Editor’s Note
A Lexicon of Business and Information Technology (IT) Acronyms
Photo: Daniel V.
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 broadcast 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.
Acronyms for Business and Information Technology
| 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 (no longer accessible)
About the Author(s)
Nancy Ellen Dodd, MPW, MFA, serves as academic editor of the "Graziadio Business Review." Her book on creative writing, "The Writer's Compass: From Story Map to Finished Draft in 7 Stages," is forthcoming from Writer's Digest Books in June 2011.She also served as editor of Marshall, a USC academic/alumni magazine, and started the Marshall Review, an online journal for the Marshall School of Business at USC. More than 125 of her articles have been published in local and national publications. Dodd received her master's in Professional Writing from USC with a concentration in screenwriting and an MFA in playwriting at the USC School of Theatre. Ms. Dodd also teaches screenwriting as an adjunct faculty in Seaver College at Pepperdine University.
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