De-jargoning the Jargon…

jargon1

ˈdʒɑːɡ(ə)n

noun

  1. special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand. “legal jargon”

Accountants love jargon

It makes us feel special, important and like we hold the keys to a secret that only we and other accountants understand. Also, if you want us to decipher the jargon we will have to charge you!

Now that has been the thinking of the accounting profession for many years and sadly is still the case for some, but we at Enterprise Chartered Certified Accountants like to do things a little differently.

In our world the more we all understand, the more questions get asked and the more we can help our clients to move forward fully informed making those key decisions.

Set out below are some classic accountants jargon and commonly used phrases together with their translation which we hope will help;

Income:  The value of the goods & services you sell

Relevant business expenses:  The costs you incur in running your business

Net profit:  What’s left, income less relevant business expenses

Taxable income:  The bit of what’s left that you pay tax on.

Tangible Fixed Assets:  The big things you can touch buildings, vehicles, etc.

Intangible Fixed Assets:  Things that have a value which you can’t pick up or touch such as intellectual property, brand marks, etc.

Debtors:  People who owe you money

Creditors:  People you owe money to

Liquidity:  The amount of money the business needs to operate

Cashflow: The flow of money (bank & cash) in and out of the business.  Positive cashflow is more in than out.  Negative cashflow is more out than in.

Sadly there are dozens of others, so if you are on the receiving end of jargon and prefer to run your business in plain English then please contact Jon Lister on 01302 752700 or at jon.lister@enterpriseaccountancy.co.uk