A symbol on a computer terminal that indicates where on the screen the next character to be typed will appear. Cursors often appear as blinking underscores, vertical bars, or rectangles.
Curtesy refers to a husband's common law right to a life estate in all lands owned by his deceased wife, provided there were issue born of the marriage who are capable of inheriting the estate.
Refers to the land and immediate surroundings of a dwelling house, regarded as legally attached to it under common law.
A curvilinear cost function represents any cost relationship where the cost does not change proportionally with the level of activity. This type of cost function forms a curved line when plotted on a graph.
The Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (CUSIP) system uniquely identifies financial instruments and facilitates transactions and record-keeping in the securities industry.
A custodial account is a type of account created for a minor by a parent or guardian, often held at a bank or brokerage firm, where the minor cannot make securities transactions without the approval of the account trustee.
A custodian refers to a bank or financial institution responsible for safeguarding the assets of a mutual fund, individual, or corporation. It also describes a person who manages the care of a facility or building.
Custody refers to the condition of holding a property or person within one's care and control. This comprehensive term has applications in various fields, from property management to legal and family contexts.
In business or individual practices, 'custom' refers to habitual tendencies, traditional policies, or usual activities routinely followed as a matter of course. These practices can shape organizational behavior and culture and affect various business decisions and operations.
A custom builder is a professional or company that constructs unique houses, designed specifically for individual clients based on their specifications and preferences.
A customer is an individual or entity that purchases goods or services from a business or organization. Customers are the primary source of revenue for businesses and play a critical role in the success and growth of any company.
Customer capital refers to the value derived from an organization's relationships with its customers, which form part of the broader concept of intellectual capital.
Customer perspective in a balanced scorecard focuses on the target customers and market segments that an organization aims to serve. It measures how well the company performs from the viewpoint of customers.
A customer profile is a detailed description of a specific customer group or type, typically based on various demographic, psychographic, and/or geographic characteristics. It is used by businesses to understand and target their audience more effectively.
Customer Profitability Analysis (CPA) evaluates the profitability of each customer or segment to help businesses focus on value-adding customers and optimize resource allocation.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) involves the practice of storing, analyzing, and utilizing data gathered from various customer interactions, including sales calls, customer service centers, and actual purchases, to gain a better understanding of customer behavior and enhance customer relationships.
Customer service is the department or function within an organization that responds to inquiries or complaints from customers. It ensures the resolution of issues through various communication channels and plays a crucial role in customer retention and satisfaction.
An employee responsible for maintaining goodwill between a business and its customers by answering questions, solving problems, and providing advice or assistance on the organization’s goods or services.
Customer-level activities are tasks carried out to support specific customers and generate customer-related value.
An authoritative agency dedicated to regulating the import and export of goods, ensuring compliance with laws, and collecting duties and taxes on imports.
Customs and Excise refer to government agencies responsible for collecting taxes on goods imported into or exported out of the country, as well as enforcing regulations related to these activities.
A specialized federal court tasked with reviewing decisions made by customs collectors, which frequently involves determining the proper tariff classifications and duties for imported goods.
A customs duty is a levy imposed on the importation of certain goods and on some goods manufactured from imported materials. It is also charged on some exports. Within the European Union, import duties between member states have been abolished and a Common External Tariff has been established.
A customs invoice is an essential document used in international trade to declare goods being imported or exported, prepared particularly for customs authorities to ensure legal and efficient handling of shipments.
The term 'cut' refers to various actions and meanings across different contexts, including stopping a film scene, making a pass/fail point, and removing electronic media.
The date on which an accounting period ends and the accounts of a business are ruled off. It ensures the accuracy and integrity of financial statements, providing a true and fair view of the business's performance and position.
In capital budgeting, the cutoff point is referred to as the minimum acceptable rate of return on investments that an enterprise mandates for its projects. It essentially serves as the threshold for determining the viability of a project.
Cyberspace is the conceptual environment where computer networking hardware, software, and users interact and communicate. It encompasses the global internet, private and public networks, and various data streams.
Cycle Billing is a method sometimes adopted in large organizations for invoicing their customers at different time intervals. Often using the alphabet as a basis, customers starting with the letter A may be invoiced on the first day, B on the second day, and so on. This method spreads the workload in the organization and ensures a steady inflow of cash—provided that there are many customers with comparable accounts.
Cycle Time refers to the length of time required from the placing of an order by a customer to the delivery of the product or service. It is a crucial metric, particularly significant in companies employing just-in-time techniques.
Cyclic variation refers to regular and recurring changes in economic activity influenced by factors such as the business cycle or seasonal fluctuations.
Cyclical demand refers to patterns of consumer demand for goods and services that vary cyclically over time, often in response to external factors such as seasons, economic conditions, or business cycles.
A cyclical industry is characterized by frequent variations in output, often influenced by seasonal changes and broader economic cycles. This is evident in industries like construction, which experiences reduced activity during winter and fluctuates with changes in interest rates and demand.
Cyclical stocks are equities that tend to fluctuate significantly with the economic cycle, experiencing high volatility with economic upturns and downturns.
Cyclical unemployment refers to the unemployment caused by a downturn in the business cycle. It typically rises during economic recessions and falls when the economy improves.
The dagger (†) is a typographical symbol used as a footnote reference mark, often seen in scholarly and legal documents to indicate additional information or commentary.
A Daily Trading Limit is the maximum amount by which the price of a commodity or option is allowed to rise or fall in a single trading day. This mechanism is used to curb excessive volatility and protect investors.
Daisy chain refers to the buying and selling of the same items multiple times, often to artificially inflate trading activity. Commonly associated with stocks and shares, the term describes a practice where the same items are included in sales figures multiple times.
Compensation, in monetary form, for a loss or injury, breach of contract, tort, or infringement of a right.
Dangling debit is an accounting term describing a practice where companies wrote off goodwill to reserves, creating a goodwill account deducted from the total shareholders' funds; a practice discontinued under Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 10.
Dark pools are specialized financial trading platforms that enable the buying and selling of large quantities of securities, often anonymously, without immediate public disclosure of the trade prices. These platforms offer benefits like improved trading prices for investors but also pose risks such as increased market volatility and reduced market transparency.
Data refers to the information that is processed, stored, or produced by a computer. The distinction between program (instructions) and data is a fundamental concept in computing.
Data capture refers to the process of inserting information into a computerized system. It enables efficient storage, retrieval, and utilization of data, often in real-time, to facilitate optimized business operations.
Data Communication refers to the exchange of data between two or more connected computers or devices. It involves the transfer of data from one point to another over a network, ensuring accurate and instant information dissemination.
Data compression involves the process of encoding information using fewer bits or other information-bearing units than an unencoded representation would use through different compression algorithms.
Data compression is a technology that reduces the size of a computer file, which is especially crucial for files used on Web pages, like graphics and sound files. Compression methods are categorized as lossless or lossy.
A Data Encryption Key (DEK) is a fundamental element used in cryptographic processes to secure and protect data, ensuring confidentiality and integrity in digital communication and storage.
Data Encryption Standard (DES) is a symmetric-key algorithm for encrypting and decrypting data that was widely adopted for securing sensitive information before the advent of more advanced encryption methods.
A Data Flow Diagram (DFD) is a graphical tool used to illustrate the flow of data through a computer system, highlighting its processes, data stores, and data sources/destinations.
The accuracy, consistency, and completeness of the information held on a computer database. Data integrity is a crucial aspect of information assurance and refers to the reliability and trustworthiness of data throughout its lifecycle.
Data Interchange Format (DIF) is a standardized text format used to export and import spreadsheet data between different applications, particularly useful for data exchange and simple file sharing.
The Data Interchange Format (DIF) is a standardized file format used to transfer computer files such as spreadsheets or databases between different programs and systems.
The process of extracting useful knowledge from the huge volumes of data kept in modern computer databases using sophisticated algorithms and statistical techniques.
Data processing is a class of computing operations that manipulate large quantities of information. It forms a major use of computers in business operations such as bookkeeping, printing invoices, payroll calculations, and general record keeping.
Data Processing Insurance offers coverage for data processing equipment, data processing media such as magnetic tapes and disks, and expenses involved in returning to usual business conditions after a loss. Coverage can be obtained on a specified perils basis or on an all risk/all peril basis.
An overview of legislative and practical safeguards for handling personal data, including the responsibilities and rights articulated by laws like the Data Protection Act 1998.
Computer technology enabling data from multiple operational processing systems to be brought together into a single source, which can then be accessed and interrogated. The data can be both current and historical. Warehousing differs from previous management information systems in that designers do not need to think about what questions might be asked of the system.
A Database is an organized collection of information held on a computer. It can be managed by a Database Management System (DBMS), which allows for efficient handling of data.
Database Management refers to the methodology of storing, manipulating, and retrieving data within a database, encompassing tasks such as data entry, classification, modification, updating, and output reporting.
A Database Management System (DBMS) is a software system that uses a standard method to store and manage data. It allows users to define, create, maintain, and control access to the database.
Database marketing refers to a marketing strategy that relies on the collection, analysis, and usage of customer data to devise targeted marketing campaigns. Utilizing detailed information from various consumer interactions, this method ensures messages are relevant and personalized but can be costly due to extensive data collection and analysis.
The specific date when the donor's full control and ownership of a property or asset is relinquished to the recipient.
The date when an insurance company formally issues a policy. This date can differ from the actual effective date of the insurance coverage.
The date on which a corporation uses its list of stockholders to mail a dividend check. It is usually two days after the ex-dividend date. Also called record date.
Dating in commercial transactions refers to the extension of credit beyond the supplier's customary payment terms, allowing buyers more time to pay for goods or services.
A standard used in court proceedings to determine the admissibility of expert witness testimony, focusing on the relevance and reliability of the testimony.
The Davis-Bacon Act is a United States federal law mandating the payment of prevailing wages on public works projects. This legislation ensures that all federal government construction contracts, along with most contracts for federally assisted construction over $2,000, include provisions for paying on-site workers no less than the locally prevailing wages and benefits.
An aggressive strategy by a company or investor to acquire a substantial equity stake in another company by purchasing available shares immediately as the stock market opens, often catching the target company off guard.
DAX is a stock performance index that includes dividends and is composed of the 30 most actively traded German blue-chip stocks on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
A specialized book of prime entry recording specific transactions, serving as a foundation for accurate bookkeeping and financial reporting.
A day order is an order to buy or sell securities that expires unless executed or canceled the day it is placed. All orders are typically day orders unless otherwise specified.
A financial strategy involving the purchase and sale of a position within the same trading day, often employed by traders to capitalize on short-term market movements.
A day trader is an individual who buys and sells financial instruments within the same trading day, with the goal of profiting from short-term price fluctuations.
Days' Sales in Inventory (DSI) is a crucial efficiency metric that indicates the number of days a company's current inventory will last, based on its average daily cost of sales. It's used to measure how efficiently a company manages its inventory.
Days' Sales in Receivables is a financial metric that indicates the average number of days it takes a company to collect payment after a sale has been made. This ratio helps businesses understand the efficiency of their credit and collection processes.
Days' Sales Outstanding (DSO) is a financial metric that indicates the average number of days it takes for a company to collect payment after a sale has been made.
A DB Scheme, or Defined-Benefit Pension Scheme, promises a specified pension payment, lump-sum, or combination thereof on retirement that is predetermined by a formula based on the employee's earnings history, tenure of service, and age.
De facto refers to situations that exist in reality, even if not legally recognized or officially sanctioned. It applies to scenarios where practices or institutions operate as though they were legal, even if they lack official authorization.
A de facto corporation is an entity that operates as a corporation in fact but lacks formal incorporation or official recognition by law.
De jure refers to a state of affairs that is in accordance with law, that is lawful and legitimate. It is commonly contrasted with de facto, which refers to a state of affairs that exists in reality, irrespective of its legality.
De minimis refers to matters too trivial or minor to be considered by the judicial or taxation systems. Originating from the legal principle 'De minimis non curat lex,' meaning 'The law does not concern itself with trifles.'
The term 'de novo' denotes starting anew or afresh, suggesting a second trial or review as if the first had never occurred. It is commonly used in legal contexts, particularly concerning appeals and retrials.
A dead key refers to a nonfunctioning key on a typewriter, computer keyboard, or word processor. This could occur due to design or disrepair, serving to print a character for placing a grammatical mark or statistical symbol over or under another character without moving the cursor or carriage.
A 'dead letter' refers to a piece of mail that cannot be delivered to its intended recipient nor can it be returned to the sender, making it effectively undeliverable.
Dead stock refers to inventory that remains unsold for an extended period. This unsold inventory can result from factors such as changing consumer preferences, overstocking, or product obsolescence. Businesses often seek to identify and manage dead stock effectively to minimize storage costs and free up capital for more profitable inventory.
A period during which a worker is idled due to machine malfunction or interruption of materials flow; also known as downtime. Dead time is a direct cost to the company.
A dead-cat bounce is a temporary, short-lived recovery in the price of a declining financial asset, typically seen in stock markets following a sharp, severe drop. This term derives from the idea that even a dead cat will bounce if it falls from a significant height.
A dead-end job, also known as a blind alley job, refers to a position that offers no opportunity for promotion, increased pay, or increased responsibility.
A deadbeat is an individual or entity that neglects or intentionally avoids paying their bills for goods or services received, creating financial burdens for service providers and creditors.
In the context of transportation, 'deadhead' refers to the act of moving a piece of transportation equipment, such as a bus, train, or truck, when it is not carrying a paying load (either people or freight). It also extends to describe a nonpaid trip or someone who uses a service without paying.
A deadline is the due date or latest time for the completion of a negotiation, project, service, or product, often carrying significant consequences for non-compliance.
A deadlock is a situation in which two or more competing actions are waiting for the other to finish, and thus neither ever does.
Deadweight loss represents the cost to society created by market inefficiency, which can occur in different forms, such as monopoly pricing, externalities, taxes, subsidies, and scarcity pricing.
In finance, a dealer is an individual or entity involved in the buying and selling of financial securities or other commodities, often at their own risk, for personal sales or to customers.
A computerized securities marketplace where transactions are facilitated by market makers and brokers using distributed processing, replacing the earlier centralized auction markets.
The Dearing Report, officially titled 'The Making of Accounting Standards,' was a landmark document published in 1988 aimed at reforming the setting of accountancy standards in the UK.
Definition, explanation, and discussion around the term 'Death Benefit,' including examples, FAQs, related terms, online resources, and suggested books for further readings.
A comprehensive guide to understanding death duty, also known as estate duty, a tax levied on the estate of a deceased person.
The term 'Death Tax' is commonly used to refer to state inheritance taxes, though it is frequently conflated with estate taxes. It represents the taxation imposed on the transfer of wealth upon an individual's death.
A deathbed gift, also known as a gift in contemplation of death, refers to a transfer of property or assets by an individual who is facing imminent death. This transfer is made with the understanding that ownership will only take effect upon the death of the donor. It differs significantly from inter vivos gifts made during one's lifetime.
