401(k) Plan - EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN authorized by
INTERNAL REVENUE CODE section 401(k), whereby an
employer establishes an account for each participating
employee and each participant elects to deposit a
portion of his or her salary into the account. The
amount deposited is not subject to income tax. This is
the most common type of salary reduction plan.
Face Value - Amount due at maturity from a BOND
or note.
Factoring - Selling a RECEIVABLE at a discounted
value to a third party for cash.
FASB - See FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD (FASB).
Fair Market Value - Price at which property would
change hands between a buyer and a seller without any
compulsion to buy or sell, and both having reasonable
knowledge of the relevant facts.
Favorable Variance - Excess of actual REVENUE
over projected revenue, or actual costs over projected
costs.
Fiduciary - Person who is responsible for the
administration of property owned by others. Corporate
management is a FIDUCIARY with respect to corporate
ASSETS which are beneficially owned by the stockholders
and CREDITORS. Similarly, a TRUSTEE is the fiduciary of
a TRUST and partners owe fiduciary responsibility to
each other and to their creditors.
FIFO - See FIRST IN, FIRST OUT.
Financial Accounting Standards - Official
promulgations, known as STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL
ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, by the FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
STANDARDS BOARD (FASB) which are part of GENERALLY
ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES (GAAP) in the United
States.
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) -
Independent, private, non-governmental authority for the
establishment of ACCOUNTING principles in the United
States.
Financial Institution - Organization engaged in
any of the many aspects of finance including commercial
banks, thrift institutions, investment banks, securities
brokers and dealers, credit unions, investment
companies, insurance companies, and REAL ESTATE
INVESTMENT TRUSTS.
Financial Statements - Presentation of financial
data including BALANCE SHEETS, INCOME STATEMENTS and
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOW, or any supporting statement
that is intended to communicate an entity's financial
position at a point in time and its results of
operations for a period then ended.
First in, First out (FIFO) - ACCOUNTING method of
valuing INVENTORY under which the costs of the first
goods acquired are the first costs charged to expense.
Commonly known as FIFO.
Fiscal Year - Period of 12 consecutive months
chosen by an entity as its ACCOUNTING period which may
or may not be a calendar year. Fixed Asset - Any
tangible ASSET with a life of more than one year used in
an entity's operations.
Floor - Term used when discussing INVENTORIES.
Inventory cannot be valued lower than the "floor" which
is the net realizable value of the inventory less an
allowance for a normal profit margin.
Forecast - Prospective FINANCIAL STATEMENTS that
are an entity's expected financial position, results of
operations, and cash flows.
Foreclosure - Seizure of COLLATERAL by a CREDITOR
when DEFAULT under a loan agreement occurs.
Foreign Currency Translation - Restating foreign
currency in equivalent dollars; unrealized gains or
losses are postponed and carried in Stockholder's Equity
until the foreign operation is substantially liquidated.
Form 8-K - SEC filing which is a filing that must
be made on the occurrence of an event that is deemed to
be of significant importance to SECURITY holders.
Form 10-K - SEC filing which is the ANNUAL REPORT
due 90 days after the registrant's BALANCE SHEET date.
Form 10-Q - SEC filing which is the quarterly
report due 45 days after each of the first three
quarter.ends of each fiscal year.
Franchise - Legal arrangement whereby the owner
of a trade name, franchisor, contracts with a party that
wants to use the name on a non-exclusive basis to sell
goods or services, franchisee. Frequently, the franchise
agreement grants strict supervisory powers to the
franchisor over the franchisee which, nevertheless, is
an independent business.
Fraud - Willful misrepresentation by one person
of a fact inflicting damage on another person.
Fund Accounting - Method of ACCOUNTING and
presentation whereby ASSETS and LIABILITIES are grouped
according to the purpose for which they are to be used.
Generally used by government entities and
not-for-profits. (See RESTRICTED FUND and UNRESTRICTED
FUND.)
Future Contract - Transferable agreement to
deliver or receive during a specific future month a
standardized amount of a commodity |