
2005, Volume 08, Issue 4
Business terms reduced to acronyms save keystrokes and speed up communication in an Internet world where every soundbyte counts. Unfortunately, how many times have you read an article, listened to a broacast or received an email full of acronyms, some very familiar and some totally unfamiliar? Getting to the point, below are a few common and not so common business terms to help you decipher business terminology.
Photo: Daniel V
|
ASCII |
American Standard Code for Information Interchange |
|
B2B |
Business to Business |
|
B2C |
Business to Consumer |
|
BBB |
Better Business Bureau |
|
BOI |
Business Object Interface |
|
BV |
Business Valuation |
|
CAD |
Computer-Aided Design |
|
CEO |
Chief Executive Officer |
|
CFO |
Chief Financial Officer |
|
CIO |
Chief Information Officer |
|
COB |
Close Of Business |
|
COGS |
Cost of Goods Sold |
|
COLA |
Cost of Living Adjustment |
|
COO |
Chief Operating Officer |
|
CPA |
Certified Public Accountant |
|
CPA |
Cost Per Action |
|
CPC |
Cost Per Click |
|
CPI |
Cost Per Impression |
|
CPM |
Cost Per Thousand |
|
CPP |
Cost Per Pop-up |
|
CPS |
Cost Per Sale |
|
CPT |
Cost Per Transaction (cost per lead) |
|
CRM |
Customer Relationship Management |
|
CTO |
Chief Technology Officer |
|
CTR |
Click Through Rate |
|
DBA |
Doing Business As |
|
EBR |
Enhanced Business Reporting |
|
EDI |
Electronic Data (or Document) Interchange |
|
ERP |
Enterprise Resource Planning |
|
FLP |
Family Limited Partnership |
|
FT |
Full Time |
|
FTC |
Federal Trade Commission |
|
FTE |
Full Time Equivalent |
|
GAAFR |
Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting |
|
GAAP |
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles |
|
GAAS |
Generally Accepted Auditing Standards |
|
GAGAS |
Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards |
|
GAO |
Government Accountability Office |
|
HTM/HTML |
Hyper Text Markup Language |
|
IO |
Insertion Order |
|
IPO |
Initial Public Offering (new stocks) |
|
ISO |
International Standards Organization |
|
ISP |
Internet Service Provider |
|
ISS |
Internet Security Systems |
|
IT |
Information Technology |
|
JOA |
Joint Operating Agreement |
|
KM |
Knowledge Management |
|
KPI |
Key Performance Indicator |
|
LLC |
Limited Liability Company |
|
LLP |
Limited Liability Partnership |
|
MIME |
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions |
|
MIS |
Management Information System |
|
MRP |
Manufacturing Resource Planning or Material Requirement Planning |
|
MSI |
Multiple Streams of Income |
|
MSRP |
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price |
|
NASDAQ |
(once an acronym for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system) |
|
NDA |
Non-Disclosure Agreement |
|
NIB |
New In the Box |
|
NYSE |
New York Stock Exchange |
|
OPM |
Other People's Money |
|
OPR |
Other People's Resources |
|
OPT |
Other People's Time |
|
OTC |
Over-The-Counter (Stock) |
|
PA |
Public Accountant (not certified) |
|
PL |
Profit and Loss |
|
PO |
Purchase Order |
|
POM |
Program Objective Memorandum |
|
POP |
Point of Purchase |
|
POS |
Point Of Sale |
|
PR |
Press Release |
|
PT |
Part Time |
|
PVI |
Positive Volume Index |
|
QA |
Quality Assurance |
|
QC |
Quality Control |
|
RFP |
Request for Proposal |
|
ROI |
Return on Investment |
|
ROS |
Return on Sales |
|
SBA |
Small Business Administration |
|
SEC |
Securities & Exchange Commission |
|
SFI |
Six-Figure Income |
|
SKU |
Stock Keeping Unit |
|
SM |
Service Mark |
|
SOHO |
Small Office, Home Office |
|
TM |
Trademark |
|
VP |
Vice President |
|
VIP |
Very Important Person |
|
VPN |
Vendor Part (or product) Number |
|
XBRL |
Extensible Business Reporting Language |
Acronym Sources:
http://www.acronym-guide.com/business-acronyms.html
http://www.123webmaster.com/Onsite/Reference/Acronyms2.html
http://www.world-wide-net.com/library/acronyms.html
http://www.aicpa.org/members/glossary
Nancy Dodd Cates, MPW, served for four years as senior editor at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California before joining the faculty at the Graziadio School as academic editor. She holds a terminal degree in Professional Writing from USC. Ms. Cates has published in a variety of publications, starting her career in this field as managing editor of Elan, a lifestyle magazine. She has also received awards for her creative writing and is currently finishing her MFA in playwriting at USC. nancy.cates@pepperdine.edu
The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Graziadio School of Business and Management nor Pepperdine University.