This glossary contains important words related to accounting and management.
Accounts Payable
Noun
Accounts payable is the amount owed by an entity to its vendors/suppliers for the goods and services received.
Example: Current liabilities include short-term debt, interest, accounts payable and any other outstanding liabilities that are due within a year's time.
fr: Comptes à payer
Accounts Receivable
Noun
Accounts receivable is an asset account on the balance sheet that represents money due to a company in the short-term.
Example: Getting paid can be a nightmare for any business, but dealing with accounts receivable can be particularly harsh for sole proprietors.
fr: Comptes débiteurs
Amortization
Noun
The action or process of gradually writing off the initial cost of an asset.
Example: The loan called for repayment in five years with amortization over 15 years and a balloon payment.
fr: Amortissement
Asset
Noun
Property owned by a person or company, regarded as having value and available to meet debts, commitments, or legacies.
Example: Your home may be your largest financial asset.
fr: Actif
Balance sheet
Noun
A financial statement that reports on all of a company’s assets, liabilities, and equity.
Example: From a political point of view, the balance sheet has been more positive.
fr: Bilan
Break even point
Noun
The break-even point refers to the amount of revenue necessary to cover the total fixed and variable expenses incurred by a company within a specified time period.
Example: Sales volumes are growing and we anticipate the business achieving the break-even point in February.
fr: Seuil de rentabilité
Cash Flow
Noun
The total amount of money being transferred into and out of a business, especially as affecting liquidity.
Example: We were able to maintain a steady cash flow.
fr: Flux de trésorerie
Deposit
Noun
A sum of money placed or kept in a bank account, usually to gain interest.
Example: Do you require a security deposit?
fr: Dépôt
Discount
Noun
A deduction from the usual cost of something, typically given for prompt or advance payment or to a special category of buyers.
Example: Many stores will offer a discount on Apple purchases.
fr: Rabais/ Escompte
Expense
Noun
An expense is the cost of operations that a company incurs to generate revenue.
Example: He paid particular attention to the March expense accounts and itineraries.
fr: Frais
Financial Statements
Noun
Documents that show the financial situation of a company.
Example: The accountants were all busy working on the financial statements as the company was planning to refinance its loans.
fr: États financiers
Gross
Adjective
An amount of money before taxes are deducted.
Example: Her gross income exceeded his, but they still couldn’t afford to get the house they’d been dreaming about for such a long time.
fr: Brut
Income Statement
Noun
The income statement focuses on four key items—revenue, expenses, gains, and losses.
Example: These statements are generated from the company's balance sheet and income statement.
fr: État des résultats
Liability
Noun
A liability is something a person or company owes, usually a sum of money.
Example: There is enough money to cover existing liabilities.
fr: Passif
Loan
Noun
A thing that is borrowed, especially a sum of money that is expected to be paid back with interest.
Example: Interest was charged at very high rates for overdue loans of this.
fr: Prêt
Mortage
Noun
A legal agreement by which a bank or other creditor lends money at interest in exchange for taking title of the debtor's property, with the condition that the conveyance of title becomes void upon the payment of the debt.
Example: I put down a hundred thousand in cash and took out a mortgage for the rest.
fr: Hypothèque
Payroll
Noun
A list of all a company’s employees and their salaries. The word payroll also refers to the total amount of money paid by a company to its employees.
Example: They have a lot of employees on their payroll, so they employ quite a few payroll accountants to calculate employee earnings.
fr: Paie
Rate
Noun
A fixed price paid or charged for something, especially goods or services.
Example: Maybe you could borrow at very high usurious interest rate.
fr: Taux
Shareholder
Noun
A person or organization (company or any other institution) that owns shares in a company.
Example: Because he was a shareholder in the company, he had to attend annual General Meetings.
fr: Actionnaire
Supplies
Noun
A stock of a resource from which a person or place can be provided with the necessary amount of that resource.