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ACCOUNTING TERMS - ACCOUNTING DICTIONARY - ACCOUNTING GLOSSARY

OVER 3,000 ACCOUNTING TERMS

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SAFE HARBOR RULE is a concept in statutes and regulations whereby a person who meets listed requirements will be preserved from adverse legal action. Frequently, safe harbors are used where a legal requirement is somewhat ambiguous and carries a risk of punishment for an unintended violation.

SAFETY STOCK (SS) or security stock ensures that the item is available up to the pre-defined required service level, even when the re-ordered material arrives later then expected, or the fluctuations in demand during the lead-time cause the demand to be larger then expected. See also STOCK RESERVE.

SALARY is scheduled wages and benefits an employee receives from an employer.

SALES ALLOWANCE is an offer of a lower price as an inducement to the buyer to accept delivery under special circumstances, e.g. when the merchandise delivered is not exactly what was ordered.

SALES AND COLLECTIONS BUDGET represents one of the first steps in the budgeting process, as items such as inventory levels and operating expenses are driven off of the Sales and Collections Budget. Effective sales budgeting is a key factor in building a useful and representative financial model for a business. Regardless of the nature of your business (for example, whether it is product or service-based).

SALES & MARKETING EXPENSE normally includes: salaries, commissions, and benefits to sales and marketing personnel, co-op advertising allowances to customers, advertising, warehouse costs, and shipping costs.

SALES BUDGET is the expected sales in units and dollars. See OPERATING BUDGET.

SALES CONTRACT see SALES ORDER.

SALES DISCOUNT is a reduction in the selling price usually as an inducement to consummate a sale. Sales Discount is on the income statement as a deduction from Gross Sales to get Net Sales.

SALES INVOICE is a document that records the sale of goods or services from a vendor to a customer.

SALES JOURNAL is a record containing a chronological listing of credit sales.

SALES LEDGER see LEDGER.

SALES MULTIPLE is the most widely used valuation benchmark used in the valuation of a business. The information needed are annual sales and an industry multiplier, which is usually a range of .25 to 1 or higher. The industry multiplier can be found in various financial publications, as well as analyzing sales of comparable businesses. This method is easy to understand and use. The sales multiple is often used as the valuation benchmark.

SALES ORDER, also known as SALES CONTRACT, is a contract by which buyer and seller agree to the terms and conditions of a sale.

SALES PROCEEDS are the sum of the service units (products, services) sold by a corporation within a particular period. The sales proceeds are calculated from the quantities sold (pcs, kg, hrs) multiplied by the sales price per unit within a particular period.

SALES / RECEIVABLES (Receivables Turnover) is a ratio that measures the number of times trade Receivables turn over during the year. Generally, the higher the turnover of receivables, the shorter the time between sale and cash collection. It indicates how fast the company is getting paid for goods and services. Receivables turnover is best compared to the industry in order to determine if the company should improve their collection rate. The faster the receivables turnover, the better cash flow will look. Slow or below par turnover can be an indication of systemic problems within the company. It is best to compare receivables turnover with that of industry averages.

SALES TAX is a tax levied by a government entity, usually state or city, on the retail price of an item and certain taxable services, collected by the retailer.

SALES TURNOVER see TURNOVER.

SALVAGE VALUE is: a) Realizable value of a fixed asset after deducting costs associated with its sale; b) Scrap value or the value to a junk dealer; or c) The amount remaining after all depreciation has been deducted from the original cost of a depreciable asset.

SAME STORE SALES is used when analyzing the retail industry. It compares sales in stores which have been open for a year or more.

S&P 500 see STANDARD AND POOR'S (S&P) 500.

SAP is an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that seamlessly integrates most activities of a company.

SARBANES-OXLEY ACT (SOX) contains sweeping reforms for issuers of publicly traded securities, auditors, corporate board members, and lawyers. It adopts tough new provisions intended to deter and punish corporate and accounting fraud and corruption, threatening severe penalties for wrongdoers, and protecting the interests of workers and shareholders. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, was signed into law by US President George W. Bush and became effective on July 30, 2002.

SAVINGS ACCOUNTS are client accounts maintained by banks, savings & loan associations, credit unions, and mutual savings banks that pay interest but can not be used directly as money. These accounts let customers set aside a portion of their liquid assets that could be used to make purchases. But to make those purchases, savings account balances must be transferred to "transactions deposits" (or "checkable deposits") or currency. However, this transference is easy enough that savings accounts are often termed near money. Savings accounts, as such constitute a sizeable portion of the M2 monetary aggregate. With savings accounts you can make withdrawals, but you do not have the flexibility of using checks to do so. As with an MMDAs (money market deposit account), the number of withdrawals or transfers you can make on the account each month is usually limited.

SAVINGS DEPOSITS see SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

SBIC is Small Business Investment Company.

SCHEDULE is an ordered list of times at which things are planned to occur, e.g., cash receipts schedule and amortization schedule.

SCHEDULE K-1 see K-1, SCHEDULE.

SCIENTER THEORY is based on the word 'scienter', which is Latin for "having knowledge." In criminal law, the theory refers to knowledge by a defendant that his/her acts were illegal or his/her statements were lies and thus fraudulent. In securities, it is to knowingly transact a fraudulent securities deal.

S CORPORATION see SUBCHAPTER S.

SCRAP is material that is discarded as worthless or sold to be reused as parts; junk; a small unusable amount of something that is left over after the rest has been used or consumed.

SCRAP VALUE see SALVAGE VALUE.

SDCF is Sales & Distribution Cash Flow.

SEC is the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SECA is Self-Employment Contributions Act of 1954.

SECURED is an obligation backed by a pledge of collateral. Opposite of unsecured.

SECURED LIABILITY is a liability that has a degree of protection towards satisfaction if unpaid because the debtor has pledged personal/company assets towards satisfaction of that liability; e.g., a property mortgage is a secured liability because the mortgage holder has a guarantee through a lien on the property.

SECURITIES FRAUD, in most cases, is nothing more than stealing. Federal and state securities laws contain more technical definitions. But when investors are enticed into purchasing security instruments based on untrue data, statements or promises, it is securities fraud.

SECURITIZATION is the process of creating a pass-through, such as the mortgage pass-through security, by which the pooled assets become standard securities backed by those assets. Also, refers to the replacement of non-marketable loans and/or cash flows provided by financial intermediaries with negotiable securities issued in the public capital markets.

SECURITY dependent upon usage is: a. a guarantee that an obligation will be met; b. defense against financial failure; financial independence; c. property that your creditor can claim in case you default on your obligation; or, d. a formal declaration that documents a fact of relevance to finance and investment; the holder of which has a right to receive interest or dividends, e.g. stocks and bonds.

SECURITY STOCK see SAFETY STOCK.

SEGMENTATION is the act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart, e.g. segmenting a market along the characteristics and needs of a particular consumer group.

SEGMENT REVENUE is revenue, including intersegment revenue, which is directly attributable or reasonably allocable to a segment. Includes interest and dividend income and related securities gains only if the segment is a financial segment (bank, insurance company, etc.).

SEGREGATED FUND is a pooled investment fund, much like a mutual fund, established by an insurance company and segregated from the general capital of the company. Its chief distinction from a mutual fund is its guarantee that, regardless of fund performance, at least a minimum percentage of the investor's payments into the fund will be returned when the fund matures.

SELF-CONTRUCT ASSETS is the costs incurred to build it yourself.

SELLER GUARANTEE DEPOSIT is a good-faith deposit of funds that is made to demonstrate that the seller is confident enough in their technical skills and time management abilities to guarantee that they will complete the project 100% and on time. If the project is completed successfully, then the seller receives back the Seller Guarantee Deposit (minus the Seller Guarantee Deposit Processing Fee). If the project is not completed successfully, the seller forfeits the entire Seller Guarantee Deposit as liquidated damages for the breech.

SELL-IN ACCOUNTING records shipments to wholesalers as product sales whether or not they expand retail or wholesale stocking, i.e. revenue is recorded when a product enters the distribution stream while sell-through does not. See SELL-THROUGH ACCOUNTING.

SELLING & ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE BUDGET is a budget of planned expenditures for non-manufacturing activities, such as sales commissions and office salaries. See OPERATING BUDGET.

SELL-THROUGH, in retail sales, is the number of product distributed that are actually sold, e.g. movies sold as compared to rented.

SELL-THROUGH ACCOUNTING is where revenue is not recognized until after the product has been subsequently shipped from the wholesalers. See SELL-IN ACCOUNTING.

SEMIVARIALBLE COST is one that varies with changes in volume, but, unlike variable cost, does not vary in direct proportion. This component contains both fixed and variable elements, e.g., a rented vehicle may have a rental fee (fixed), but contain a mileage adder (variable).

SENIOR DEBT/NOTE are loans or debt securities that have a claim prior to junior obligations and equity on a corporation’s assets in the event of a liquidation.

SENSEX is a Bombay Stock Exchange Index (BSE 30-Share Benchmark Sensex Index).

SENSITIVE ASSETS are those assets that can be affected by uncontrollable external factors. There are interest rate sensitive assets (assets yielding cash-flows at some fixed points in the future) and theft-sensitive assets (inventory for example).

SENSITIVE LIABILITIES normally refers to 'interest rate sensitive liabilities' (i.e., liabilities where there is a floating interest rate).

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS is the analysis of how sensitive outcomes are to changes in the assumptions. The assumptions that deserve the most attention should depend largely on the dominant benefit and cost elements and the areas of greatest uncertainty of the program or process being analyzed.

SEPARABLE COSTS are all costs (manufacturing, marketing, distribution, etc.) incurred beyond the splitoff point that are assignable to one or more individual products.

SEPARATE DETERMINATION CONCEPT holds that each component of any category of assets or liabilities should be valued separately when arriving at a total to be shown in the accounts for that category. For example, the value of each stock item should be calculated individually (at the lower of cost and net realizable value) and these values should then be totaled to give the stock figure which will appear in the accounts. Stock should not be valued at the lower of total cost and total NRV.

SEPARATE VALUATION CONCEPT is a recording and measurement rule that relates to the determination of the aggregate amount of any item. In order to determine the aggregate amount of an asset or a liability, each individual asset or liability that comprises the aggregate must be determined separately. This is important because material items may reflect different economic circumstances. There must be a review of each material item to comply with the appropriate accounting standards.

SERIAL BOND is a bond issue in which the bonds mature periodically over a number of years.

SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK is the first round of stock offered during the seed or early stage round by a portfolio company to the venture investor or fund. This stock is convertible into common stock in certain cases such as an IPO or the sale of the company. Later rounds of preferred stock in a private company are called Series B, Series C and so on.

SERIES B, C, D, ETC. PREFERRED STOCK see SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK.

SERVICE BUSINESS is a form of business providing different types of labor services in a wide variety of business sectors, e.g., lawn mowing, housecleaning and clothes cleaners are three types of consumer services offered to the general public.

SERVICE CHARGE is an additional charge for a service for which there is already a basic fee; also called service fee.

SERVICE CHARGE ACCOUNTING, in property management, is estate and property service charge accounting system that provides the mechanism for comprehensive service charge reconciliation reports for both the tenant and the property manager. Expenditure can be apportioned equally over the entire service charge period or can be allocated to a specific date range within the period. Full budget reporting and next period budget calculation routines are usually provided.

SERVICE CONTRACT is a contract offered by a retailer for maintaining and repairing a product beyond its manufacturer's warranty coverage.

SERVICE FEE see SERVICE CHARGE.

SERVICE INVOICE is an invoice associated with non-professional services, e.g. janitorial, consulting or architectural. See PROFESSIONAL INVOICE and PRODUCT INVOICE.

SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA) is performance objectives reached by consensus between the user and the provider of a service, or between an outsourcer and an organization. A service level agreement specifies a variety of performance standards that may or may not include "service level."

SETOFF is the discharge of a debt by setting against it a distinct claim in favor of the debtor.

SETTLEMENT DISCOUNT is the discount percentage offered for payment within the settlement period. Many vendors offer settlement discounts for early payment of invoiced amounts.

SETUP COST see FIXED CHARGE.

SEVERANCE TAX is levied on production of natural resources taken from land or water bottoms within the territorial boundaries of a state.

SFAS is Statement of Financial Accounting Standards or Statewide Fixed Assets System.

SG&A refers to the indirect overhead costs contained within the Sales, General and Administrative expense / cost categories.

SGD is an acronym for SIGNED.

SHARE is one unit of ownership interest in a company, mutual fund, limited partnership, etc.

SHARE APPLICATION MONEY is that money received by a company during an IPO. Payments received for a subscription of stock is normally received over the IPO life. For example: Widgets Limited has been registered with an authorized capital of $2,00,000 divided into 2,000 shares of $100 each of which, 1,000 shares were offered for public subscription at a premium of $5 per share, payable as:

on application $10
on allotment $25 (including premium)
on first call $40
on final call $30

For a total of $105/share

The amounts received would be carried as a current liability until such time as the stock is issued, then it would be considered as part of equity.

SHARE BUY-BACK is when a company makes an offer to buy back some of its own shares. There are several types of buy-backs. Three common types are: 1. an equal access scheme - when the company offers to buy back the same proportion of each shareholder's shares; 2. a selective buy-back - when the company offers to buy back shares from only one or some of its shareholders; or, 3. the company may buy the shares on the exchange where the shares are traded.

SHARE CAPITAL is that portion of a corporation's equity obtained from issuing shares in return for cash or other considerations.

SHAREHOLDER is an individual or company, (including corporations) that legally owns one or more shares of a company.

SHAREHOLDER LOANS include any loans between a corporation and any of its shareholders. Loans from shareholders are normally carried as long-term debt, but the reality is such loans should be counted as equity (they are not) because they rarely are paid back to the shareholder.

SHAREHOLDER OF RECORD is any individual or company that owns at least one share of stock of a corportion; such shares represented by a stock certificate or record of shares held by the owner's broker.

SHAREHOLDERS FUND is equity plus accumulated profits.

SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY is total assets minus total liabilities. It is the same as EQUITY, NET WORTH and stockholder’s equity.

SHARE PREMIUM is the difference between the higher price paid for a share of stock and the stocks par value when issued.

SHARPE RATIO, named after William P. Sharpe, is a measurement of portfolio trading performance. It is calculated by subtracting risk free rate from total portfolio return, then dividing by the standard deviation of the portfolio:Sharpe ratio = Total portfolio return – Risk free rate / Portfolio standard deviation.

SHELF LIFE specifies the period of time which a product can be stored, under specified conditions, and remain in optimum condition and suitable for use or consumption.

SHIP IN PLACE is sales billed to customers prior to delivery and held by the seller (also: "bill and hold" or "bill in place" sales).

SHIPPING NOTICE is a formal notification that goods ordered are en-route to their destination.

SHORT-TERM usually encompasses a calendar of 12 months or less.

SHORT TERM ASSET is an asset expected to be converted into cash within the normal operating cycle (usually one year), e.g. accounts receivable and inventory.

SHORT TERM LIABILITY is a liability that will come due within one year or less.

SHRINKAGE is: 1. the amount by which something shrinks; 2. process or result of becoming less or smaller (Example: "The material lost 2 inches per yard in shrinkage"); or, 3. the act of stealing goods that are on display in a store (Example: "Shrinkage" is the retail trade's euphemism for shoplifting).

SI&A is Structure Inventory and Appraisal or Site Installation and Activation.

SIC (STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION) is a U.S. Government numerical coding system used in the U.S. to group and classify basically all products and services existing within the U.S. economy.

SIDE POCKET INVESTMENTS enable a fund manager to invest in securities that are or become illiquid by allowing the fund manager to classify the securities as a “designated” or “special” investment i.e., held in a side pocket. Designated investments are valued separately from the general portfolio of the fund. Once designated, distinct valuation, allocation, withdrawal and distribution provisions are applied to such designated investments without affecting the general portfolio of the fund (and its applicable terms). Side pocket provisions typically permit a fund manager to designate any investment as a designated investment, creating a side pocket, if the fund manager determines it to be in the best interests of the fund and its investors. Generally, only investors that are investors at the time the side pocket is created are allocated a participating interest in such investments. Accordingly, investors that become investors after a side pocket is created will have no interest in such designated investment.

SIGHT DRAFT is a draft which is payable on demand.

SIGNATURE LOAN is a loan secured by the borrower with nothing more than the signature of that borrower.

SIGNIFICANCE is a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred, e.g. the significance of an increase in product demand can only be known after the financial effects are calculated.

SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY, in finance, is an internal control shortcoming in a highly important control area or an aggregation of such deficiencies that could result in a misstatement of the financial statements that is more than inconsequential.

SILENT PARTNERSHIP is the relation of partnership sustained by a person who furnishes capital only, i.e., the partner is not involved in the day-to-day operations or decisions of the entity.

SIMPLE INTEREST is interest computed on principal alone, as opposed to compound interest which includes accrued interest in the calculation.

SIMPLE JOURNAL ENTRY is a journal entry that involves only one debit and one credit in the transaction.

SINGLE-ENTRY BOOKKEEPING is a simple bookkeeping system in which all transactions are recorded in a single record (e.g., a checkbook that indicates expenditures only). Single-entry does not rely upon equal debits and credits.

SIGN-OFF is approval or agreement, e.g. to sign-off on a purchase contract.

SINKING FUND is a sum set apart periodically from the income of a government or a business and allowed to accumulate in order ultimately to pay off a debt. A preferred investment for a sinking fund is the purchase of the government's or firm's bonds that are to be paid off. Usually the fund is administered by a trustee.

SIPS is an acronym for Secure Internet Payment Service (e.g., Cybercash).

SISTER COMPANY is similar to the way in which a family is structured, two or more sister companies (sibling) share the same Parent Company or individual owner. Like a Subsidiary, it is a separately incorporated business.

SKIP PERSON is a transfer of property to a person who is in a generation below a child of the transferor, referred to as a "skip" person, typically a grandchild or great grandchild.

SKU is an acronym for Stock Keeping Unit. It is usually used to identify an item carried in inventory or stock.

SLA see Service Level Agreement.

SLIDE ERROR is the incorrect placement of the decimal point, e.g. $2545.00 is recorded as $25.45.

SLIPPAGE is the difference between estimated transactions costs and actual transactions costs. The difference usually represents revisions to price difference or spread and commission costs.

SLIT is Serial-Lot Item Tracking.

SLR see STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO and see below.

SLR is an acronym with several possible meanings, e.g., Stock Level Report, Stock Level Requirement, System Level Requirement(s), Statutory Liquidity Ratio.

SMA see SPECIAL MEMORANDUM ACCOUNT.

SMALL-CAP is a stock with a capitalization, meaning a total equity value, of less than $500 million.

SMOOTHING is a widely used technique in forecasting trends, seasonality and level change, e.g. averaging month-to-month fluctuations. Works well with data that has a lot of randomness.

SOCIAL CAPITAL is networks, together with shared norms, values and understandings which facilitate cooperation within or among those groups for mutual benefit.

SOCIAL COST is the cost to society as a whole from an event, action, or policy change. Includes negative externalities and does not count costs that are transfers to others, in contrast to private cost.

SOCIAL ENTITY is the separate existence of an organization that is perceived to exist, by its members and the public at large, as a 'given', i.e. something that exists before and outside of them.

SOES (Small Order Execution System) trading is an electronic method of day trading the NASD market. At present, SOES trading is at the center of controversy between the NASD, SEC, individual traders, and the courts. SOES is changing the way trading is done on the NASD, and it may rewrite the rules of the game for trading. Bandits is just a term being used for the individuals using the SOES system for day trading.

SOFT ASSETS are human resources (people, skills and knowledge) and intangible assets (information, brands, and reputation). Soft assets are hard to value and are not usually reflected in the books of account, nor are they typically subjected to periodic inventory. See also HARD ASSETS.

SOFT CLOSE, in accounting, is when journal entries may be allowed to periods previously considered closed with the confidence that you can create corrected financial statements and that balances brought forward are corrected; in securities, is when a fund will no longer accept new investors into the fund, however existing shareholders can continue to contribute.

SOFT COSTS are those extraneous costs that are not readily foreseen or budgeted for, e.g. legal fees, loan fees and interest, etc.

SOFT CREDIT see ASSOCIATED CREDIT.

SOLD LEDGER see LEDGER.

SOLE PROPRIETOR is an individual who owns a business as opposed to stock in a corporation. A sole proprietor pays no corporate income tax but has unlimited liability for his/her business debts and obligations. See SOLE PROPRIERTORSHIP.

SOLE PROPRIERTORSHIP is a business structure in which an individual and his/her company are considered a single entity for tax and liability purposes. A sole proprietorship is a company which is not registered with the state as a limited liability company or corporation. The owner does not pay income tax separately for the company, but he/she reports business income or losses on his/her individual income tax return. The owner is inseparable from the sole proprietorship, so he/she is liable for any business debts; also called proprietorship. The distinguishing characteristics of a sole proprietorship include: only one owner for the business (hence, "sole") and the business is unincorporated.

SOLVENCY is a company's long-term ability to meet all financial obligations.

SOP is Statement of Position (within the AICPA or FASB) or Standard Operating Procedure.

SOUND, when used in a financial context, means financially secure and safe.

SOURCE DOCUMENTS are the primary documents used when forwarding an argument or making a presentation of fact. Usually used as a direct reference as a source of empirical data, expert opinion or information. See SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS.

SOX see SARBANES-OXLEY ACT.

SPE see SPECIAL-PURPOSE ENTITY.

SPECIAL DEPRECIATION are governmental tax incentive measures intended to help achieve a variety of policy objectives including support for certain regions or certain types of firms by offering tax incentives through depreciation bonuses.

SPECIAL JOURNAL contains records of original entry other than the general journal that are designed for recording specific types of transactions of similar nature, e.g. Sales Journal, Purchase Journal, Cash Receipts Journal, Cash Disbursements Journal, and Payroll Journal.

SPECIAL MEMORANDUM ACCOUNT (SMA) is a sub-account of a margin account for excess equity. It can be withdrawn or used to buy more securities.

SPECIAL-PURPOSE ENTITY (SPE) is a financing vehicle that is not a substantive operating entity, usually one created for a single specified purpose. An SPE may be in the form of a corporation, trust, or partnership. Special-purpose entities have been used for several decades for asset securitization, risk sharing, and to take advantage of tax statutes.

SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE (SPV) is an organization constructed with a limited purpose or life. Frequently, these Special Purpose Vehicles serve as conduits or pass through organizations or corporations. In relation to securitisation, it means the entity which would hold the legal rights over the assets transferred by the originator.

SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATON INVENTORY VALUATION is a method of valuing and tracking inventory where each item can be identified. Specific identification is most often used for large, easily traceable items, such as furniture or vehicles. If tracking each individual inventory item is not practical, the inventory can be valued using other accepted methods, such as the first-in, first-out method (FIFO) or the last-in, first-out method (LIFO).

SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATION METHOD is an inventory costing method under which the actual cost of a particular item is assigned to that item; used for determining cost of goods sold.

SPECIFIC RESEARCH is a method used when gathering primary information for a market survey where targeted customers / consumers are asked very specific and in-depth questions geared toward resolving problems found through prior exploratory research.

SPENDING LEVEL is the true expenditure or cash outlay of any entity in a given category or budgetary area.

SPIN-OFF is a type of corporate reorganization in which the original corporation transfers some of its assets to a newly formed corporation. In exchange for the spun off assets, the original corporation receives all of the new corporation's capital stock, which it then distributes to its shareholders as a property dividend.

SPIN-OFF RULING is a legally binding ruling by the Internal Revenue Service as to any aspect of a spin-off by a corporation. See also SPINOFF.

SPLIT ACCOUNTING, under IAS 39, provides that if certain conditions are met the ‘embedded derivative’ in a ‘hybrid (combined) financial instrument’ (i.e, a financial instrument which includes a non-derivative ‘host contract’ as well as an embedded derivative) must be accounted for separately from the ‘host contract’.

SPLIT-INTEREST AGREEMENT, in not-for-profits, is a contribution to the institution in which the institution must share the investment income/benefits with the donor and other beneficiaries if designated.

SPLIT-OFF POINT is the stage in the production process at which joint products become identified as distinct products which can be sold or processed further; this is called the split-off point.

SPLIT PAYMENT allows the customer to: a. pay part of the bill with cash and part with a credit card; or, b. apply portions of payments across several invoices.

SPOILAGE is materials wasted or spoiled in the production process. See also ABNORMAL SPOILAGE and NORMAL SPOILAGE.

SPONTANEOUS ASSETS are assets that arise automatically, in the course of operating a company day-to-day, when a company purchases assets and they are delivered.

SPONTANEOUS LIABILITIES are obligations that are realized automatically, in the course of operating a company day-to-day, when a company buys goods and services on credit.

SPOT-CASH is the immediate cash payment on a transaction.

SPOT COMMODITY is a commodity traded with the expectation that it will actually be delivered to the buyer, as contrasted with to a FUTURES CONTRACT that will usually expire without any physical delivery actually taking place. Spot commodities are traded in the SPOT MARKET.

SPOT RATE is the price at which a currency can be purchased or sold and then delivered within two business days, e.g., spot dollar.

SPREAD see ASK PRICE.

SPREADSHEET is (1) A multi-column sheet of paper used for performing numeric work, especially accounting and business related weekly or monthly summaries. (2) A computer application program that supports a user in numeric manipulation, especially in column / row format.

SPV see Special Purpose Vehicle.

SR see STOCK RESERVE.

SRO is Self-Regulatory Organization.

SS see SAFETY STOCK.

SSA is Social Security Administration, Selective Service Administration or Social Security Act.

STABLE DOLLAR ASSUMPTION is when using money as a measuring unit and preparing financial statements expressed in dollars, accountants make the assumption that the dollar is a stable unit of measurement.

STABLE MONETARY UNIT CONCEPT allows accountants to ignore the effect of inflation in the accounting records.

STABLE UNIT OF MEASURE, in accounting, assumes that money is used as the basic measuring unit for financial reporting. Money is the common denominator in which accounting measurements are made and summarized. The dollar, or any other monetary unit, represents a unit of value; that is, it reflects an ability to command goods and services. Implicit in the use of money as a measuring unit is the assumption that the dollar is a stable unit of value, just as the kilometer is a stable unit of distance and the hectare is a stable unit of area.

STABLE UNIT OF VALUE see STABLE UNIT OF MEASURE.

STABILIZED INCOME is the projected planned revenue that is subject to change but represents the best annualized estimate of consistent income.

STAFF ACCOUNTANT, on average, is a professional who is a CPA in good standing or CPA candidate with one to three years of professional experience. The staff accountant is supervised in the field by senior personnel and performs tasks such as tests of transactions and preparation of work papers.

STAFF MANAGEMENT is the function of managing all employees in the organization, including the development of staff skills through training and other forms of staff development as well as the identification, development and implementation of training needs and programs available for staff. Employees include permanent, temporary, and part-time employees, people working under scholarships, traineeships, apprenticeships and similar relationships.

STAKE is a share or an interest in an enterprise, especially a financial share.

STALE CHECK is a check that is six months or older than the date affixed to the check by the maker. If a customer’s check is presented more than six months after the date appearing on the check, the paying bank has the option of paying or dishonoring the check because the check is deemed "stale".

STANDARD AND POOR'S (S&P) 500 is an index of the 500 largest, most actively traded stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. It provides a guide to the overall health of the US stock market.

STANDARD COST is production or operating cost that is carefully predetermined. A standard cost is a target cost that should be attained. The standard cost is compared with the actual cost in order to measure the performance of a given costing department or operation. See STANDARD COST SYSTEM.

STANDARD COST SYSTEM is an accounting system designed to properly allocate costs of direct labor, indirect labor, materials, overhead, and selling/ general/administrative accounts on a unit basis for the purpose of accurately costing products and the subsequent control of those costs in managing the production, marketing, purchasing, and administrative functions of the business.

STANDARD DEDUCTIONS is used to reduce income by taxpayers who do not itemize allowable deductions on their tax returns. The amount of the deduction depends on your filing status: if you are 65 or older, if you are blind and whether you can be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer's income tax return. See ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS.

STANDARD RATE AND DATA SERVICE (SRDS), in advertising, is a company that produces a directory for each different type of media; normally listing: rates, circulation, contacts, markets serviced, etc.

STAND-ALONE is where the subject is capable of operating or is intended to be viewed independently. For example, a. a pc can be connected to a network, but it also has a "stand-alone" capability where the user can work locally on his/her pc without interacting with the network; or, b. a sales forecast for multiple product models or categories is a "blended" forecast, but if you were to break the forecast out by individual models or category, you would have a "stand-alone" forecast for each.

STANDBY LETTER OF CREDIT is a guarantee of payment. If the beneficiary does not get paid from its customer it can then demand payment from the customer's Bank by forwarding the copy of the invoice that was not paid along with predetermined supporting documentation.

STARTUP COSTS or Organization Cost, in the U.S., is when a new corporation is created, the costs associated with the formation are not deductible. An election must be made to amortize organizational costs no later than the due date (including extensions) of the return for tax year in which the active trade or business begins. If an election is not made to amortize these costs, they must be capitalized on the books and are not subject to amortization resulting in permanent capitalization. Upon making the timely election, the corporation may recover these costs through amortization deductions over a 60 month period. Organizational expenditures include any expenditure which is:• incident to the creation of the corporation,• chargeable to capital account, and • is of a character which, if expended incident to the creation of a corporation having a limited life, would be amortizable over such life.The following are examples of organization costs:• legal services incident to the organization of the corporation, such as drafting the corporate charter, by-laws, minutes of organizational meetings, terms of original stock certificates, etc.• necessary accounting services.• expenses of temporary directors and of organizational meetings of directors or stockholders.• fees paid to state of incorporation.

STAT is an abbreviation of "statistical", e.g. stat software package.

STATED CAPITAL is the declared total amount of money or other resources owned or used to acquire future income or benefits.

STATED VALUE is the per share value sometimes assigned to no-par stock by the corporation.

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES is normally comprised of: a definition of the reporting organization, statement of general accounting policies, statement of particular accounting policies, and a statement of changes in accounting policies.

STATEMENT OF AFFAIRS is a specialized form of financial statement setting out the debtor's assets and liabilities - secured, preferred and unsecured. This document is usually prepared on short notice and from incomplete records. It is sworn to by an officer of the company and or by the bankrupt where applicable. The trustee often has a different opinion as to the value of the assets and the extent of liabilities included therein. The formalized statement of affairs is sworn under oath by the debtor before a lawyer or designated legal/court entity.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS measures the flow of money in and out of a business. One of four financial statements found in the annual report, it categorizes a company's cash receipts and disbursements for a given fiscal year by three major activities: operations, investments and financing.

STATEMENT OF FUND BALANCE is part of the Financial Statements of certain regulated entities, e.g. local, county, and state, governments. The content or configuration of the Consolidated Financial Statements normally includes a Consolidated Statement of Fund Balance along with separate Statements of Fund Balance for all authorized funds within the jurisdiction, e.g. General Operating Fund and Airport Operating Fund.

STATEMENT OF RETAINED EARNINGS is one of the four basic financial statements; the Statement of Retained Earnings is a reconciliation of the Retained Earnings account. Information such as dividends or announced income is provided in the statement. The Statement of Retained Earnings provides information about what a company's management is doing with the company's earnings.

STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY is a summary of the changes in stockholders' equity of a corporation that have occurred during a specific period of time.

STATE UNEMPLOYMENT TAX ACT (SUTA), in the U.S., is the same as FUTA except from an individual U.S. state in compliance to federal guidelines. See also FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT TAX ACT.

STATUTE is an act passed by a legislative body, e.g. U.S. Congress.

STATUTORY is relating to or created by statutes.

STATUTORY ACCOUNT is an involuntary account, which is created by law rather than by business need. An example of a statutory account would be taxes.

STATUTORY AUDITOR is normally part of the internal audit function operating in one or more of the following areas: a. Review of the Accounting Systems and the related internal controls. Thus while the adequacy of the accounting systems is the responsibility of the Management, the Statutory Auditor is usually assigned the specific responsibility for reviewing the accounting systems and the related internal controls, as also monitoring their operations; b. Review of financial and operating information including identification, measurement, classification and reporting such information specifically enquiring into individual items including detailed testing of transactions, procedures and balances; and, c. Examination of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of operations including non-financial controls.

STATUTORY CONSOLIDATION is a merger where a new corporate entity is created from the two merging entities, the two merging entities then cease to exist. See also STATUTORY MERGER.

STATUTORY DEDUCTIONS are those deductions that are required by law or regulation, e.g. payroll taxes deducted from wages.

STATUTORY LAW is law enacted by the legislative branch of government, as distinguished from case law or common law.

STATUTORY LIEN is an involuntary lien, which is created by law rather than by contract. Statutory liens include tax liens, judgment liens, mechanic's liens, etc.

STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO (SLR) is a ratio which every banking company shall maintain in the form of cash, gold or unencumbered approved securities, an amount which shall not, at the close of business on any day be less than such percentage of the total of its demand and time liabilities as the Reserve Bank may specify from time to time.

STATUTORY MERGER is a merger where one entity remains as a legal entity, instead of a new legal entity being formed. See also STATUTORY CONSOLIDATION.

STEAMSHIP CONFERENCE is an agreement between multiple shipping companies to provide common freight rates. Some shipping lines will state that they are “non-conference”, i.e., they charge an independent and likely lower rate.

STEP LEASE is type of lease that outlines or stipulates the expected annual increases in the tenant's base rent based on an approximation of what the landlord believes what the landlord’s expenses may be.

STEPPED COSTS is a cost that increases by a reasonably constant sum each time volume or activity increases by a predictable, constant, multiple. The smallest step costs are variable costs, which increase by a discrete amount each time output or activity increases by one unit. Larger steps will consist of what are, effectively, fixed costs over a particular range of output. Some costs increase, or decrease, in significant steps when output or activity passes certain limits. For instance, if a bus company regularly has more passengers on a route than can be carried by a single vehicle it may be necessary to use an additional bus. Running an additional bus will double the cost of operating on that route. Similarly, a manufacturing firm may have a policy of employing one supervisor for every ten production workers. In which case the firm will need one supervisor for 1–10 employees, two supervisors for 11–20 employees, and so on. So, if demand rises to the point where 21 production employees are required an extra supervisor
must be employed. Costs that behave in this way are called stepped costs.

STEP-UP LOAN is a type of home loan that offers varying equated monthly installments (EMIs) spread over the loan's tenure, i.e. the EMI is lower in the initial years, but over time the EMI increases. One of the primary advantages of a step-up loan as compared to a normal home loan is that it increases the loan eligibility of the individual. Since this loan takes into account the future earning potential of the prospective borrower, it factors in the imminent hike in the earnings going forward and adjusts the loan eligibility amount accordingly. Step-up loans are also generally available only to salaried individuals and professionals. In other words, businessmen cannot take advantage of this type of loan. This is because the general feeling among lenders is that salaries have a tendency to rise year on year. This is not always the case with businesses, which may be doing well at a given point in time but are generally conceived to be unpredictable in nature. The determinant on whether step-up loans are better or a normal home loan depends on individual requirements. There are various products designed to meet the varying requirements of individuals. However, the truth with a step-up is that it increases the net cash outflow for the borrower. In this way, the risk to the borrower on being able to satisfy future payments due to cash flow considerations could be potentially high.

STEWARDSHIP is responsibility for taking good care of resources entrusted to one, e.g., boards of directors must show good stewardship towards the company for which they are a board member.

STOCK is a. a certificate documenting the shareholder's ownership in a corporation; or, b. the merchandise that an entity has on hand or in inventory.

STOCK CERTIFICATE is a certificate establishing ownership of a stated number of shares in a corporation's stock.

STOCK CONTROL ACCOUNT reflects the total amount or value of all stock items. The balance of each of the individual stock item ledger accounts or records must equal the total of the stock item list, which represents the amounts or value of the individual stock items obtained from the individual balances in the various subsidiary ledger accounts for each stock item. This subsidiary ledger is known as the stock item ledger.

STOCK DIVIDEND is a dividend paid in stock rather than in cash. The additional shares can be in the form of a stock split, additional shares of the issuing company, or of a subsidiary.

STOCKHOLDER see SHAREHOLDER.

STOCKHOLDER'S EQUITY see SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY.

STOCK INDEX a formalized screened listing of traded securities, e.g. the Dow Jones Industrial Average that tracks a portfolio of stocks.

STOCK OPTION is a contractual right granted by a company to the named holder of the option the right to purchase the company's stock at a fixed price stated on the stock option within a specified period of time. If the stock option is not exercised within the specified period of time, then the contractual right lapses.

STOCKOUT is running out of inventory, e.g. the demand or requirement for an item(s) cannot be fulfilled from existing inventory.

STOCK POWER is a form that permits a Donor to provide the authority to change the name on a stock certificate from the Donor’s name to the name of another party, such as a charitable organization, without using a “transfer agent”. This form, together with the designated stock certificate and Letter of Authorization, given to the charitable organization will expedite the transfer of the Donor’s stock certificate by the charitable organization’s brokerage to expedite the sale and receipt of proceeds from the gift of securities.

STOCK RESERVE (SR) or buffer stock is a stock quantity which is based on the normal average expected consumption during the lead-time to replenish depleted stock. See also SAFETY STOCK.

STOCK ROTATION RIGHTS is a contractual stipulation that allows for a distributor to return up to a stipulated percentage of purchased goods to the supplier over a stipulated period of time. These rights are intended to ensure that a distributor is not overburdened with excessive or obsolete inventory from the supplier that granted the stock rotation rights.

STOCK SALE is where the equity price is assumed to include the operating assets and operating liabilities of the seller's business and not include the long term liabilities assumed. The long term liabilities assumed are shown as a separate line item and when added to the equity price results in the deal price. In those transactions indicated as an asset sale the equity price is assumed to include the operating assets.

STOCK SPLIT is the issuance of a substantial amount of additional shares, thereby reducing the par value of the stock on a proportionate basis.

STOCKTAKING is the process of counting and evaluating stock-in-trade, usually at an organization's year end in order to value the total stock for preparation of the accounts. In more sophisticated organizations, in which permanent stock records are maintained, stock is counted on a random basis throughout the year to compare quantities counted with the quantities that appear in the, usually, computerized records.

STOCK TURNOVER PERIOD is calculated: Long Term Disabilities X 100% / Cost of Sales.

STOCK TURNS is the number of times per year that the stock (raw material, wip & finished goods) is turned over in relation to the sales revenue of a given product. Calculation - Stock turns = Sales turnover of products / Value of raw material, wip & finished goods.

STORAGE can be: a. a depository for goods, e.g. a stockroom or warehouse; b. the process of storing information in a computer memory or on a magnetic tape or disk; or c. an electronic memory device.

STORES are provisions and supplies in inventory that are required for running an entity.

STRAIGHT BOND is the most common debt security. All other bond types are variations of, or additions to standard straight bond features. An investor pays a single capital sum to receive interest payments, called coupons, until a fixed maturity date when the last coupon is accompanied by redemption of the bond's face value. The coupon is simply a fixed rate of interest - paid annually or semi-annually - on the principal sum or face/par value. The debt is of fixed maturity - the principal redemption date. The maximum term is 30 years, but 7-10 years is most common.

STRAIGHT-LINE DEPRECIATION METHOD allows an equal amount to be charged as depreciation for each year of the expected use of the asset. It is computed by dividing the adjusted basis of a property by the estimated number of years of remaining useful life.

STRAIGHT-LINE METHOD see STRAIGHT-LINE DEPRECIATION METHOD.

STRANDED PLANT is a cost that has been incurred, but can not be reversed. Usually referred to as a sunk cost.

STRATEGIC ASSET, in relation to the assets held by a legal entity, means an asset or group of assets that the entity needs to retain if the entity is to maintain the entity's capacity to achieve or promote any outcome that the entity determines to be important to the current or future well-being of the entity.

STRATEGIC GOAL is the milestone the organization aims to achieve that evolves from the strategic issues. They transform strategic issues into specific performance targets that impact the entire organization. They can be qualitative or quantitative. Dependent upon usage, GOALS are general in nature, while OBJECTIVES are specific, measurable and time-based. In some organizations, the meanings for GOAL and OBJECTIVE are reversed. See GOAL.

STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT provides a detailed blueprint for turning corporate vision into reality - breaking down the things an entity needs to achieve as a business into real actions that can be measured. See BALANCED SCORECARD.

STRATEGIC PLANNING is the activity of defining what you want to accomplish in your business and then identifying the path that will allow you to reach your goal in the most efficient and sensible manner.

STRAW MAN is a weak or imaginary opposition (as an argument or adversary) set up only to be easily confuted. Often done to create an environment for brainstorming from a certain starting point.

STRIPPED BOND is a bond that can be subdivided into a series of zero-coupon bonds.

STRONG, from a corporate perspective, usually means having or wielding force or authority within that entity's market segment or niche.

STUMPAGE refers to: a. Timber in standing trees; usually sold without the land at a fixed price per tree or per stump, the stumps being counted when the land is cleared. (NOTE: Only trees above a certain size are allowed to be cut by loggers buying stumpage from the owners of land); or, b. A tax on the amount of timber cut, regulated by the price of lumber.

SUBSTANTIVE is reality, real rather than apparent, as seen by an unbiased observer and not just the official view of management.

SUBCHAPTER S is a legal corporate entity organized under the United States Federal Tax Code that allows Subchapter S Corporations to distribute all income / loss proportionately to its shareholders, who then claim that income / loss on their personal income taxes; thereby avoiding the payment of corporate taxes.

SUBLET, in real estate, refers to the leasing of space within a leased facility by the original lessee.

SUBLEDGER is for the purpose of organizing revenue and expense transaction for only one account, e.g., For an individual salesperson, like a general ledger, the subledger has different default account types, each from a salesperson's perspective, not a company perspective. Thus, Due is due to the salesperson and Payable is payable by the salesperson.

SUBORDINATED DEBT is debt over which senior debt takes priority. In the event of bankruptcy, subordinated debt holders receive payment only after senior debt claims are paid in full. There is a pecking order determining the sequence in which a company will pay off its debt instruments, subordinate (or junior) issues will not be repaid until unsubordinated (or senior) debt has been repaid in full.

SUBPART F of the Internal Revenue Code requires certain income (called subpart F income) of a controlled foreign corporation to be currently included in the gross income of its U.S. shareholder, whether or not this income actually is distributed to the U.S. shareholder.

SUB-PRIME CREDIT CARDS are credit cards offered to consumers with credit problems or no established credit; as opposed to prime cards for those with good credit ratings. Sub-prime cards do not offer as many benefits and possibly could be more costly.

SUBSCRIBER, in securities, is an entity that contributes (or promises to contribute) a sum of money to purchase securities. The term Subscriber encompasses all Non-Professional and Professional Subscribers. See NON-PROFESSIONAL SUBSCRIBER and PROFESSIONAL SUBSCRIBER.

SUBSCRIPTION, in securities, is an agreement to buy a new issue of securities.

SUBSIDIARY is a company whose voting stock is more that 50% owned by another company.

SUBSIDIARY BOOKS see SUBSIDIARY LEDGER.

SUBSIDIARY LEDGER is a group of subsidiary accounts the sum of the balances of which is equal to the balance of the related control account in the general ledger.

SUBSTANCE OVER FORM is an accounting concept where the entity is accounting for items according to their substance and economic reality and not merely their legal form. This concept is one of the key determinants of reliable information. For most transactions there will be no difference, so no issue arises. In some cases however, the two diverge and the choice of how to present the transactions can give very different results. This difference occurs when an asset or liability is not recognized in the accounts even though benefits or obligations may result from the transaction, or oppositely.

SUBVENTION is the provision of assistance or financial support such as an endowment or a subsidy from a government or foundation.

SUI is either State Unemployment Insurance (tax) or State Unemployment Income.

SUMMARY ACCOUNT is a ledger account (such as a control account) whose balance represents the total of other account balances.

SUM-OF-THE-YEARS DIGITS (SYD) is the accelerated depreciation method in which a constant balance (cost minus salvage value) is multiplied by a declining depreciation rate.

SUNDRY ACCOUNT is an account where miscellaneous items are recorded, e.g., SUNDRY RECEIVABLES represent miscellaneous receivables.

SUNDRY CREDITORS refers to companies or individuals to which money is owed.

SUNDRY DEBTOR is an entity from who amounts are due for goods sold or services rendered or in respect of contractual obligations. Also termed: debtor, trade debtor, and account receivable.

SUNDRY SHAREHOLDERS are a group of miscellaneous shareholders.

SUNK COST is the cost expended that cannot be retrieved on a product or service.

SUPERANNUATION is a. the act of discharging someone because of age (especially to cause someone to retire from service on a pension); or, b. a monthly payment made to someone who is retired from work.

SUPERANNUATION FUND see PENSION FUND.

SUPPLANT is to take the place of or move into the position of, e.g. the computer supplanted the slide rule.

SUPPLIER FINANCING is where the trade assists in meeting credit needs of a customer, e.g. a trade credit line may be negotiated to where a supplier may give 90 to 120 days to pay for the goods plus an interest charge.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS assist in making a case (prove a point or forward an argument) by providing additional depth and analysis for much of the case in question. See SOURCE DOCUMENTS.

SUPPRESSED INFLATION means that a situation exists in which prices would rise -- if government regulations did not establish artificial limits on prices, wages, etc.

SUPRANATIONAL is transcending established national boundaries or spheres of interest (Example: A supranational company).

SURCHARGE is a charge added on top of another charge for a specific service, product or purpose.

SURETY BOND is a contract by which one party agrees to make payment on any default or the debt of another party.

SURPLUS generally means any excess amount, but in finance it is the remainder of a fund appropriated for a particular purpose. In a corporation, surplus means assets left after liabilities and debt, including capital stock, have been subtracted.

SURVEILLANCE is close watch kept over someone or something.

SUSPENSE ACCOUNT, in accounting, is an account that is used on a temporary basis for receipts, disbursements, or discrepancies until such time as the analysis is complete and they can be properly classified.

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE (SGR) shows how fast a company can grow using internally generated assets without issuing additional debt or equity. SGR provides a useful benchmark for judging a company's appropriate rate of growth. A company with a low sustainable growth rate but lots of opportunities for expansion will have to fund that growth via outside sources, which could lower profits and perhaps strain the company's finances. Growth can be a major dilemma because with growth comes a spontaneously generated need for increased working capital. VentureLine calculates a Sustainable Growth Rate from the data entered into the Income Statement and Balance Sheet. The Sustainable Growth Rate is the rate at which the firm may grow the Stockholder's Equity Account (Net Worth) using only increases in Retained Earnings (Net Profit's contribution to retained earnings) to fund the growth. Growth beyond this amount will force the firm to obtain additional financing from external sources to finance growth.

SUTA see STATE UNEMPLOYMENT TAX ACT.

SWAPS is when one currency is temporarily exchanged for another, then the currency is held and exchanged later after a fixed period of time. To calculate the swap take the interest rate differential between the two underlying currencies, thus it may be used for speculative purposes to exploit anticipated movement in the interest rates. See INTEREST RATE SWAPS.

SWAPTIONS are over-the-counter options on swaps.

SWOT ANALYSIS is one of the most used forms of business analysis. A SWOT examines and assesses the impacts of internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats, on the success of the "subject" of analysis. An important part of a SWOT analysis involves listing and evaluating the firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Each of these elements is described:

1. Strengths: Strengths are those factors that make an organization more competitive than its marketplace peers. Strengths are what the company has a distinctive advantage at doing or what resources it has that is strategic to the competition. Strengths are, in effect, resources, capabilities and core competencies that the organization holds that can be used effectively to achieve its performance objectives.

2. Weaknesses: A weakness is a limitation, fault, or defect within the organization that will keep it from achieving its objectives; it is what an organization does poorly or where it has inferior capabilities or resources as compared to the competition.

3. Opportunities: Opportunities include any favorable current prospective situation in the organization's environment, such as a trend, market, change or overlooked need that supports the demand for a product or service and permits the organization to enhance its competitive position.

4. Threats: A threat includes any unfavorable situation, trend or impending change in an organization's environment that is currently or potentially damaging or threatening to its ability to compete. It may be a barrier, constraint, or anything that might inflict problems, damages, harm or injury to the organization.

A firm's strengths and weaknesses (i.e., its internal environment) are made up of factors over which it has greater relative control. These factors include the firm's resources; culture; systems; staffing practices; and the personal values of the firm's managers. Meanwhile, an organization's opportunities and threats (i.e., its external environment) are made up of those factors over which the organization has lesser relative control. These factors include, among others, overall demand, the degree of market saturation, government policies, economic condition, social, cultural, and ethical developments; technological developments; ecological developments, and the factors making up Porter's Five Forces (i.e., intensity of rivalry, threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products, bargaining power of buyers, and bargaining power of suppliers.)

SWEEPING ACCOUNTS is when an entity zeros out a monetary asset account (takes the money) that does not meet an established mandatory monetary hurdle at which they will make a payment to the holder of that account, e.g., if a salesman does not make a certain amount of sales required over a time period, his company will not pay him commission on the sales that were made during that period and sweep his account balance to zero at the end of the time period.

SWIFT CODE, within the context of international payment transactions, is a code issued by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) that enables banks worldwide to be identified without the need to specify an address or bank number. SWIFT codes are used mainly for automatic payment transactions.

SYNDICATE is a group of investment bankers or banks that acts jointly, on a temporary basis, to, in the case of investment bankers, sell securities or to underwrite a new issue of bonds (syndicated capital), or, for the bank syndicate to loan money in a bank credit (syndicated credit).

SYNERGY is the working together of two or more things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects. For example, in the context of mergers, cost synergy is the savings in operating costs expected after two companies, who compliment each other's strengths, join.

SYNTHETIC LEASE is a transaction that appears, from an accounting standpoint, as a lease, but as a loan from a tax standpoint; resulting in an off-balance sheet account of the financing and the tax benefits that accompany the financed asset.