Unless you are an accountant, you may not know what people are talking about when they mention certain terms. Human nature dictates that we’re either embarrassed or ashamed to ask what certain words mean. In the event you have been hearing terms that you are unfamiliar with, let’s go over a few commonly used terms.
There are some elementary terms, or so the accounting folks say, that many of us just don’t know the definition of. So, let’s start at the beginning. An account has many different meanings. In accounting, the most common use means a record which stores and collects basic information.
An annuity is an investment that gives you the same amount, over time. You will get money from your annuity, once a year, and it is the same amount, each time.
An annuity is a return on an investment that renders the same amount of money in the same intervals of time. This is like when you get an interest check each year, at the same time of year. It’s something that you can rely on.
When you have debt, it is referring to the amount of money that you owe to another person, or a lending institution. Many times, when your debt is greater than your worth, you are said to be in an upside down situation.
When a company or person has debt, it is something that they owe to others. This amount is subtracted from your worth and assets. This amount is the price plus any interest payments you may owe a financial institution or lender. Debt is usually looked at most closely when you are applying for credit.
A gain is something that you acquire or receive. Typically, this is from the sales of your assets. When you receive compensation from selling these investments or other assets, the money that you receive is considered a gain and will be taxed accordingly by the Internal Revenue Service.
When you gain something, you get more value. For instance, if you sell some stocks that you paid a dollar per share for and then you sold those same stocks for twice that, you’d have gained a dollar per share. If those same stocks were sold for fifty cents, you’d have taken a loss on them.
One thing that you may hear people talk about is R and D. R and D stands for research and development. You will hear this discussed many times in a business climate. The reason that it is so heavily discussed is because research and development costs affect a company’s bottom line.
The standard cost is something that has been predetermined ahead of time. The cost of something that is expected to be a certain price is used in accounting for businesses for future planning.
These are just a few of the terms that you may hear when people are discussing business and accounting practices. You’ll hear these terms on the news, read them in the papers and hear business men everywhere dropping them like they were names of superstars. There are many other terms that will be used and if you’re interested, there are many places online to look for their definitions. Simply go to your favorite search engine and run a search on the word.
Another term that you’ll hear discussed in the realm of accounting is r and d. Cpa Scottsdale Az It’s a numbers game, no matter how you look at it. An accountant should also possess general business knowledge.