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Glossary

The words in the guides, defined once

38 terms, alphabetical. Where a definition rests on a rule or a standard, the source is linked beside it.

Account reconciliation: Comparing a balance in the general ledger with independent evidence, such as a bank statement or a subledger, and explaining every difference. Used in the Close management guide.
Accounts payable (AP) automation: Software that captures supplier invoices, codes them, routes them for approval, matches them to purchase orders and receipts, and often pays them. Used in the AP automation guide.
Bank feed: An automatic import of bank or card transactions into accounting software. Used in the Small business accounting guide.
Cash positioning: Building the current view of cash across every bank account, entity and currency, usually first thing each business day. Used in the Treasury guide.
Chart of accounts: The list of accounts a company uses to record transactions, grouped into assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses. Used in the Small business accounting guide.
Consolidation: Combining the accounts of a parent and its subsidiaries. Consolidated financial statements present the assets, liabilities, equity, income, expenses and cash flows of a parent and its subsidiaries as those of a single economic entity. Source: IFRS Foundation, IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Consolidation guide.
Currency translation adjustment: The difference that arises when a subsidiary's accounts are translated into the group's reporting currency at different rates for different items. Used in the Consolidation guide.
Deferred revenue: Amounts billed or collected for goods or services not yet delivered, held on the balance sheet until revenue is recognised. Used in the Billing and revenue guide.
Deposit insurance: FDIC deposit insurance protects money in deposit accounts at FDIC-insured banks in the event of a bank failure, to at least $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category, at each insured bank. Source: FDIC, Understanding deposit insurance, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Corporate cards guide.
Documentary evidence: Receipts and similar records that, together with an expense record, support each element of a business expense under IRS rules. Source: Internal Revenue Service, Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Expense management guide.
Driver-based planning: Building a plan from operating drivers (such as headcount, price or volume) rather than typing in line-item amounts, so a change to one driver flows through the model. Used in the FP&A guide.
Dunning: The automated process of retrying failed payments and reminding customers about unpaid invoices. Used in the Billing and revenue guide.
E-invoicing: Issuing invoices as structured data that systems, and in some countries tax authorities, can read directly. In the EU, the VAT in the Digital Age package lets member states introduce mandatory e-invoicing under specific conditions. Source: European Commission, VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA), read 29 October 2026. Used in the Tax compliance guide.
Employer of record: A provider that legally employs a worker on another company's behalf, usually in a country where that company has no entity. Used in the Payroll guide.
ERP: Enterprise resource planning: a system that runs the general ledger together with operational processes such as purchasing, inventory, orders, projects or manufacturing on one database. Used in the Midmarket ERP guide.
Exemption certificate: A document a buyer gives a seller to show that a sale is exempt from sales tax, for example because the buyer will resell the goods. Used in the Tax compliance guide.
FedNow: The Federal Reserve's instant payment service, live since 20 July 2023, through which individuals and businesses can send instant payments from their depository institution accounts. Source: Federal Reserve Board, FedNow Service, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Treasury guide.
Fedwire: The Federal Reserve Banks' Fedwire Funds Service, a real-time gross settlement system for funds transfers that are immediate, final and irrevocable once processed. Source: Federal Reserve Board, Fedwire Funds Services, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Treasury guide.
Financial close: The set of tasks at the end of a period that brings the books to a final, reviewed state: cut-off, accruals, reconciliations, journal entries, review and reporting. Used in the Close management guide.
Flux analysis: A review of how balances moved between periods, with an explanation for each movement above a threshold. Used in the Close management guide.
Form W-9: The IRS form a payee uses to give its correct taxpayer identification number to the person required to file an information return about payments to it. Source: Internal Revenue Service, About Form W-9, read 29 October 2026. Used in the AP automation guide.
FP&A: Financial planning and analysis: budgeting, forecasting, scenario modelling and the analysis of actual results against plan. Used in the FP&A guide.
Inline XBRL: A structured data language that lets a filer prepare one document that is both human-readable and machine-readable. The SEC adopted amendments on 28 June 2018 requiring it, on a phased basis, for operating company financial statement information. Source: SEC, Inline XBRL, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Consolidation guide.
Intake-to-pay: The procurement process from an employee's purchase request through approvals, purchase order, receipt and invoice to payment. Used in the Procurement guide.
Intercompany elimination: Removing transactions and balances between entities in the same group, so the consolidated accounts show only dealings with outside parties. Used in the Consolidation guide.
Internal control over financial reporting: The processes a company uses to give reasonable assurance that its financial statements are reliable. US public companies include management's report on it in their annual reports under rules the SEC adopted in Release 33-8238. Source: SEC, Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, Release 33-8238, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Close management guide.
Merchant of record: The party that sells to the end customer in law, collects payment and is responsible for the sales tax or VAT on the sale. Used in the Billing and revenue guide.
Nexus: The connection with a state or country that creates an obligation to register for, collect and file a tax there. Used in the Tax compliance guide.
PEO: Professional employer organisation. PEOs handle payroll administration and tax reporting for business clients and are typically paid a fee based on payroll costs. The IRS runs a voluntary certification programme for them. Source: Internal Revenue Service, Certified professional employer organization, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Payroll guide.
Punchout: A link from a procurement system to a supplier's online catalogue that returns the selected items to the requisition. Used in the Procurement guide.
Revenue recognition: Deciding when and how much revenue to record from a contract. IFRS 15 provides a comprehensive framework for recognising revenue from contracts with customers; it was issued in May 2014 together with Topic 606 in the FASB codification. Source: IFRS Foundation, IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Billing and revenue guide.
SOC 1 report: An examination of controls at a service organisation that are likely to be relevant to user entities' internal control over financial reporting. Source: AICPA & CIMA, SOC 1, SOC for Service Organizations, ICFR, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Close management guide.
SOC 2 report: A report from the AICPA's SOC suite on a service organisation's controls, assessed against the Trust Services Criteria. Source: AICPA & CIMA, System and Organization Controls, SOC suite of services, read 29 October 2026. Used in the FP&A guide.
Statement of work: The document that defines what an implementation partner will deliver, the hours or fee, the assumptions and what counts as done. Used in the Midmarket ERP guide.
Third-party payer: A payroll service provider or reporting agent that handles payroll tax duties for an employer. An employer who outsources these duties will generally remain responsible for them, including liability for the taxes. Source: Internal Revenue Service, Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, read 29 October 2026. Used in the Payroll guide.
Three-way match: Checking an invoice against the purchase order and the record of goods or services received before it is approved for payment. A two-way match checks the invoice against the purchase order only. Used in the AP automation guide.
Usage-based billing: Charging customers for what they consume, measured as events, units or credits, often alongside a fixed subscription fee. Used in the Billing and revenue guide.
Virtual card: A card number issued for online or single-vendor use, often with its own limit and expiry, without a physical card. Used in the Corporate cards guide.