/ noun the practice by which organisations such as charities seek enough funding to cover all their costs, including overheads. Abbreviation FCR full cover full cover /fυl kvə/ noun insurance cover against a wide range of risks full employment full employment /fυl m | plɔmənt/ noun a situation where all the people who can work have jobs full price full price /fυl pras/ noun a price with no discount ć She bought a full-price ticket. full production costs full production costs /fυl prə | dkʃən kɒsts / plural noun all the costs of manufac- turing a product, including both fixed and variable costs full rate full rate /fυl ret/ noun the standard charge for a service, with no special dis- counts applied full repairing lease full repairing lease /fυl r | peərŋ lis/ noun a lease where the tenant has to pay for all repairs to the property full-service banking full-service banking /fυl svs bŋkŋ / noun banking that offers a whole range of services including mortgages, loans, pensions, etc. full-time full-time /fυl tam/ adjective, adverb working all the usual working time, i.e. about eight hours a day, five days a week ć She’s in full-time work or She works full- time or She’s in full-time employment. ć He is one of our full-time staff. fully diluted earnings per share fully diluted earnings per share /fυli da | lutd nŋz pə ʃeə/, fully diluted EPS / fυli dalutd i pi es/ plural noun earnings per share calculated over the whole number of shares assuming that convertible shares have been converted to ordinary shares fully paid-up capital fully paid-up capital /fυli ped p kpt(ə)l / noun all money paid for the issued capital shares function function /fŋkʃən/ noun a mathematical formula, where a result is dependent upon several other numbers functional accounting functional accounting /fŋkʃən(ə)l ə | kaυntŋ/ noun a form of accounting that classifies accountancy items according to the function they perform in an organisation functional budget functional budget /fŋkʃən(ə)l bdt/ noun a budget relating to a specific function such as marketing or personnel functional reporting of expenses functional reporting of expenses /fŋkʃən(ə)l r | pɔtŋ əv k | spensz/ noun the element of functional accounting that deals with expenses function cost function cost /fŋkʃən kɒst/ noun the category of item for which costs are incurred fund fund /fnd/ noun 1. money set aside for a special purpose 2. money invested in an investment trust as part of a unit trust, or given to a financial adviser to invest on behalf of a client. ı funds í verb to provide money for a purpose ć The company does not have enough resources to fund its expan- sion programme. ‘…the S&L funded all borrowers’ devel- opment costs, including accrued interest’ [Barrons] fund accounting fund accounting /fnd ə | kaυntŋ/ noun the preparation of financial statements for an entity such as a non-profitmaking organisation, in order to show how money has been spent rather than how much profit has been made fundamental analysis fundamental analysis /fndəment(ə)l ə | nləss/ noun an assessment of how the external and internal influences on a com- pany’s activities should affect investment decisions fundamental assumptions fundamental assumptions /fndəment(ə)l ə | smpʃ(ə)ns/ plural noun the basic assumptions on which the preparation of accounts depends (NOTE: These assumptions are: that the company is a going concern, that the principles on which the accounts are prepared do not change from year to year, that revenues and costs are accrued (i.e., they are written into the accounts when they occur, not when they are received or paid).) fundamental issues fundamental issues /fndəment(ə)l ʃuz/ plural noun matters relating to a company’s profits or assets fundamental research fundamental research /fndəment(ə)l r | stʃ/, fundamental analysis / fndəment(ə)l ə | nləss/ noun an examination of the basic factors which affect a market fundamentals fundamentals /fndə | ment(ə)lz/ plural noun the basic realities of a stock market or of a company, e.g. its assets, profitability and dividends funded funded /fndd/ adjective backed by long-term loans ć long-term funded capital funded scheme funded scheme /fndd skim/ noun a pension scheme where money is invested in securities to create a fund from which the pension is later paid funding funding /fndŋ/ noun 1. money for spending ć The bank is providing the fund- ing for the new product launch. 2. the act of changing a short-term debt into a long-term Accounting.fm Page 104 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM 105 FYA loan ć The capital expenditure programme requires long-term funding. fund management fund management /fnd mndmənt / noun the business of deal- ing with the investment of sums of money on behalf of clients funds funds /fndz/ plural noun 1. money which is available for spending ć The company has no funds to pay for the research programme. ı non-sufficient funds ˽ to convert funds to your own use to use someone else’s money for yourself 2. ˽ the Funds govern- ment stocks and securities. ı Federal Funds ‘…small innovative companies have been hampered for lack of funds’ [Sunday Times] ‘…the company was set up with funds totalling NorKr 145m’ [Lloyd’s List] funds flow funds flow /fndz fləυ/ noun ˽ budg- eted funds flow statement a plan of antici- pated incoming funds and the use to which they will be put ˽ funds flow method of budgeting preparing a budget of funds flow, as opposed to a budget of expenditure ˽ funds flow statement a statement which shows the amount of funds (cash and work- ing capital) which have come into a business during the last financial period, the sources of these funds, and the use made of the funds (see FRS1, formerly SSAP10) fungibility fungibility /fndə | blti/ noun a meas- ure of how easily an asset can be exchanged for something similar fungible fungible /fndəb(ə)l/ adjective refer- ring to a security which can be exchanged for another of the same type funny money funny money /fni mni/ noun an unu- sual type of financial instrument created by a company future delivery future delivery /fjutʃə d | lv(ə)ri/ noun delivery at a later date futures futures /fjutʃəz/ plural noun shares, cur- rency or commodities that are bought or sold for now for delivery at a later date ć Gold rose 5% on the commodity futures market yesterday. ‘…cocoa futures plummeted in November to their lowest levels in seven years’ [Busi- ness in Africa] futures contract futures contract /fjutʃəz kɒntrkt/ noun a contract for the purchase of com- modities for delivery at a date in the future futures exchange futures exchange /fjutʃəz ks | tʃend/ noun a commodity market which only deals in futures future value future value /fjutʃə vlju/ noun the value to which a sum of money will increase if invested for a certain period of time at some rate of interest. Abbreviation FV FV FV abbreviation future value FYA FYA abbreviation first year allowance Accounting.fm Page 105 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM G GAAP GAAP abbreviation Generally Accepted Accounting Principles gain gain /en/ noun 1. an increase, or the act of becoming larger 2. an increase in profit, price, or value ć Oil shares showed gains on the Stock Exchange. ć Property shares put on gains of 10%-15%. 3. money made by a company which is not from the company’s usual trading í verb 1. to get or to obtain ć She gained some useful experience working in a bank. ˽ to gain control of a business to buy more than 50% of the shares so that you can direct the business 2. to rise in value ć The dollar gained six points on the foreign exchange markets. galloping inflation galloping inflation /ləpŋ n | fleʃ(ə)n/ noun very rapid inflation which is almost impossible to reduce gap analysis gap analysis /p ə | nləss/ noun analysis of a market to try to find a particular area that is not at present being satisfied ć Gap analysis showed that there was a whole area of the market we were not exploiting. gap financing gap financing /p fannsŋ/ noun the process of arranging extra loans such as a bridging loan to cover a purchase not cov- ered by an existing loan garnishee garnishee /ɑn | ʃi/ noun a person who owes money to a creditor and is ordered by a court to pay that money to a creditor of the creditor, and not to the creditor himself garnishee order garnishee order /ɑn | ʃi ɔdə/ noun a court order, making a garnishee pay money not to the debtor, but to a third party GAS GAS abbreviation Government Account- ancy Service GDP GDP abbreviation gross domestic product gear gear /ə/ verb to link something to some- thing else gearing gearing /ərŋ/ noun 1. the ratio of cap- ital borrowed by a company at a fixed rate of interest to the company’s total capital. Also called leverage 2. the act of borrowing money at fixed interest which is then used to produce more money than the interest paid gearing ratio gearing ratio /ərŋ reʃiəυ/ noun any ratio that compares equity to borrowing general audit general audit /den(ə)rəl ɔdt/ noun the process of examining all the books and accounts of a company general average general average /den(ə)rəl v(ə)rd / noun a process by which the cost of lost goods is shared by all parties to an insurance policy, such as in cases where some goods have been lost in an attempt to save the rest of the cargo general balance sheet general balance sheet /den(ə)rəl bləns ʃit / noun the standard form of balance sheet used by non-commercial organisations such as charities and govern- ment departments General Commissioners General Commissioners /den(ə)rəl kə | mʃ(ə)nəz/ plural noun a body of unpaid individuals appointed by the Lord Chancel- lor in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Secretary of State for Scotland in Scotland, to hear appeals on tax matters general damages general damages /den(ə)rəl dmdz/ plural noun damages awarded by court to compensate for a loss which can- not be calculated, such as an injury general expenses general expenses /den(ə)rəl k | spensz/ plural noun minor expenses of various kinds incurred in the running of a business general fund general fund /den(ə)rəl fnd/ noun a unit trust with investments in a variety of stocks general insurance general insurance /den(ə)rəl n | ʃυərəns/ noun insurance relating to various potential losses, e.g. theft or damage, but excluding life insurance general ledger general ledger /den(ə)rəl ledə/ noun a book which records a company’s income and expenditure in general general lien general lien /den(ə)rəl liən/ noun 1. a right to hold goods or property until a debt has been paid 2. a lien against the personal possessions of a borrower, but not against his or her house or land. ı banker’s lien Accounting.fm Page 106 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM 107 gold reserves Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Generally Accepted Accounting Principles /den(ə)rəli ək | septd ə | kaυntŋ prnsp(ə)lz/ plural noun US a summary of best practice in respect of the form and content of financial statements and auditor’s reports, and of accounting policies and disclosures adopted for the preparation of financial information. GAAP does not have any statutory or regulatory authority in the United Kingdom, unlike in a number of other countries where the term is in use, such as the United States, Canada. Abbrevi- ation GAAP generally accepted auditing standards generally accepted auditing stand- ards /den(ə)rəli ək | septd ɔdtŋ stndədz / plural noun guidelines that are designed to inform the work of auditors and set out the auditor’s responsibilities general manager general manager /den(ə)rəl mndə / noun a manager in charge of the administration of a company general meeting general meeting /den(ə)rəl mitŋ/ noun a meeting of all the shareholders of a company or of all the members of a society general partner general partner /den(ə)rəl pɑtnə/ noun a partner in a business whose responsi- bility for its debts is not limited and, there- fore, whose personal assets may be at risk if the company’s assets are not sufficient to discharge its debts general partnership general partnership /den(ə)rəl pɑtnəʃp / noun the relationship of a gen- eral partner to his or her company general undertaking general undertaking /den(ə)rəl ndə | tekŋ/ noun an undertaking signed by the directors of a company applying for a Stock Exchange listing, promising to work within the regulations of the Stock Exchange gift aid gift aid /ft ed/ noun payment above some limit made to a registered charity, meaning that the charity is able to reclaim the basic rate tax which you have paid on the gift gift inter vivos gift inter vivos /ft ntə vivəυs/ noun a gift given to another living person. Abbre- viation GIV gift tax gift tax /ft tks/ noun a tax on gifts. Only gifts between husband and wife are exempt. gilt-edged gilt-edged /lt edd/ adjective used to describe an investment which is very safe gilt-edged securities gilt-edged securities /lt edd s | kjυərtiz/ plural noun investments in Brit- ish government stock gilts gilts /lts/ plural noun same as govern- ment bonds giro giro /darəυ/ noun same as bank giro GIV GIV abbreviation gift inter vivos GM GM abbreviation gross margin GNP GNP abbreviation gross national product goal congruence goal congruence /əυl kɒŋruəns/ noun a situation that leads individuals or companies to take actions which are in their own best interests go-go fund go-go fund /əυ əυ fnd/ noun a fund which aims to give very high returns because it is invested in speculative stocks going concern going concern /əυŋ kən | sn/ noun a company that is actively trading and making a profit going concern value going concern value /əυŋ kən | sn vlju / noun the value of a company as it continues trading as opposed to its break-up value gold bullion gold bullion /əυld bυliən/ noun bars of gold gold card gold card /əυld kɑd/ noun a credit card issued to important customers, i.e., those with a high income, which gives certain privileges such as a higher spending limit than ordinary credit cards golden handcuffs golden handcuffs /əυld(ə)n hndkfs / plural noun a contractual arrangement to make sure that a valued member of staff stays in their job, by which they are offered special financial advantages if they stay and heavy penalties if they leave golden handshake golden handshake /əυld(ə)n hndʃek / noun a large, usually tax-free, sum of money given to a director who retires from a company before the end of his or her service contract ć The retiring director received a golden handshake of £250,000. golden parachute agreement golden parachute agreement /əυld(ə)n prə | ʃut ə | rimənt/ noun a contract that gives a senior manager very generous monetary compensation if his or job is lost as a result of a merger or acquisi- tion golden share golden share /əυld(ə)n ʃeə/ noun a share in a privatised company which is retained by the government and carries spe- cial privileges such as the right to veto for- eign takeover bids goldmine goldmine /əυldman/ noun a mine which produces gold gold point gold point /əυld pɔnt/ noun an amount by which a currency which is linked to gold can vary in price gold reserves gold reserves /əυld r | zvz/ plural noun the country’s store of gold kept to pay international debts Accounting.fm Page 107 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:40 PM [...]... 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 analysis / rəυs prɒfit ə n ləsis/ noun analysis of the discrepancy between actual profit and budgeted profit or previous year’s profit gross profit margin... synopsis of a company’s results over a period of time, often five or ten years, featured in the annual accounts historical trading range /hi stɒrik(ə)l treidiŋ reind / noun the difference between the highest and lowest price for a share or bond over a period of time hive /haiv/ verb hive off phrasal verb to split off part of a large company to form a smaller subsidiary ć The new managing director hived off... Abbreviation instalment | institute Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales | Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland | Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland | Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand | ICANZ Institute of Financial Accountants Institute of Financial Accountants / institju t əv fai n nʃ(ə)l ə kaυntənts/ noun a professional body, established in 1916, which... apparent For example, while a consumer may be aware of a tax on retail purchases, a tax imposed at the wholesale level, which consequently increases the cost of items to the retailer, will not be apparent hierarchy of activities / haiərɑ ki əv k tivitiz/ noun a diagrammatic representation of the relative importance of activities undertaken in the running of a business high /hai/ adjective large, not low ć... /hi stɒrik kɒst/ noun the actual cost of purchasing something which was bought some time ago historical cost accounting /hi stɒrik(ə)l kɒst ə kaυntiŋ/ noun the preparation of accounts on the basis of historical cost, with assets valued at their original cost of purchase Compare current cost hire-purchase company historical cost | | historical cost accounting | | accounting historical cost concept /hi... etc greenmail / ri nmeil/ 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 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 / ri n peipə/ noun... and skills possessed by the employees of an organisation Also called human asset house household goods human capital accounting | accounting, human resource accounting hurdle rate / h d(ə)l reit/ noun a minihurdle rate mum rate of return needed by a bank to fund a loan, the rate below which a loan is not profitable for the bank hybrid / haibrid/ noun a combination of financial instruments, e.g., a bond... salaries indexed to the cost of living ‘…the index of industrial production sank 0.2 per cent for the latest month after rising 0.3 per cent in March’ [Financial Times] ‘…an analysis of the consumer price index for the first half of the year shows that the rate of inflation went down by 12.9 per cent’ [Business Times (Lagos)] indexation / indek seiʃ(ə)n/ noun the linking of something to an index indexed... noun capital which is used to start a business initial public offering /i niʃ(ə)l p blik 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: in-house initial capital | initial public offering | The UK term is offer for sale.) | initial sales /i niʃ(ə)l seilz/ plural noun the first sales of a new product initial yield /i niʃ(ə)l... monthly instalments of £20 to pay a first payment of £25 and the rest in payments of £20 each month institute / institju t/ noun a society or organisation which represents a particular profession or activity ć the Institute of Chartered Accountants Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales / institju t əv tʃɑ təd ə kaυntənts in iŋ lənd ən weilz/ noun the largest professional accountancy . expenses gross profit analysis gross profit analysis /rəυs prɒft ə | nləss/ noun analysis of the discrepancy between actual profit and budgeted profit or previous year’s profit gross profit margin gross. in sales turnover or output flight of capital flight of capital /flat əv kpt(ə)l/ noun a rapid movement of capital out of one country because of lack of confidence in that country’s economic. inflation rate head office head office /hed ɒfs/ noun an office building where the board of directors works and meets headquarters headquarters /hed | kwɔtəz/ plural noun the main office, where the board of