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."
The average number of days it takes to collect payment after a sale, abbreviated as DSO. It measures how long customers ignore your invoices before grudgingly paying—lower is better unless you enjoy running a free lending operation.
In finance, assets or companies in serious financial trouble, teetering on the edge of bankruptcy or default—basically the business equivalent of a fire sale. Distressed debt trades at steep discounts because there's a real chance investors will lose everything, attracting vulture funds who specialize in profiting from others' misery. Also describes furniture made to look old on purpose, but that's significantly less financially devastating.
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.
Every transaction gets recorded twice—one debit, one credit—ensuring your mistakes cancel each other out... usually.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The official release of funds from one entity to another, typically involving more paperwork than should be legally necessary. It's when money moves from the theoretical column to the actual payment column, often after surviving multiple approval layers. Think of it as the money finally escaping from financial prison.
To reduce a price, debt, or future obligation by a mathematical percentage because apparently money today is worth more than money tomorrow (who knew?).
In finance, the prudent strategy of spreading your investments across multiple assets so you can lose money in several different ways simultaneously instead of just one. It's the investing equivalent of not putting all your eggs in one basket, which sounds wise until you realize you now have twelve baskets to worry about. Portfolio managers love to brag about how diversified they are, right up until everything crashes at the same time anyway.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.'
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.
To decline in value over time, or to belittle something—the financial equivalent of watching your investment slowly deflate like a sad balloon.
What happens when your currency suddenly becomes the financial equivalent of a participation trophy—intentionally tanking its worth relative to other money or precious metals to try and make your exports look fancy. Spoiler: everyone notices.
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.
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.
The gear system in a vehicle that allows the two drive wheels to rotate at different speeds—because apparently one wheel shouldn't be jealous of the other when you're turning. In math, it's the infinitesimal change in a variable that makes calculus professors weep with joy.