A
Accelerated payment occurs when a borrower speeds up...
The Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (ASPE) are accounting...
Accounts payable refers to the money a company owes its suppliers...
Accounts receivable refers to the money a company’s customers owe for goods...
Accrual- and cash-based accounting are two different methods that...
Accrued expenses are those incurred for which...
The acid-test ratio compares a company’s “quick assets”...
Administration expenses are the costs of paying wages...
An advisory board is a group of people chosen to give expert...
Amortization expenses account for the cost of long-term assets...
The amortization period is the total length of time it takes a company...
An angel investor is a wealthy person who invests his or her own money...
When investors invest in companies, they are issued a “security”...
Asset-based lending occurs when a loan is granted primarily...
The term “assets” refers to everything a company owns. They are the economic resources...
Audited, accountant-reviewed and notice-to-reader are three types...
The average collection period is the average number of days...
B
A balance sheet summarizes a company's assets, liabilities and...
With a balloon payment loan, the final payment includes...
Bank debt is a business takes on by borrowing money from its bank...
A bank operating loan (also called a line of credit) is a short-term, flexible loan that a business...
Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding that occurs when the owner...
A barrier to trade is anything that makes it harder to trade...
Blended payments are a way of repaying a loan that sets...
board of directors is a group of people who represent the...
A bonded warehouse is a warehouse operated by a private company in a foreign country...
A borrower is a person or business that receives money...
The break-even point is achieved when a company’s ...
Bridge capital is temporary funding that helps a business ...
A business accelerator is a program that gives developing...
A business incubator is a program that gives very early...
A business plan is a document that outlines a company’s...
C
The Canada-Europe Trade Agreement (CETA) is Canada’s...
Capital cost allowance (CCA) is the amount of amortization...
Capital structure is the mix of debt and equity on a company’s...
Cash is the amount of actual money a business has at its...
Cash flow measures how much cash a company takes...
Collateral refers to the different kinds of assets that borrowers...
A commercial letter of credit (CLC) is a bank-issued document...
A commercial mortgage is a loan given to a...
A commodity is any good or service that is interchangeable...
Common shares are issued to business owners and other...
A competitive advantage is anything that gives a company...
Competitive forces are the factors and variables that threaten a company’s profitability...
Content marketing is an online marketing strategy that...
With content syndication, companies post or promote their own blogs, articles, videos...
Contract employment involves hiring a person for a specific...
Contributed surplus is the accounting term used whenever...
A shareholder has controlling interest in a business when...
Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to a company’s...
With convertible debt, a business borrows money from...
In general, copyright means the sole right to produce or reproduce a work...
Corporate governance is the practice of ensuring a corporation...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a company’s commitment...
A corporation is a legally established business that can...
A company has a cost advantage when it can produce a...
A company’s cost of capital is the cost of all its debt (borrowed money) plus the cost...
The cost of goods sold (COGS) is the sum of all direct costs associated with manufacturing a product...
Cost of sales (COS) indicates how much a retail or wholesale business spends on the products it...
Covenants are promises that borrowers make to lenders as part of their loan agreements...
The cover letter introduces a company’s financial statements...
Credit card debt is money a company owes for purchases made by credit card...
Credit insurance guarantees a lender will be repaid if a borrower...
Crowdfunding is a way for companies to raise money by...
Currency hedging helps businesses protect themselves...
Current assets (also called short-term assets) are assets a business uses, replaces…
Current liabilities (also called short-term liabilities) are debts...
The current portion of long-term debt (CPLTD) is the amount...
Current ratio compares a company’s current assets to its current liabilities...
Customs authorities (agencies) control the flow of goods...
A customs union is an agreement between two or more...
D
A debenture is a marketable security (a type of investment)...
The debt service coverage ratio measures a company’s...
The debt-to-equity ratio shows how much of a company...
The debt-to-total-assets ratio shows how much of a business...
In the relationship between a borrower and a lender, default means one or more of the...
A demand loan is a loan that a lender can require to be...
A developed country—also called an industrialized country...
A developing country—also called a less developed country...
Differentiation occurs when a company, product or service...
Direct costs are the expenses a business incurs directly to make a product or service, or buy a…
Direct marketing is any marketing activity that communicates directly with a potential customer...
Diversification is a strategy companies and investors use to ensure they are not dependent on a single...
The dividend payout ratio shows how much of a company’s earnings after tax (EAT) are paid to...
Companies pay dividends to shareholders in return for using their capital. Dividends are paid out of...
A duty is an import fee (tariff) charged on goods entering a country, as specified in the country's...
E
Early-stage investing funds the first three stages of a company’s development. It is divided into...
Earnings after tax (EAT) is the measure of a company’s net profitability. It is calculated by subtracting...
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) indicate how effectively a company generates earnings...
Earnings before tax (EBT) measures a company’s profitability before income taxes are factored...
Earnings per common share (EPS) is a measure of profitability that shows how much of a...
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is the primary calculation...
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the process of buying, selling or exchanging products and...
The term economic environment refers to all the external economic factors that influence buying...
An economic union is an agreement between two or more nations to allow goods, services, money...
The terms “efficiency,” “effectiveness” and “flexibility” are used to describe the way a company operates...
An emerging market (sometimes also called a developing economy) is a country with a...
An employee buyout occurs when employees purchase the company they work for. To do so, they...
Employee coaching for performance happens when a manager helps an employee achieve his or...
Companies use enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to manage the various aspects of their...
Equipment is a long-term asset that benefits a business over several years of use. Computers, trucks...
Further, their share of the company’s profits is also diluted. This happens because the total number...
When companies sell shares to investors to raise capital, it is called equity financing. The benefit of...
An exchange rate indicates how much it costs to buy units of one currency using a different currency...
An exit occurs when an investor sells part or all of his or her ownership. In a healthy or growing...
An export plan outlines how a company will establish or grow its business internationally, and...
Selling goods and services to buyers in another country is called exporting. To ensure they follow...
F
Financial statements are a set of documents showing a company’s current financial status...
The fiscal year end is the date on which a company finishes a 12-month business cycle. Most companies’...
Fixed costs are costs that do not change when sales or production volumes increase or decrease...
In a fixed-rate loan (also called a term loan), the interest rate stays the same for the loan’s entire term...
In a floating-rate loan (also called a variable-rate loan), the interest rate varies over the term of the loan...
Foreign markets are any markets outside of a company’s own country.Selling in foreign markets...
A foreign sales agent represents a business in a market outside of its home country (i.e., a foreign market)...
With a franchise, a company licences its processes, intellectual property (e.g., trademarks), trade...
A free trade agreement (FTA) is a treaty between two or more countries to facilitate trade and eliminate...
A free trade zone is any location where goods can be shipped, handled, manufactured, reconfigured...
G
General expenses are the costs a business incurs as part of its daily operations, separate from...
A general partnership is a business established by two or more owners. It is one of three ways of...
A global business is a company that operates facilities (such as factories and distribution centres)...
A global strategy is a plan to help a company grow from an international business (which sells...
A global supply chain covers all the steps involved in manufacturing and delivering a product or service...
Global value chain refers to five interrelated activities, taking place in more than one country, that...
Globalization is a process of increasing social and economic integration among countries around...
Goodwill refers to the value a company gets from its brand, customer base and reputation associated...
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a broad measure of a country’s economic activity based on the...
Gross margin is the amount of money a company has left after subtracting all direct costs of producing...
The gross profit margin ratio shows the percentage of sales revenue a company keeps after it covers...
Guerrilla marketing refers to unconventional approaches to promote products or...
H
Companies use hedging to minimize the impact of potentially negative financial events on their...
HS codes are developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). They identify product...
I
An import is a good, product or service brought into a country from another country. The person...
Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy designed to generate interest in a company’s products or...
An income statement (also called a profit-and-loss statement) shows the profitability of a business...
Governments collect income tax on the profit earned by businesses in their territory — whether those...
Indirect costs are the costs of running a business and going to market with a product or...
Industrial designs are about how things look. Industrial design registrations protect a new or original...
Information technology (IT) refers to a company’s networks, hardware, software and data storage...
An initial public offering (IPO) refers to the first time a company sells shares publicly. It is a form of...
A business is insolvent when it has both a negative debt service coverage ratio...
Intellectual property (IP) is anything created by human minds: Inventions, literary and artistic works...
Interest is the fee a business pays a lender (creditor) to borrow money. Interest payments are usually...
With an interest-only loan, the borrower’s regular payments include only interest, not the principal...
An international business is one that sells products or services in other countries but operates facilities...
An international certification standard outlines the requirements and specifications a product,...
International commercial terms (Incoterms) are rules and standards for commercial transactions...
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are the rules, standards and procedures accountants...
An international market is any market outside a company’s home country—which is its...
International trade is the exchange of goods or services between countries. Free trade agreements...
An international trade show is an event where companies from different countries showcase and...
A company’s inventory includes any finished units of product it is holding for sale, any unfinished units...
Inventory management is the practice companies follow to ensure they have enough raw material...
Inventory turnover shows how many times per year a company converts its inventory into sales...
A company’s balance sheet may show funds it has invested in other companies. Investments appear...
J
In a joint venture, two or more companies join together to collaborate on a particular project. Through...
K
The Japanese word “kaizen” means “continuous improvement” and refers to a structured...
Kanban is a tool and scheduling system for managing interdependent manufacturing processes...
Key success factors (also known as competitive emphasis or strategic posture) state the important...
L
While all companies pay for labour (in the form of the wages they pay to people who work for them)...
Land and buildings are tangible, long-term assets companies use and benefit from over time. They...
Late-stage investing supports companies that have moved beyond the start-up phase of development...
Lean manufacturing is a systematized approach to production that helps companies manufacture the...
Lean manufacturing is a systematized approach to production that helps companies manufacture the...
A lending agreement (loan agreement) is a formal contract between a lender and a borrower...
A letter of guarantee is a document issued by your bank that ensures your supplier gets paid for the...
Leverage is the amount of debt a company has in its mix of debt and equity (its capital structure)...
A leveraged buyout (LBO) occurs when the buyer of a company takes on a significant amount of...
Liabilities are the legal debts a company owes to third-party creditors...
A limited partnership is a form of general partnership which is one of three ways of organizing a...
Liquidity is a company’s ability to raise cash when it needs it. There are two major determinants of...
A loan is a sum of money borrowed by a company with the agreement to pay the lender back within...
Loan acceptance occurs when a borrower accepts the terms and conditions of a loan in writing. The...
Loan authorization occurs when a lending institution completes its “due diligence” (comprehensive...
Loan maturity date refers to the date on which a borrower’s final loan payment is due. Once that...
The loan-to-value ratio (LTV) determines the maximum amount of a secured loan based on the market...
Local culture is the set of behaviours, beliefs and customs that exist in a country—everything from...
Logistics is the practice of coordinating processes and managing materials to create products or...
Long-term assets (also called fixed or capital assets are those a business can expect to use, replace...
Long-term liabilities, also called long-term debts, are debts a company owes third-party creditors that...
M
Managerial preferences are the likes, dislikes, beliefs and perceptions that influence a manager’s...
Market capitalization refers to the total value of a publicly traded company’s outstanding common...
Market entry includes all the activities involved in bringing a product or service to a new market...
A market entry strategy is a company’s plan for delivering goods or services to a new market (a...
Market research is information about customers, competitors and emerging trends that helps...
A company’s marketing mix is the combination of products...
A company’s marketing plan outlines its intended marketing and advertising activities for a...
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) combine two business entities into one. A merger occurs...
Mezzanine financing is a business loan that offers repayment terms adapted to a company’s cash...
The most favoured nation (MFN) principle is based on the idea that countries should treat all...
A multinational corporation is a company that does business in a select few countries around the...
N
National treatment is a principle that says countries should treat imported goods, services and...
The net profit margin ratio shows the percentage of sales revenue a company keeps after covering...
Net revenue is the revenue a company earns in a given period after any purchaser purchase discounts...
Notes payable are long-term liabilities that indicate the money a company owes its financiers...
Notes to the financial statements disclose the detailed assumptions made by accountants when...
O
A company has an offer advantage when its product or service stands out from the competition...
One-time expenses or revenues arise from non-operating activities, that is, those...
Online marketing (also called Internet marketing or web marketing) is marketing and advertising...
Operating activities are all the things a company does to bring its products and services to market...
Operating expenses—also called selling, general and administrative expenses...
Operations refers to all the tasks a company performs to turn raw materials...
Organizational behaviour refers to the ways people communicate and work together to accomplish...
Organizational culture is generally understood as all of a company’s beliefs, values and attitudes...
Overhead is a general term describing indirect costs—i.e., all costs not directly related to manufacturing...
P
Par value is the value of a single common share as set by a corporation’s charter. It is not typically...
Pari-passu—Latin for “equal footing”—is a financing arrangement that gives multiple lenders...
Patent protection applies in the country or region that issues the patent...
Patient capital is money a small or medium-sized private business raises. Its name refers to...
With pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, companies are charged for online ad space only when users...
Payables turnover shows how many times a year a company pays its suppliers...
Performance appraisal is a process for evaluating and documenting how well an employee is...
Performance management is a process of continuing, in-person dialogue between an employee and...
A personal loan (also known as a consumer loan) describes any situation in which an individual...
Personal objectives refer to the job-specific goals of each individual employee. They are important...
Preferred shares are issued to business owners and other investors as proof of the money they...
Pre-paid expenses are intangible assets a company has already paid for and expects to benefit...
he price-earnings ratio (also called PE multiple or P/E) helps shareholders understand what their...
Pricing decisions are the choices businesses make when setting price...
The prime interest rate, also known as the “prime rate,” is the interest rate commercial banks charge their...
Principal is the amount of money a company borrows when it takes a loan. This amount is recorded...
In a principal + interest loan, the principal (original amount borrowed) is divided into equal monthly...
A private company is a business with private ownership...
Procurement is the activity of finding and acquiring goods and services. Its aim is to ensure a...
Product adaptation is the process of changing a product to meet the needs of customers in...
A promissory note is paper evidence of a debt that a borrower owes a lender. It outlines the amount...
A public company is a company whose shares trade on a stock exchange. Typically, public companies...
Businesses use discounts and allowances to encourage customers to buy from them or to pay...
Q
Quick assets include cash on hand or current assets like accounts receivable that can be converted to...
R
Business owners, managers and financiers use ratio analysis to understand how effectively a business...
Raw material expenses refer to the cost of the components that go into a final manufactured product...
A retailer is a business that finds, buys and gathers products or...
Retained earnings are the amount of profit a company has left over...
The return on common equity ratio measures how much money common shareholders receive...
Return on investment (ROI) is the broadest measure of profitability used by shareholders to gauge how...
The return on shareholders’ equity ratio shows how much money is returned to the owners as a percentage...
The return on total assets ratio compares a company’s total assets with the amount...
Revenue is a dollar figure that indicates how much money a company...
Companies use rewards and recognition to motivate employees and demonstrate...
A role description explains the work an employee is expected to perform. It covers the activities and...
Rules of origin are laws, regulations and procedures that identify where an imported product originally...
S
A search engine is a software program that helps people find the information they are looking for online...
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of using keywords and other techniques to ensure a...
A seasonal payment (seasonal loan) is a loan that is repaid in keeping with a company’s seasonal...
In a secured loan, the lender has a legal claim against a borrower’s assets...
Securitization is the process used to create asset-backed securities (ABS). It takes the illiquid assets...
Seed capital is the initial amount of money an entrepreneur uses to start a business. Often, this money...
Segmentation is the process of dividing a company’s target market into groups of potential customers...
A self-employed worker is an individual hired by a company to perform a specific...
Selling expenses are the costs associated with distributing, marketing and...
Semi-variable costs go up when sales and production increase and fall when sales and production...
Senior debts are loans secured by collateral (assets) that must be paid off before any other debts...
The term “share capital” refers to the amount of money the owners of a company have invested...
A shareholder is a person or institution that has invested money in a corporation in exchange for...
A shareholder injection occurs any time a company’s existing shareholders put cash into the business...
Shareholders’ equity (or business net worth) shows how much the owners of a company have invested...
The term “authorized, issued and outstanding” refers to shares in a company that have been sold...
Short selling is a strategy used by stock market traders to make a profit on shares they expect will lose...
The Six Sigma program was created to help companies continuously improve...
A social entrepreneur is a businessperson whose goal is to create long-term social or environmental...
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter...
A sole proprietorship is a business with a single owner who alone is responsible for all liabilities...
A start-up is a business in the earliest stages of getting established. Companies may stay in start-up...
The statement of changes in financial position (sometimes called a “cash flow statement”) shows a...
The statement of retained earnings shows the relationship between a company’s...
A statement of work (SoW) is a document that describes ...
With a stepped-payment loan, a borrower’s monthly payments start low and increase gradually over...
Strategic goals are the specific financial and non-financial objectives and...
A strategic plan is a document that summarizes how a company plans to operate and grow over the next...
Strategic planning is a process that helps a company decide what market opportunities to pursue and...
Strategic scope refers to the products and services a company ...
Subordinated financing (junior debt) is a loan secured by collateral (assets) that are to be paid if a...
Succession planning is a process for identifying, recruiting, training and mentoring...
Supply chain management refers to the ways a company controls all the steps ...
A SWOT analysis breaks down a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)...
A syndicated loan is a substantial loan provided to a large borrower ($1 million or more) by several...
T
Assets are everything a company owns. Tangible assets are physical; they include cash, inventory...
A company’s target market is the set of customers it chooses to serve out of all the possible customers...
A tariff is a fee on goods and services being imported into a country. It is usually imposed and collected...
Taxes payable are the amount of money a company owes in federal, provincial and municipal...
A technical barrier to trade (TBT) is any regulation, standard or procedure that could make exporting...
Total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy that asks...
Businesses buy trade credit insurance to protect against the risk of non-payment...
In a trade mission, government officials and businesspeople from one country travel to another to...
Trade secrets include any valuable business information that derives its value from secrecy...
A trademark is one or many words, sounds or designs used to distinguish the goods or services...
A trend analysis examines the factors that drive business success. The analysis is used to make...
U
The unit selling price is the amount a company charges for a single item of a product or use of a service...
In an unsecured loan, a lender provides money to a borrower without any legal claim to the borrower’s...
V
Valuation is a process used to establish a company’s worth in dollars...
Values are what a company stands for—the beliefs that drive its organizational behaviour and...
Variable costs rise when sales and production go up and they fall when sales and production volumes go down...
Venture capital is a form of early-stage financing...
The Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP) was created by the Government of Canada to encourage...
A venture capital (VC) fund is a sum of money investors commit for...
Viral marketing is an online marketing strategy that involves the creation of engaging and entertaining...
A vision statement expresses a company’s main goal for the future...
W
Web analytics allow a company to collect, measure and evaluate data on visitor traffic that comes...
A wholesaler is a company that sources, buys or stores products and services from multiple suppliers...
Working capital is the amount of cash and other assets a business has available after all its current...
A working capital loan is used to finance the everyday operations of a business such as sales and...
The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an international group of more than 180 customs...
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body dedicated to making trade flow...
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