常见商贸英语术语.docVIP

常见商贸英语术语A accounts payable — The amount a company owes for goods already received. Not unlike a person’s credit card balance; you’ve got the VCR, but you haven’t taken the money out of the bank yet. accounts receivable — The amount a company is owed for goods it sold on credit. accrual method of accounting — Used for most corporate financial statements. Revenues are counted during the time they’re earned, and expenses are counted during the time they’re incurred. Cash doesn’t need to change hands to be recorded. This is a fuller way of looking at financial health. It’s as if you kept records not just of checks you’d written and deposits you made, but also of what you owed on your credit cards and what you were owed by others. You can feel pretty rich if your checking account is flush, but if you owe thousands on your credit card and don’t take that into account, you can spend yourself into trouble. allowance for bad debt — The amount of debt a company expects not to collect. This is subtracted from what the company is owed for goods it sold on credit (accounts receivable), so the balance sheet better reflects the company’s true economic health. arbitration — One method of settling disputes, including union-employer battles. The parties choose a third party to settle their disagreement. This is called binding arbitration when the parties also agree to abide by the arbitrator’s decision. assets — Things a company controls, which usually means it owns these items. A car company’s assets would include everything from computers used by the accounting department, to cars not yet sold, to the factory where the autos are made. Items must have value and must have been obtained for a measurable cost; broken computers that can’t be repaired don’t count, nor does a company’s reputation. automatic teller machine (ATM) — The machines that let you do your banking without dealing with a person. At ATMs, you can take cash from your account, make deposits and move money between