DRAFT, DEMAND OR SIGHT, in import / export, is a draft payable upon presentation to the drawee. It may be used when the exporter wishes to retain control of the shipment for credit or title retention reasons. The buyer must pay the bank before receiving the documents to take custody of the goods. A COD shipment is similar.
RULES-BASED ACCOUNTING is where specific accounting rules are set forth and must be followed in order to comply with GAAP. For example, if an airline company leases a jet, the company must follow specific GAAP rules to determine if the transaction is an operating lease or a capital lease. The main difference being that a capital lease would have to appear on the balance sheet of the airline. Therefore, two virtually identical lease transactions could be classified entirely differently based upon how they follow the GAAP leasing rules. See also PRINCIPLES-BASED ACCOUNTING.
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (The Fed) is the central bank of the United States created by Congress, consisting of a seven-member Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks and depository institutions that are subject to reserve requirements. All national banks are members; state-chartered banks may elect to become members and state members are supervised by the Board of Governors and the Reserve Banks. Reserve requirements established by the Fed apply to nonmember depository institutions as well as member banks. Both classes of institutions share equal access to Federal Reserve discount borrowing privileges and Federal Reserve services.
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