Numbers dressed up in fancy suits pretending to be words.
A journal entry made at the corporate level above the normal operational accounting system, often used for adjustments or consolidation. It's headquarters overriding local books, sometimes legitimately, sometimes suspiciously.
In accounting, the money your company owes but hasn't paid yet—basically corporate IOUs sitting on the balance sheet like financial landmines. Also known as "accounts payable," these are the bills that make CFOs wake up in cold sweats. The bigger this number gets, the more creative the excuses to vendors become.
How much profit a company generates per dollar of shareholder investment, or as executives call it, the only number that matters. Because shareholders' yachts don't buy themselves.
A hierarchy determining who gets paid first when money comes in, ensuring investors and executives eat before employees see a dime. It's trickle-down economics but explicitly documented.
The difference between the present value of cash inflows and outflows over time, discounted because a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow—thank you, inflation and opportunity cost. If it's positive, invest; if negative, run away.
The practice of selling investments at a loss to offset capital gains and reduce tax liability, then often buying similar assets to maintain market exposure. It's using the tax code's lemons to make lemonade.
The complete month-end or year-end financial closing process with all adjustments, reconciliations, and financial statements finalized—as opposed to a soft close that's faster but less comprehensive. It's the accounting equivalent of spring cleaning versus just shoving everything in the closet.
A report categorizing accounts receivable by how long they've been outstanding, typically in 30-day buckets. It's a snapshot of who owes you money and which customers are slow payers or potential deadbeats.
The correction of previously issued financial statements due to errors, fraud, or accounting policy changes—corporate speak for 'we messed up, never mind what we told you before.' It's never a good sign when a company announces one.
A metric measuring a company's ability to meet short-term obligations with liquid assets, like the current ratio or quick ratio. Think of it as the financial equivalent of asking whether you can make rent next month without selling your car.
The discount rate that makes the net present value of an investment zero—basically the breakeven return that justifies the project. If IRR exceeds your hurdle rate, it's theoretically a go; if not, it's a hard pass.
The average number of days a company takes to pay its suppliers, calculated by dividing accounts payable by daily cost of goods sold. Low numbers mean you're a prompt payer; high numbers mean you're using suppliers as a free bank.
An accounting method that assigns overhead costs to products based on the activities that actually drive those costs, rather than arbitrary allocations like direct labor hours. It's acknowledging that not all products consume resources equally, which revolutionized cost accounting but requires painful implementation.
Anything of value that accountants get to play with on a balance sheet, from office furniture to that sketchy intern who somehow speaks fluent Mandarin. In finance, it's what you own that's theoretically worth something—until the market decides otherwise. Can also refer to a spy, because espionage and spreadsheets both involve secrets.
The moment when someone finally gets their money—whether it's a legitimate payment, a well-earned reward, or an envelope full of cash to look the other way. In finance, it's the return on investment; in real life, it's what makes sitting through terrible meetings almost worthwhile. The term conveniently covers everything from dividends to bribes.
The delightful process of getting your money back after you've already spent it, typically involving byzantine expense report systems and a CFO who questions why you needed that airport coffee. It's the corporate promise that 'we'll pay you back'—eventually, maybe, if you have all seventeen required receipts. The business world's version of an IOU that actually gets honored.
The glorious moment when money actually leaves the vault and enters someone's pocket, whether it's dividends to shareholders or winnings to lottery players. In corporate speak, it's the amount distributed to investors who've been patiently waiting for their returns. The favorite word of anyone who's ever invested in anything, and the dreaded term for CFOs watching the bank account drain.
The financial equivalent of calling in a responsible adult when you've made a complete mess of things—a court-appointed receiver takes control of a failing company to salvage whatever value remains for creditors. It's bankruptcy's slightly less dramatic cousin, where someone competent temporarily runs your business while you watch from the sidelines. Usually signals that things have gone very, very wrong.
Relating to those mysterious number wizards called actuaries who calculate risk, probability, and future costs using mathematics that would make most people weep. It's the science of predicting when you'll die, how likely your house is to burn down, and how much money a pension fund needs—cheerful stuff. If it involves insurance, statistics, and existential dread, it's probably actuarial.
The professional practice of accounting, elevated to sound more prestigious—because 'accountant' apparently needed fancier branding. It encompasses the entire field of financial reporting, auditing, tax preparation, and making sure companies follow arcane rules that change annually. The British prefer this term, Americans less so, but everyone agrees it involves lots of coffee and spreadsheets.
The official book of record where all financial transactions are documented, serving as the single source of truth in accounting—or at least it's supposed to be. Modern ledgers are digital, but the concept remains: every debit and credit gets recorded in this master list. It's where accountants go to verify that yes, that expense really happened, and no, you can't just pretend it didn't.
Everything a business owes to others—debts, obligations, and promises to pay that hang over the company like a financial sword of Damocles. It's the right side of the balance sheet that accountants love to balance against assets, creating the fundamental equation of accounting. Can also mean that person on your team who's more problem than solution.
The gradual increase in value of a bond as it approaches maturity, or the increase in earnings per share following an acquisition. Basically, when numbers get bigger and finance people get to feel smart about predicting it.
A reduction in the stated value of an asset for the purpose of calculating capital requirements or collateral, because lenders assume you're overstating value (and they're usually right). Not to be confused with what you get at a barbershop, though both can be painful.