Editor's Note

Nancy Ellen Dodd, MPW, MFA

2005 Volume 8 Issue 4

Editor’s Note

A Lexicon of Business and Information Technology (IT) Acronyms

By Nancy Ellen Dodd, MPW, MFA

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.

Editorials

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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)

Editorials

Author of the article

Author's profile

Nancy Ellen Dodd, MPW, MFA

Nancy Ellen Dodd, MPW, MFA, serves as academic editor of the “Graziadio Business Review and teaches presentations and stories at the Graziadio School.” Her book on creative writing, “The Writer’s Compass: From Story Map to Finished Draft in 7 Stages,” was published by 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 135 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. She is currently working on her PhD dissertation in Global Leadership and Change.