10-k
a comprehensive report filed annually by a publicly-traded company about its financial performance and is required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
form 1040
a document individual taxpayers use to file their annual income tax returns with the IRS
183-day rule
criteria used by many countries to determine if someone should be considered a resident for tax purposes
51% attack
an attack on a cryptocurrency blockchain by a group of miners who control more than fifty percent of the network’s mining hash rate
401(a) plan
an employer-sponsored retirement plan available to employees of government agencies, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations
401(k) plan
a defined-contribution, tax-advantaged retirement savings plan that is sponsored by one’s employer
403(b) plan
a tax-advantaged retirement account for certain employees of tax-exempt organizations
457 plan
a tax-advantaged retirement plan offered to government and nonprofit organization employees
501(c)(3) organization
a tax-exempt nonprofit organization
8-k
a form companies must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission to announce major events of importance to shareholders
80-20 rule
a principle that asserts that eighty percent of outcomes (or outputs) result from twenty percent of all causes (or inputs) for any given event
83(b) election
a U.S. tax provision that gives an employee, or startup founder, the option to pay taxes on the total fair market value of restricted stock at the time of granting
2-1 buydown
a mortgage agreement that provides a low interest rate for the first year of the loan, a somewaht higher rate for the second year, and then the full rate
triple a (aaa)
the highest possible rating that may be assigned to an issuer’s bonds by any of the major credit-rating agencies
absolute advantage
the ability of an individual, company, region, or country to produce a greater quantity of a good or service with the same quantity of inputs per unit of time
absolute return
the percent amount that an investment rises or declines in value in a given period
absorption costing
a managerial accounting method for capturing all costs associated with manufacturing a particular product
accelerated depreciation
any method of depreciation used for accounting or income tax purposes that allows greater depreciation expenses in the early years of the life of an asset
acceptable quality level
a statistical measurement of the maximum acceptable number of defective goods in a particular sample size
bank account number
a unique string of characters used to identify a particular bank account and grant access to it
accounting conservatism
a set of bookkeeping guidelines that call for a high degree of verification before a company can make a legal claim to any profit
accounting information system
a system for the collection, storage, and processing of financial and accounting data
accounting method
the rules a company follows in reporting revenues and expenses
accounting policies
the specific principles and procedures implemented by a company’s management team thata re used to prepare its financial statements
accounting principles
the rules and guidelines that companies and other bodies must follow when reporting financial data
accounting profit
a company’s total earnings, calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles
accounting rate of return
a formula that reflects the percentage rate of return expected on an investment or asset, compared to the initial investment’s cost
accounting ratio
a comparison of two line items in a company’s financial statements
accounting standard
a common set of principles, standards, and procedures that define the basis of financial accounting policies and practices
accounting theory
a set of assumptions, frameworks, and methodologies used in the study and application of financial reporting principles
accounts payable
an account within the general ledger that represents a company’s obligation to pay off a short-term debt to its creditors or suppliers
accounts payable turnover ratio
a short-term liquidity measure used to quantify the rate at which a company pays its suppliers
accounts receivable
the balance of money due to a firm for goods or services delivered or used but not yet paid for by customers
accounts receivable aging
a periodic report that categorizes a company’s accounts receivable according to the length of time an invoice has been outstanding
accounts receivable financing
a type of financing arrangement in which a company receives financing capital related to a portion of its accounts receivable
accredited investor
an individual or business entity that is allowed to trade securities that are not registered with financial authorities
accretion
the gradual and incremental growth of assets and earnings due to business expansion, a company’s internal growth, or a merger or acquisition
accrual accounting
a financial accounting method in which revenues and expenses are recorded when a transaction occurs rather than when money is exchanged
accruals
a method of accounting in which revenues and expenses are recorded as they are incurred
accrued expense
an accounting term that refers to an expense that is recognized on the books before it has been paid
accrued income
money that’s been earned but has yet to be received
accrued interest
the amount of interest that has been incurred, as of a specific date, on a loan or other financial obligation but has not yet been paid out
accrued liability
an expense incurred but not yet paid for by a business
accrued revenue
revenue that has been earned by providing a good or service, but for which no cash has been received
accumulated depreciation
the cumulative depreciation of an asset up to a single point in its life
accumulation/distribution indicator
a cumulative indicator that uses volume and price to confirm price trends
acid-test ratio
a method to gauge whether a firm has sufficient short-term assets to cover its immediate liabilities
acquisition
a transaction in which one party buys some or all of a company’s ahres, potentially leading to consolidation or merger with the parent company
acquisition accounting
a set of formal guidelines describing how assets, liabilities, non-controlling interest, and goodwill of a purchased company must be reported by the buyer on its consolidated statement of financial position
activity-based budgeting
a rigorous budgeting approach in which cost-incurring activities are recorded, researched, and analyzed
activity-based costing
a costing method that assigns overhead and indirect costs to related products and services
activity-based management
a method of analyzing a company’s efficiencies using activity-based costing
activity cost driver
an action that causes variable costs to increase or decrease
activity ratio
indicators of how efficiently a company uses its assets to generate revenues and cash
actuarial gain or loss
the difference between an employer’s actual and expected pension payments
actuarial science
a discipline that assesses financial risks in the insurance and finance fields, using mathematical and statistical methods
ad valorem tax
a tax imposed on an item based on its assessed value
additional paid in capital
an accounting term referring to money an investor pays above and beyond the par value price of a stock
adjudication
a legal ruling or the process of settling a legal case or claim through the court or justice system
adjustable-rate mortgage
a home loan with an interest rate that can fluctuate
adjusted EBITDA
a non-GAAP profit metric widely used to analyze a company’s true operating cash flow
adjusted gross income
a measure of income used by the internet revenue service to assess a taxpayer’s tax liability
adjusted present value
the net present value of a project or company if financed solely by equity plus the present value of any financing benefits
adjusting journal entry
an entry in a company’s general ledger that occurs at the end of an accounting period to record any unrecognized income or expenses for the period
administrative expenses
expenses an organization incurs that are not directly tied to a specific core function
adverse possession
a legal principle that allows a person who possesses someone else’s land for an extended period of time to claim legal title to that land
adverse selection
when sellers have information that buyers do not have, or vice versa, about some aspect of product quality
affiliate marketing
an advertising model in which a company compensates third-party partners for promoting products and services and generating business
after-tax real rate of return
the actual financial benefit of an investment after accounting for the effects of inflation and taxes
agency costs
a type of internal company expense, which comes from the actions of an agent acting on behalf of a principal
agent
a person legally empowered to act on behalf of another person or an entity
aggregate demand
the total demand for all finished goods and services produced in an economy
aggregate supply
the total supply of goods and services produced within an economy at a given price level within a certain period
aleatory contract
an agreement that the parties involved do not have to perform a particular action until a specific, triggering event occurs
alpha
a term used in investing to describe an investment strategy’s ability to beat the market
altcoin
all cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin
alternative investment
a financial asset that does not fall into one of the conventional investment categories
alternative minimum tax
a floor on the percentage of taxes that a filer must pay to the government
amalgamation
a combination of two or more companies into a new entity
amortization
an accounting technique used to periodically lower the book value of a loan or an intangible asset over a set period of time
amortized loan
a loan with scheduled periodic payments of both principal and interest
analysis of variance
an analysis tool used in statistics that splits an observed aggregate variability found inside a data set into two parts: systematic factors and random factors
annual equivalent rate
the interest rate for a savings account or investment product that has more than one compunding period
annual percentage yield
the real rate of return earned on an investment, taking into account the effect of compounding interest
annualize
converting a short-term calculation or rate into an annual rate
annualized total return
the geometric average amount of money earned by an investment each year over a given time period
annuity
an insurance contract issued and distributed by financial institutions with the intention of paying out invested funds in a fixed income stream in the future
anti money laundering
the web of laws, regulations, and procedures aimed at uncovering efforts to disguise illicit funds as legitimate income
appropriation
the act of setting aside money for a specific purpose
arbitrage
the simultaneous purchase and sale of the same asset in different markets in order to profit from tiny differences in the asset’s listed price
arbitrage pricing theory
a pricing model that predicts a return using the relationship between an expected return and macroeconomic factors
arc elasticity
the elasticity of one variable with respect to another between two given points
asset allocation
an investment strategy that aims to balance risk and reward by apportioning a portfolio’s assets according to an investor’s goals
asset-based approach
a business valuation that focuses on a company’s net asset value
asset coverage ratio
a finanicial metric that measures how well a company can repay its debts by selling or liquidating its assets
asset financing
the use of a company’s balance sheet assets to borrow money or get a loan
asset turnover ratio
an efficiency metric that represents a company’s ability to generate revenue from its assets
audit
a thorough review of a company’s financial statements to ensure the financial records are fiar and accurate
autocorrelation
a mathematical representation of the degree of similarity between a given time series and a lagged version of itself over successive time intervals
average annual growth rate
the mean increase in the value of an individual investment, portfolio, asset, or cash flow on an annualized basis