These financial terms definitions are for the most commonly used UK financial terms and ratios. They are based on UK Company Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, and Cashflow Statement conventions.

Certain financial terms often mean different things to different organizations depending on their own particular accounting policies. Financial terms will have slightly different interpretations in different countries. So as a general rule for all non-financial business people, if in doubt, ask for an explanation from the person or organization responsible for producing the figures and using the terms - you may be the only one to ask, but you certainly will not be the only one wodering what it all means.

acid test

A stern measure of a company’s ability to pay its short term debts, in that stock is excluded from asset value. (liquid assets/current liabilities)
assets

Anything owned by the company having a monetary value; eg, ‘fixed’ assets like buildings, plant and machinery, vehicles (these are not assets if rentedand not owned) and potentially including intangibles like trade marks and brand names, and ‘current’ assets, such as stock, debtors and cash.
asset turnover

Measure of operational efficiency – shows how much revenue is produced per £ of assets available to the business. (sales revenue/total assets less current liabilities)
balance sheet

The Balance Sheet is one of the three essential measurement reports for the performance and health of a company along with the Profit and Loss Account and the Cashflow Statement. The Balance Sheet is a ‘snapshot’ in time of who owns what in the company, and what assets and debts represent the value of the company. (It can only ever nbe a snapshot because the picture is always changing.) The Balance Sheet is where to look for information about short-term and long-term debts, gearing (the ratio of debt to equity), reserves, stock values (materials and finsished goods), capital assets, cash on hand, along with the value of shareholders’ funds.

budget
In a financial planning context the word ‘budget’ (as a noun) strictly speaking means an amount of money that is planned to spend on a particularly activity or resource, usually over a trading year, although budgets apply to shorter and longer periods. An overall organizational plan therefore contains the budgets within it for all the different departments and costs held by them. The verb ‘to budget’ means to calculate and set a budget, although in a looser context it also means to be careful with money and find reductions (effectively by setting a lower budgeted level of expenditure)