Is EBITDA, TIV & OTC causing you a brain GAAP? Don’t be a snowflake! Here we look to demystify commonly used finance-related terms, jargon, and Islamic financial terms

Updated: Oct 17, 2019

 

Economics and Business Jargon

  • AMCHAM – American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce
  • BLR/BR – Base Lending Rate / Base Rate
  • Brexit – a blend of the words ‘British’ and ‘exit’ which refers to the possibility of Great Britain leaving the European Union (EU)
  • Durables – Consumer goods lasting more than 3 years
  • Disposable Income – Personal income remaining after personal taxes & noncommercial govt fees have been paid. This $ can be spent on non-/essentials, saved or invested.
  • Excise (Tax) – Tax imposed on certain goods & services (e.g. alcohol, cigarettes)
  • EMEA – Europe, Middle East & Africa
  • FMCG – Fast moving consumer goods
  • Feds – Federal Reserve (System). Central bank & monetary authority in US.
  • FOMC – Federal Open Market Committee (branch of Feds) that determine monetary policy
  • GDP – Gross Domestic Product. Monetary value of all goods & services produced in a year.
  • Gig Economy – Freelance or outsourced work typically in services
  • GST – Government Service Tax (Also known as VAT in some countries)
  • Headwind – Force or influence that inhibits profess
  • IPI – Industrial Production Index
  • MAEI – Malaysian American Electronics Industry, an industry committee of AMCHAM
  • MGS – Malaysian Government Securities;  long-term interest-bearing bonds issued by Malaysian Government to raise funds for development expenditure
  • MTB – Malaysian Treasury Bills; short-term securities issued by Malaysian Government for working capital
  • NFP – Non-Farm Payrolls generated monthly by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics of paid workers excluding jobs in general govt, private households, non-profits & farms
  • NIRP – Negative Interest Rate policy: an unconventional monetary policy tool whereby nominal target interest rates are set with a negative value
  • MIDA – Malaysian Investment Development Authority
  • OPR – Overnight Policy Rate; an overnight interest rate set by the central bank
  • RFP – Request For Proposal
  • TAT – Turnaround Time
  • Tailwind – Force or influence that helps progress
  • TIV – Total Industry Volume
  • VAT – Value Added Tax
  • Vulture Capitalism – Aggressive venture capitalism buying and selling off a distressed company

 

Finance & Investing Jargon

  • Arbitrage – simultaneously buying and selling securities (or other assets) taking advantage of differing prices for the same asset
  • AUA – Assets Under Advisory
  • AUM – Assets Under Management
  • Bear (Market) – A declining market
  • Blue Chip (Company) – Company known internationally (or nationally) with good history of profitability & good returns
  • Bond – A IOU note issued by a government or company to raise (debt) capital
  • Bull (Market) – An advancing market
  • CAGR – compounded annual growth rate
  • CAL – Cashflow, Assets & Liabilities
  • CFP – Certified Financial Planner
  • CMSRL – Capital Markets Services Representive License
  • Common Stock – Ownership of part of a listed company which grants dividends (if any) & can be bought/sold. Riskier then preferred stock
  • Comps – Short for comparables between last year and this year’s same store sales
  • Current Assets / Liabilities – What is owned / owed by a company in the short term (1 year)
  • DCA – Dollar Cost Averaging
  • DJI – Dow Jones Index
  • Equity (Equities) – Ownership in a company. Often used to refer to shares/stocks.
  • EPS – Earnings Per Share
  • FAR – Financial Adviser’s Representative
  • FKLI – FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Futures
  • Fiscal Year – Financial year / Accounting year
  • FSA – Financial Services Act
  • FTSE – Financial Times Stock Exchange  (adorably also known as Footsie);  set of British stock market indices that show how well companies listed on the LSE
  • HSCEI – Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (恒生中國企業指數); a free-float capitalization-weighted index comprised of H-Shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
  • KYC – Know Your Client
  • Liquidity – A company’s availability of cash & cash-related assets
  • LSE – London Stock Exchange (or in academia London School of Economics)
  • MSCI – a common benchmark for ‘world’ or ‘global’ stock funds (some 1600+); Formerly known as Morgan Stanley Capital International
  • Mutual Fund – Unit trust
  • NASDAQ – National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations System
  • NAV – Net Assets Value
  • Option – The right to buy (Call option) or sell (Put option) at a certain price at a certain time
  • OTC – Over The Counter (unlisted market; not traded electronically)
  • PE – Private Equity
  • P/E – Profit to Equity ratio
  • Preferred Stock – Ownership (shares) in a company. Preferred stock has priority in dividends & in case of company liquidation.
  • PRS – Private Retirement Scheme
  • PV – Present Value
  • RFP – Registered Financial Planner
  • ROE – Return on Equity
  • ROI – Return on Investment
  • Short Sell – Trading move to sell borrowed stock with expectations price will drop. The (now cheaper) stock will then be returned to the lender
  • TOPIX – Tokyo Price Index – a metric for stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)
  • Warrants – Certificate that allows holder to buy stock at a stipulated price
  • Yield – Returns (e.g. Dividends or interest based on current price)

 

Islamic Financial Terms

Terma Kewangan Islam kompilasi Nuraishah Hanani

  • Bai – Jual
  • Gharamah – Penalti
  • Hawalah – Mengalihkan / TT
  • Hibah – Pemberian hadiah
  • Ibraa – Rebate
  • Ijarah – Sewa
  • Kafalah – Gerenti
  • Mudarabah – Labur untung dikongsi beramanah
  • Musyarakah – Untung rugi bersama
  • Qard – Pinjaman
  • Rahnu – Gadai
  • Takaful – Tolong menolong / insurans
  • Tawidh – Caj gantirugi
  • Ujrah – Yuran
  • Urbun – Deposit
  • Uruf – Adat masyarakat
  • Waad – Berjanji
  • Wadiah – Simpan
  • Wakalah- Diurus

 

Accounting Jargon

  • AdEx – Advertising expenditure
  • AAR – Average Annual Return
  • AP – Accounts Payable. Amount you owe your suppliers
  • AR – Accounts Receivable. Amount customers owe you
  • ARR – Accounting Rate of Return
  • BS – Balance Sheet. Snapshot of current financial position expressed in Assets & Liabilities
  • CAGR – Compounding Annual Growth Rate
  • CAP – Capital. Financial asset with value.
  • CF – Cash Flow. Revenue (income) less expenses
  • CPA – Certified Public Accountant
  • CR – Credit
  • Depreciation – Accounting method to track depreciating asset value over time
  • DCF – Discounted Cash Flow
  • DR – Debit
  • EBITDA – Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortization
  • EPS – Earnings Per Share
  • FV – Fair Value
  • FY – Financial Year
  • GAAP – Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
  • Income Statement – Summary of financial statement including income (losses) & expenses
  • IRR – Internal Rate of Return
  • OE – Owner’s equity. % shares owned by owner.
  • PAT – Profit after tax
  • PATAMI – Profit after tax and minority interest
  • P&L – Profit & Loss statement summarizing company performance in a time frame
  • ROI – Return on Investment versus money invested
  • WACC – weighted average cost of capital

Financial Technology (FinTech) Jargon

  • API (Access Protocol Interface) – allows applications, software and programs to interact and communicate with one another.
  • Big Data – large amount of data especially related to user patterns and behaviour that is analysed to reveal trends and patterns.
  • Blockchain – a record of transactions on blocks which is replicated and authenticated over networks of multiple computers.
  • BI (Business Intelligence) – using data analysis to view existing and make predictive scenarios.
  • Central Knowledge Repository – online knowledge database to collect and share information for benefit of organisation and/or clients.
  • Cloud / CloudTech – delivery of services including data storage and software online.
  • Cryptocurrency – digital currency used as a medium of exchange or payment that’s typically decentralized and stored on a blockchain.
  • Digital Banking – the digitization of traditional banking online with virtual branches instead of physical branches.
  • Digital Investment Management Framework (by SC) – regulatory licensing for financial technology in discretionary portfolio management services.
  • DLT (Digital Ledger Technology) – the recording of transactions which is online and decentralized.
  • ECF (Equity Crowd Funding) – the raising of capital for startups and private companies in exchange for equity ownership in the company.
  • e-Wallet – electronic payment transactions typically using a smartphone. Also known as a digital wallet.
  • Financial Inclusion – making financial products and services available to everyone including the underserved and unbanked.
  • FinTech (Financial Technology) – using technology to simplify and increase efficiency of financial services.
  • FTEG (FinTech Enabler Group) – cross functional group within BNM responsible for formulating and enhancing regulatory policies to facilitate the adoption of technological innovations in the Malaysian financial services industry.
  • InsurTech – a subset of FinTech which uses technology to compare, increase savings, and improve efficiency of insurance.
  • Micro Funds – small venture capital funding focused in early-stage.
  • P2P Lending (Peer-to-peer) –lending money to businesses (or individuals) through online services matching lenders with borrowers.
  • RegTech (Regulatory Tech) – the management of regulatory processes in the financial industry through technology.
  • Sandbox – a testing environment, especially for software, for independent evaluation, monitoring, and testing.
  • Telematics – using long-distance transmission of data and information such as in automotive vehicles.
  • Unicorn – a privately held startup company valued at over $1b.
  • VAS (Value Added Services) – non-core services offered in telecommunications or other industries.
  • Zebra (see: unicorn) – a privately held startup which is both profitable and improves society.

 

More Info

 

What jargon is obfuscating you today?