Statutory Accounts
Statutory accounts are mandatory financial statements that companies must prepare and file annually according to the legal requirements set by governing bodies, such as the Companies Act.
Statutory Audit
A statutory audit is an examination of a company’s financial statements and records, as mandated by regulatory bodies to ensure fairness and accuracy.
Statutory Audit Directive
The Statutory Audit Directive, adopted by the European Union in 2006, aims to strengthen public confidence in the auditing profession by increasing transparency, accountability, and compliance with stringent auditing standards.
Statutory Books
Statutory Books, as mandated by the Companies Act, ensure proper accounting records, enabling directors to accurately oversee the financial positioning and transactions of a company.
Statutory Demand
A statutory demand is a formal request issued by a creditor to a debtor demanding the repayment of an outstanding debt. It serves as evidence of a debtor's inability to pay if unmet, and can support a compulsory liquidation petition under the Insolvency Act 1986.
Statutory Foreclosure
Statutory Foreclosure, also known as non-judicial foreclosure, is a legal process by which a lender can foreclose on a property without court intervention, authorized by state statutes.
Statutory Merger
A statutory merger refers to the legal combination of two or more corporations in which only one corporation survives as a legal entity, with all others ceasing to exist.
Statutory Notice
Statutory Notice refers to a legally mandated period during which parties must be informed about a specific event or action that is scheduled to occur. This notice ensures that all relevant parties have adequate time to prepare or respond as required by law.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
A mandated benefit where employers provide weekly payments to employees unable to work due to sickness for a specified period, originally subject to partial government reimbursement.
Statutory Total Income
Statutory total income refers to the aggregate amount of income that is subject to taxation according to the relevant laws and regulations. It encompasses total income from various sources such as salaries, business income, capital gains, and other categories defined by tax legislation.
Statutory Voting
Statutory voting, also known as the one-share, one-vote rule, is a voting procedure commonly used in corporate elections. Each shareholder has one vote per share for each nominee for the board of directors and cannot give multiple votes to a single nominee.
Staying Power
The ability of an investor to retain their investment during periods of declining value, ensuring that short-term market fluctuations do not force premature sales.
Steady-Growth Method
A subscription-based business modeling technique that estimates the cost and impact on profitability of building a rate base over time using various sources of business.
Stealth Tax
Stealth tax, also known as a hidden tax, is a tax whose incidence may not be immediately apparent to the taxpayer. These can be levied on goods at the wholesale level or through reduced tax allowances and adjusted thresholds.
Steamer, Steamship
A steamship, also known as a steamer, is a ship that obtains its power from steam engines. These vessels can come in various forms like tankers, freighters, and luxury liners, and are designed to haul cargo or passengers over water.
Steel Intensive
Steel intensive refers to products or production technologies that rely heavily on high amounts of steel content. These can include buildings, machinery, infrastructure, and vehicles.
Steel-Collar Worker
A steel-collar worker refers to the use of robots as employees on a production line, symbolizing the replacement of the traditional blue-collar worker by automated systems and machinery.
Steering (Real Estate)
Steering is an illegal practice in real estate where real estate agents or brokers guide prospective home buyers or renters towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race or ethnicity.
Step-Function Cost
A step-function cost refers to an item of expenditure where costs increase in a step-like pattern with rising activity levels. Unlike linear cost functions, step-function costs do not change continuously but incrementally at certain thresholds of activity.
Step-Up Lease
A step-up lease, also known as a graduated lease, is a type of lease agreement where the rental rate increases at specified intervals throughout the term of the lease.
Stepped Cost
An item of expenditure that increases in total as activity rises but in a stepped, rather than a linear, function.
Stepped Cost
A stepped cost, also known as a semi-fixed cost, is an expense that remains fixed over a certain level of activity or production but changes by a fixed amount when the activity level significantly increases or decreases beyond specific thresholds.
Stepped-Up Basis
The stepped-up basis is a method to adjust the valuation of property inherited from a decedent to its fair market value as of the date of the decedent's death.
Stereotyping
Stereotyping involves classifying people based on one unique characteristic without any prior knowledge, leading to the formation of prejudiced and damaging images.
Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA)
SONIA, an acronym for Sterling Overnight Index Average, is a reference rate computed as a weighted average of sterling overnight funding rates in the interbank market.
Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA)
Finance professionals often use the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) as the benchmark interest rate for loans and financial contracts denominated in pounds sterling. Discover its definition, application, and influence on global finance.
STET
STET is a proofreader's or editor's direction to the printer or typesetter indicating that material marked for correction should remain as it was before the correction. The term 'STET' is derived from Latin, meaning 'let it stand.' It is a crucial term in the publishing and editing industry.
Stevedore
A stevedore is a company or individual responsible for unloading and loading cargo from ships, ensuring smooth and efficient movement of goods at ports. The terms 'longshoreman' and 'docker' are often used interchangeably with stevedore.
Steward
The term 'steward' can refer to a union representative responsible for day-to-day issues in a unionized workplace or a male flight attendant providing services aboard an aircraft.
Stewardship Code
A code of best practice for institutional investors, such as pension funds, insurance companies, and investment trusts, which sets guidelines on how these entities should engage with their investee companies, notably in the exercise of voting rights.
Stewardship in Accounting
Stewardship is a traditional approach in accounting that emphasizes the duty of stewards or agents, such as company directors, to provide accurate and reliable financial information concerning resources they control but do not own, usually for the proprietors or shareholders.
Stickiness
Stickiness refers to the phenomenon where certain economic variables, such as prices and wages, remain fixed or adjust slowly in response to changes in market conditions. This often results in wages and prices being 'sticky downward.'
Stiff
Failure to pay for services rendered; for example, stiffing a waiter by not leaving a tip.
Stipend
A fixed regular sum paid as a salary or allowance for services rendered, often associated with internships, apprenticeships, fellowships, or academic roles.
Stipulated Facts
Stipulated facts are a set of facts that both parties in a legal or tax dispute agree upon ahead of time, which simplifies the dispute resolution by narrowing down the issues in contention.
Stipulation
A stipulation refers to a specific term or condition within a written contract, or any set of agreed-upon terms and conditions that establish duties, rights, and responsibilities of the parties involved.
Stochastic
A stochastic process or variable relies on probabilistic behavior and chance, commonly used in fields like statistics, finance, and engineering to model systems that are inherently random.
Stock
A stock represents ownership in a company and constitutes a claim on part of the company's assets and earnings. Stocks can come in diverse forms such as fixed-interest securities or ordinary shares.
Stock Budgets
Stock budgets are formulated under a budgetary control system to plan the levels of materials, work in progress, and finished goods, both in volumes and values, at specified times throughout a budget period.
Stock Buyback
A stock buyback, also known as a share repurchase, is a process where a company purchases its own shares from the marketplace, reducing the number of outstanding shares.
Stock Certificate
A stock certificate is a written instrument that provides evidence of shares owned in a corporation, signifying ownership in the company.
Stock Control
Stock control, also known as inventory control, refers to the processes and systems used to oversee the ordering, storage, and use of components that a company uses in the production of the items it sells, as well as the finished products themselves.
Stock Dividend
Stock dividends refer to the payment of a corporate dividend in the form of additional shares rather than cash. This form of dividend distribution allows shareholders to increase their holdings in the company without any immediate tax implications or outflows for the corporation.
Stock Exchange
A marketplace for the sale and purchase of securities, where prices are determined by the forces of supply and demand. Stock exchanges facilitate capital raising for public companies, governments, and other entities, while providing liquidity for investors.
Stock Exchange Automated Quotations System (SEAQ)
The Stock Exchange Automated Quotations (SEAQ) system is a computerized system used on the London Stock Exchange for recording the prices quoted by market makers. SEAQ is primarily used for the Alternative Investment Market since FTSE 250 shares are now traded through the Stock Exchange Trading System (SETS).
Stock Exchange Trading System (SETS)
An advanced electronic order book trading system utilized by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to facilitate the matching and execution of orders for securities.
Stock Exchange Trading System (SETS)
The London Stock Exchange's order-driven electronic trading system that came into operation in 1997, replacing the previous quote-driven system. It facilitates automatic matching of buyers' and sellers' orders, price recording, and seamless transaction settlement.
Stock Index Future
Stock index futures are financial derivatives that blend traditional commodity futures trading characteristics with those of securities trading. They utilize composite stock indexes to enable investors to speculate on general market performance or to hedge long or short positions.
Stock Insurance Company
A Stock Insurance Company is a type of insurance company that is owned by stockholders. These stockholders receive earnings in the form of shareholder dividends. However, under state laws, the interests of policyholders take precedence over those of stockholders.
Stock Ledger
The accounting book in which the movements of inventories are recorded. The stock ledger records the receipts and issues of material as well as the balance in hand, in terms of both material quantities and values.
Stock Market
The stock market is a complex network of exchanges and investors engaged in buying, selling, and issuance of shares from publicly held companies, facilitating capital growth and wealth building.
Stock Option
A stock option is a financial instrument that gives the holder the right to buy or sell a company's stock at a predetermined price within a specified timeframe. It can be used both as an investment tool and as an employee incentive.
Stock Power
A power of attorney form used to transfer ownership of a registered security from the owner to another party. This document is essential in executing the transfer of securities efficiently and legally.
Stock Purchase Plan
A Stock Purchase Plan is an organized program allowing employees of a company to purchase shares of its stock, often at a discounted rate. This is typically considered an employee benefit, especially if the employer matches the employee's stock purchases. Such plans aim to align the interests of employees with those of shareholders, promoting a sense of ownership within the company.
Stock Reconciliation
Stock reconciliation is a crucial process in inventory management that ensures the actual stock count aligns with recorded inventory levels, thus maintaining accurate financial records and aiding in effective business operations.
Stock Record
The stock record is an essential element in an inventory control system, documenting the movements in items of stock. This record can encompass entries in the stock ledger, which tracks stock movements in both quantities and values, or on bin cards, which focus on quantities alone.
Stock Repurchase Plan
A stock repurchase plan, also known as a share buyback, is a program by which a corporation buys back its own shares from the open market. Typically deployed when shares are perceived as undervalued, this practice reduces the number of shares outstanding, thus raising earnings per share (EPS) and potentially increasing the market value of the remaining shares.
Stock Rights
Stock rights, also known as subscription rights or warrants, are financial instruments that give existing shareholders the right, but not the obligation, to purchase additional shares of a company at a predetermined price before a specified expiration date.
Stock Split
A stock split increases the number of a corporation's outstanding shares while making the stock more marketable, without altering shareholders' equity or the overall market value at the time of the split.
Stock Split
A stock split is a corporate action in which a company divides its existing shares into multiple shares to boost the liquidity of the shares. Although the number of shares outstanding increases, the value of each share is reduced proportionately, so the total market capitalization remains the same.
Stock Symbol
A stock symbol, also known as a trading symbol, is an abbreviation (typically one to four letters) that uniquely identifies publicly-traded companies on stock exchanges.
Stock Transfer
Stock transfer refers to the process of transferring the ownership of stock or shares from one person to another. It's a critical mechanism in corporate finance that enables the buying and selling of company shares in the stock market.
Stock Turnover
Stock turnover, also known as inventory turnover, is a financial ratio that measures how many times a company's inventory is sold and replaced over a specific period.
Stock Valuation
Stock valuation is the process of determining the intrinsic value of a company's stock, which helps investors make informed decisions about buying, selling, or holding shares.
Stock vs. Flow
In economics, 'stock' represents a quantity measured at a particular moment in time, while 'flow' represents a quantity measured over a specified period.
Stock Watering
Stock watering refers to various practices in which a company inflates the value of its assets or exaggerates its profits to issue more shares than justified. Historically notable during the US railway boom of the late 19th century, this practice constitutes fraudulent behavior.
Stock-for-Asset Reorganization
Stock-for-asset reorganization is a form of corporate restructuring where an acquiring corporation exchanges its voting stock (or its parent's voting stock) for substantially all of the assets of another corporation.
Stock-For-Stock Reorganization
A form of reorganization where one corporation acquires at least 80% of another corporation's stock in exchange solely for all or part of its own (or its parent's) voting stock, transforming the acquired corporation into a subsidiary.
Stock-in-Trade
Stock-in-trade refers to the merchandise or goods available to a business for sale to customers. It is integral to a company's operations and directly impacts revenue.
Stock-Out
A stock-out occurs when the inventory of a particular item is depleted, leading to a situation where no stock remains in store available for sale or use.
Stock-Transfer Agent
A stock-transfer agent acts as a third-party intermediary to manage and maintain a company’s records of its shareholders, executing various tasks such as managing securities transfers, handling lost certificates, and distributing dividends.
Stockbroker
An agent who buys and sells securities on a stock exchange on behalf of clients and earns commission for this service.
Stockholder
A stockholder, also referred to as a shareholder, is an individual or organization that holds at least one share of a company's stock, granting them fractional ownership in the corporation.
Stockholder of Record
A common or preferred stockholder whose name is registered on the books of a corporation as owning shares as of a particular date. Dividends and other distributions are made only to shareholders of record.
Stockholders
In the USA, individuals, businesses, and groups that own stocks in a corporation are known as stockholders. They hold a portion of the corporation's equity.
Stockholders' Derivative Action
A Stockholders' Derivative Action is a lawsuit filed by shareholders on behalf of a corporation. Such a suit aims to address grievances suffered primarily by the corporation, typically due to breaches of fiduciary duty by those managing the corporation. It's often the only civil remedy available to a stockholder for such breaches.
Stockholders' Equity
Stockholders' equity represents the ownership interest of shareholders in a corporation, calculated as the difference between total assets and total liabilities.
Stockjobber
A stockjobber is an outdated term that refers to a professional trader who buys and sells stocks for their own account, not for clients. This term was more commonly used in historical contexts related to stock trading.
Stockkeeping Unit (SKU)
A Stockkeeping Unit (SKU) is a unique identifier for each distinct product and service that can be purchased. It helps in tracking inventory and simplifying sales processes.
Stockkeeping Unit (SKU)
A Stockkeeping Unit (SKU) is a unique identifier or code, typically alphanumeric, assigned to a product to distinguish it from all other products in a merchant's inventory. It facilitates tracking, managing, and organizing stock effectively.
Stockout Cost
Stockout cost refers to the costs incurred by a firm when its current inventory is exhausted for one or more items. Lost sales revenue is a primary consequence when the firm is unable to meet current orders because of a stockout condition.
Stockpile
A stockpile is a reserve supply of raw materials or goods accumulated to meet continuous or future demands and overcome potential shortages. Businesses often maintain stockpiles to ensure smooth operations during unforeseen disruptions in supply chains.
Stockroom
A stockroom is an area or room where stock of goods, materials, and other supplies are maintained, often used in commercial and industrial settings for inventory management, storage, and organization.
Stocks, Bonds, Bills & Inflation (SBBI)
Annual publication by Ibbotson & Associates that provides long-term historical data on various financial instruments including stocks, bonds, treasury bills, and inflation.
Stocktaking
Stocktaking is the process of counting and evaluating stock-in-trade, typically carried out at an organization's year end to value the total stock for final accounting purposes.
Stonewalling
Stonewalling refers to the act of refusing to acknowledge a situation, provide necessary cooperation, or engage in meaningful conversation, despite overwhelming evidence or the necessity for dialogue.
Stool Pigeon
A stool pigeon is a spy or police informant who betrays another person's confidences to the authorities.
Stop Clause
A clause in a lease agreement that stipulates the amount of operating expenses above which the tenant is required to pay. It protects the lessor by ensuring that any increase in operating expenses is covered by the tenant once a predefined threshold is reached.
Stop Order
A stop order is a directive given to a securities broker to buy or sell a security at the market price once the specific stop price has been reached. This type of order is primarily used to protect profits and limit losses.
Stop Payment
A stop payment is the revocation of payment on a check after the check has been sent or delivered to the payee. So long as the check has not been cashed, the writer has up to six months to request a stop payment. The stop payment right does not apply to electronic funds transfers.
Stop-Loss Order
A stop-loss order is a directive given by an investor to a broker to sell a financial instrument, such as a stock, when it reaches a specified price point in order to cap the investor's loss.
Stopwatch Studies
Stopwatch studies are time and motion studies performed on work procedures by management as part of Frederick W. Taylor's Scientific Management. This method involves using a stopwatch to accurately time procedures in performing a job.
Store
An establishment used for the purpose of selling merchandise and services, usually at the retail level. Stores range in size from small boutique shops to large modern big box retailers.
Store Brand
A store brand, also known as a private label, refers to products that are manufactured by one company but sold under another company's brand, typically a retailer's own brand name.
Store Card
A store card is a specific type of card used within a particular store or organization to record and control inventory movements and levels.
Store Requisition
A store requisition is a document generated by user departments or individuals in an organization to request raw materials or supplies from the store or warehouse. It facilitates the internal movement and management of inventory within a company.
Storekeepers Burglary and Robbery Insurance
Comprehensive coverage designed for small mercantile establishments, providing protection against losses from burglary, robbery, and related crimes.
Storekeepers Liability Insurance
Coverage for bodily injury and property damage liability resulting from ownership, use, and/or maintenance of the insured business's premises, completed operations, and products. It includes medical payment expenses for bodily injuries caused by hazardous conditions and defense costs for liability suits.
Stores in Accounting
Stores in accounting refer to the part of an organization where various inventories are stored, which can include stationery stocks, maintenance components, production tools, raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods.
Stores Issue Note (SIN)
Abbreviation for Stores Issue Note, a document used in inventory and material management to authorize the withdrawal of materials from storage.

Accounting Terms Lexicon

Discover comprehensive accounting definitions and practical insights. Empowering students and professionals with clear and concise explanations for a better understanding of financial terms.