| Term |
Description |
| Appropriations |
Distribution of profit to shareholders, partners or members of a Close Corporation |
| Asset |
What you or the company own |
| Balance Sheet |
A statement of listed Assets, Liabilities and Funds employed |
| Captital |
Is the money used to finance a business. It can be in cash or assets - which are not of a Revenue nature; hence Capital Expenditure. |
| Cash Flow Statement |
The movement of cash for a period, i.e. cash received and cash paid out |
| Close Corporation |
This is unique to the Republic of South Africa - an anonymous association formed in order to limit the liability of members; it is limited to 10 members
|
| Company |
An anonymous association formed in order to limit the liability of the shareholders, who are the investors in a company. (Shareholders participate in the profit of a company) |
| Credit |
In Accounting, is a - (minus)
|
| Creditor |
You or the company owe money to the Creditor |
| Debenture |
Loans made to the company by the public, either secured or unsecured; they can be secured on fixed property or a notarial bond on moveable property
|
| Debenture Holders |
Loan holders who earn fixed interest
|
| Debit |
In Accounting, is a + (plus) |
| Debtor |
Owes you or the company money |
| Emoluments |
Another word for Salary. By convention, workers earn wages, senior employees earn salaries, directors earn emoluments |
| Financial Interpretation |
The interpretation and comparison of this year’s, against last year’s figures, stated in the form of a ratio or a percentage
|
| Financial Statement |
This includes all the reports, i.e. the Balance Sheet, Trading Account, Income Statement and all the various Schedules, etc. |
| General Ledger |
The main ledger where all transactions are summarised, (also called a private ledger); transactions of the General Ledger are extracted from subsidiary books; the financial reports, e.g. the Balance Sheet and Income Statement, are extracted from the General Ledger |
| Goodwill |
An intangible asset, based on the ability of a business to earn profit above the ‘norm’, (these above-average earnings are also known as ‘super profit’)
|
| Income Statement |
A statement of Income and Expenditure, showing gross profit and net profit |
| Liabilities |
What you or the company owe |
| Limited |
Usually abbreviated to Ltd., indicates a limited liability company |
| Partnership |
An association between two or more people, where the partners are personally liable for all the debt of the association |
| Proprietary Limited |
Usually abbreviated to (Pty.) Ltd., is a Private company limited to 50 members in South Africa |
| Provisions |
A definite liability which cannot be accurately assessed at the time of the Financial Statement |
| Public Company |
A company where the number of shareholders are unlimited |
| RAM disc |
A virtual disc (as opposed to a physical or logical disc), which is created in memory, to hold data which is accessed very often. It has the effect of speeding up processing. |
| Reserve |
The allocation of Profits to provide for future requirements or happenings to a company; it is allocated before Appropriations. Capital Reserve can be distributed in special circumstances, Revenue (or normal) Reserve can be distributed freely |
| Revenue |
The Income received in the normal course of business, which is of a non-Capital nature |
| Revenue Expenditures |
The Expenditure incurred in the normal course of business - which is of a non-Capital nature; it is written off against Income |
| Schedules |
Detailed listing of Expenditure, Income and Assets or Liabilities |
| Sole Trader |
This is a one-man partnership |
| Statutory |
Written law, passed by parliament |
| Statutory profit and loss |
Is the minimum information required by the Companies Act |
| Trading Account |
Also known as a Profit and Loss Account, is a list of Income against Expenditures, or an Income Statement
|
| Trial Balance |
A trial balance is a list of all the accounts for a period, to test that the Debits agree with the Credits |
