Numbers dressed up in fancy suits pretending to be words.
A financial statement showing revenue, expenses, and profit over a period—the report card executives pray nobody reads closely.
International Financial Reporting Standards—GAAP's global cousin that's supposed to harmonize accounting worldwide, with mixed success.
A person or business so financially submerged that accountants gave up and lawyers got involved. The point where 'broke' becomes a court-acknowledged legal catastrophe requiring formal government intervention.
The brave (or foolhardy) organization that creates and releases securities into the market, essentially asking strangers to trust their financial management for potential profits.
An asset you can't touch or see—patents, trademarks, copyrights, brand value. They're valuable but impossible to calculate precisely, which makes them accountants' favorite source of creative interpretation.
How many times a company sells and replaces its inventory during a period. High turnover is usually good (products sell fast), unless it's so high that you're constantly out of stock.
The legal process of transforming your side hustle into a business that can be sued independently of you—or the boring term for mixing stuff together. In finance, it's the moment your liability shield gets its first dent.
The unfortunate state where your debts have won the game and your assets are throwing in the towel. It's what happens when you owe more money than you could possibly pay back without selling your future.
A sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over time, reducing the purchasing power of money. Measured typically as a percentage rise year-over-year.
The polite way of saying you're financially obligated—usually with interest and judgment. The state of owing money, obligations, or favors, often with the implicit admission that you got yourself into this mess.
Selling your outstanding invoices to someone else for immediate cash at a hefty discount—desperation financing with a professional name.