Numbers dressed up in fancy suits pretending to be words.
A fancy term for items that trigger customs duties when crossing borders, because apparently governments never met a transaction they didn't want to tax. If you're importing it and the taxman wants a cut, congratulations—it's dutiable. This word exists primarily to make customs forms sound more official than "stuff we're charging you extra for."
In business and legal contexts, the thorough investigation and analysis conducted before making a decision or completing a transaction. Due diligence is the corporate equivalent of looking before you leap, except you're also hiring consultants to examine the depth, temperature, and legal ownership of the water below. Skip this step and you might acquire a company that's actually three lawsuits in a trench coat.
A person or entity that owes money, making them the star of collection agencies' dreams and creditors' spreadsheets. In bankruptcy proceedings, they're the main character in a financial tragedy. Distinguished from a borrower by the implication that payment is overdue or the relationship has gone south.
The average number of days it takes to sell through inventory, calculated as (inventory / cost of goods sold) Ă— 365. A metric that reveals whether you're efficiently managed or operating a museum of unsold products.
The financial toll of doing business across borders, or the moral obligation to show up to work and pretend to care. In accounting, these are taxes levied on imports and exports that make international shopping significantly less fun. In corporate life, it's the nebulous set of responsibilities that somehow always includes "other duties as assigned."
The number that gets to boss around the dividend in a division problem. In finance and analytics, it's whatever metric you're dividing by to make your data look smarter—revenue per employee, users per server, suffering per leadership decision.
A fancy IOU from a corporation that's basically backed by nothing more than a firm handshake and the company's stellar reputation. Unlike bonds secured by actual assets, debentures rely solely on the issuer's creditworthiness—think of it as lending money to your successful friend who promises they're good for it, except your friend is a Fortune 500 company. If they go belly-up, you're just another creditor in a very long line.
The fancy financial way of saying money actually left the account and went somewhere else, as opposed to being promised, allocated, or trapped in bureaucratic purgatory. It's the moment when funds stop being theoretical and become someone else's problem or pleasure. Government agencies and large organizations love this word because it makes spending sound more sophisticated.
Products sold without government taxes at airports and border zones, creating the illusion of amazing deals while you're trapped in transit. The magical land where alcohol and perfume become 'affordable' because customs duties don't apply. Convinces travelers they're saving money while spending it on things they didn't need in the first place.
A price reduction that makes accountants slightly nervous because it means less margin, but customers absolutely love it.
An accounting entry that increases assets or decreases liabilities in the left column of the ledger, or in normal-person terms, money leaving your bank account. It's the financial industry's fancy word for "subtraction" that confuses everyone because in banking, a debit increases your account from the bank's perspective but decreases it from yours. The reason accountants have job security is explaining why debits aren't always subtractions.
Every transaction gets recorded twice—one debit, one credit—ensuring your mistakes cancel each other out... usually.
Money that companies hand back to shareholders because they couldn't figure out how to burn it all on expansion. It's the reward for owning a piece of a company that actually makes profit—a rare and increasingly mythical creature in the startup world.
A sum you legally remove from your taxable income to pay less to the government—basically society's way of saying 'if you spent it on this, we'll forgive you some taxes.' Also a logical reasoning method, but accountants care way more about the money part.
Money you owe for the privilege of belonging to a club, association, or organization. Also, what you get when someone finally admits you were right all along.
The length of time something takes, from start to finish—also a finance term that measures how bond prices throw a tantrum when interest rates change. In music, it's how long a note gets to hang out; in warfare, it's corporate-speak for 'how long this mess lasts.'
To decline in value over time, or to belittle something—the financial equivalent of watching your investment slowly deflate like a sad balloon.
The reduction in value of an asset over time due to wear, obsolescence, or market conditions—accountants' favorite way of reminding you your stuff isn't worth what you paid for it.
The failure to meet financial or contractual obligations on time, or the pre-configured settings in software that nobody bothers to change—both equally problematic in their own ways.
When something gets smaller, fewer, or less impressive—the opposite of what marketing teams promise. In knitting, it's the deliberate reduction of stitches; in budgets, it's what finance asks for right before you need more resources.
To provide funding for something from either public or private sources—basically committing money to support a cause or initiative. The financial equivalent of putting your money where your mouth actually is.
The accounting system where every transaction affects at least two accounts (a debit and a credit), ensuring the fundamental accounting equation always balances. It's elegant, logical, and has been fooling people for 600 years.