Data, predictions, and values may be intimidating for non-finance professionals. You may, however, improve your professional performance and have a bigger effect on your firm if you get financial fluency.
Every aspect of a company’s operations is affected by finance. How many people you can employ and how much money you have to spend each year are both influenced by your workforce capacity. An effective financial plan is essential for staying on top of short-term costs while also keeping an eye on your company’s long-term objectives. When it comes to running a business, money matters; you’re doomed to failure without it.
Your career may be advanced if you are aware of the financial ramifications of your actions and can properly communicate those decisions to important stakeholders. However, it would help if you first learned the lingo. Take a look at these 11 financial terminology and meanings.
1. Liquidity
The capacity to convert an asset into cash in a short period. When it comes to investing, liquidity is essential since you need to access your funds quickly. As a result, higher liquidity may be a double-edged word to pdf, as more liquidity is often associated with poorer returns due to increased competition from other investors in the market.
2. Budgeting
This can be an overwhelming process, but it doesn’t have to be. Begin by making a list of income and expenses, whether or not you’re required to do so for a current job. Next, prioritize which bills need to be paid first and decide what is expendable.
3. Rebalancing
Portfolio rebalancing is a common practice. Your stock and bond portfolios will be rebalanced to meet your investment goals.
Let’s suppose you’re looking for a 60/20 stock/bond/cash allocation with that in mind. You may have altered your allocation to 70% equities, 10% bonds, and 20% cash if the stock market has done very well during the last year, year.
It’s possible to rebalance your portfolio by selling a portion of your stock holdings and reinvesting the proceeds in bonds or by investing more funds in bonds.
4. Capital Market
Financial assets such as stocks and bonds may be bought and sold in this market. Among the many players in the capital markets are:
- Firms selling shares of stock and bonds to the general public
- Investors in large corporations: Stock and bond buyers on behalf of a huge financial institution
- Investing in mutual funds: An institutional investor known as a mutual fund handles the investments of many small investors.
- Hedge funds (sometimes known as alternative investment vehicles or AIMs) Other institutional investors include hedge funds that manage risk by shorting one stock and purchasing another that has a comparable price to profit from the difference in their relative performance.
5. Cash Flow
At a given moment, cash flow is the total amount of money coming in and going out of a firm. There are three main types of cash flow:
- The amount of money that a firm generates via its day-to-day activities.
- Investing Investment activities such as purchasing and selling securities and other assets create net cash flow, referred to as “cash flow.”
- Net cash earned by funding a firm, including payments on debt, stock in the company, and dividends paid out to shareholders.
6. Asset Allocation
To put it another way, asset allocation is the process through which you decide how much of your money should be divided among various kinds of investments, commonly referred to as asset classes. Among them are:
- It is a sort of lending that bonds are used for. As a result of purchasing a bond, you’re effectively lending money to the government or a firm. You get interest payments regularly, and you get your money back at the end of the bond’s term—the point at which you may redeem the bond.
- A stock is a stake in a firm, whether publicly traded or privately held. The firm’s earnings, which are dispersed as dividends to shareholders, may be received by purchasing shares in the company.
- Cash and Its Equivalents in Other Currencies: A cash-based asset is any asset that can be quickly converted to cash in the case of an emergency.
7. Bill Pay Service
A bill pay service will make it much easier if you have bills to pay. All you need to do with a bill pay service is log in and select who you want to send your money to and what amount you want them to receive. For example, Western Union has a bill payment service that lets consumers quickly transfer money online or at one of Western Union’s thousands of locations worldwide.
8. Stock options
As a managerial incentive, corporations might grant stock options. Using these choices, it is possible to acquire your employer’s shares at a certain price within a predetermined time frame.
There are several ways for managers to profit from stock options, such as when they help raise their firm stock price over their option price. However, growth in the stock’s value benefits all of the company’s shareholders.
9. Compound Interest
The term “interest on interest” is used here. Because when you invest or save, compound interest is generated based on your initial investment, as well as any interest that has accrued during that period. Compound interest might help you save money, but it can also raise your debt.
10. Holding Periods
Holding Periods are how long you hold onto an investment. Holding periods can be classified as short-term, medium-term, or long-term.
If your goal is to avoid financial mistakes, you should familiarize yourself with all of these terms. Knowing how they work and how they affect your investments will help you make more informed investment decisions in the future.
11. Cash Flow Statement
A cash flow statement is a kind of financial statement that provides a thorough examination of a company’s cash flow over a certain period, such as a year. For the whole reporting period and the prior year’s cash flows, this document offers a summary of cash flows from operating, investment, and financing operations.
