Survivors Program
A program within the Social Security System that provides financial assistance in the form of lump-sum payments and monthly benefits to the eligible survivors of a deceased worker.
Survivorship
Survivorship refers to the legal right of a joint tenant or tenants to obtain ownership rights following the death of another joint tenant. It prevents heirs of the deceased from making ownership claims against the property.
Sushi Bond
A bond issued by a Japanese-registered company in a currency other than yen but targeted primarily at the Japanese institutional investor market.
Suspended Trading
Suspended trading refers to the temporary halt in trading of a particular security, usually in anticipation of a major news announcement or to correct imbalances in buy and sell orders.
Suspense Account
A suspense account is a temporary account in the books of an organization used to record balances to correct mistakes or balances that have not yet been finalized.
Suspension
A suspension refers to a disciplinary action imposed on an employee for a specific period of time. It is less severe than discharge or dismissal, and the employee can resume their duties after the suspension period ends.
Sustainable Business
A sustainable business operates in a manner that minimizes its impact on the environment while ensuring that sufficient resources remain available for future generations. This involves adopting practices that promote environmental conservation and reduce ecological footprints.
Swap
A financial mechanism that enables parties to exchange cash flows or financial instruments to meet specific funding or investment needs. Common types include currency swaps and interest-rate swaps.
Swaption
A swaption is an option that grants the holder the right, but not the obligation, to enter into an interest rate swap agreement. It is a useful financial instrument for managing interest rate risk.
Sweat Equity
Sweat equity refers to the value added to a property by improvements resulting from work performed personally by the owner. It is a non-monetary investment that enhances the worth or appeal of an asset through manual labor and personal effort.
Sweatshop
A place of employment with unacceptable working conditions, characterized by low pay, poor working conditions, safety violations, and inhumane treatment of employees.
Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes are a popular type of sales promotion where lavish prizes are offered to entrants who have only to submit entries with their name and address by return mail or at a location determined by the sweepstakes sponsor, usually in a retail outlet where the sponsor's products are sold.
Sweetener (Finance)
A sweetener is a feature added to a securities offering to make it more attractive to purchasers, often enhancing its appeal and increasing the likelihood of the security being successfully issued.
SWF
SWF, or Sovereign Wealth Fund, is a state-owned investment fund or entity that is commonly established from balance of payments surpluses, official foreign currency operations, or revenue generated from natural resources.
SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications)
SWIFT is an interbank telecommunications network that facilitates the secure messaging and confirmation of international funds transfers between financial institutions.
Swing Shift
A swing shift is a work shift in industry that typically runs from the mid-afternoon until midnight or until the midnight shift.
Swingline Bank Facility
A short-term credit line allowing business borrowers to access funds quickly and efficiently, often to manage temporary shortfalls in other credit arrangements.
Switching
Switching refers to the process of moving assets from one mutual fund to another. This movement can occur either within a family of funds or between different fund families.
SWOT Analysis
A comprehensive assessment framework to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization, which helps in understanding its current position and future potential.
Sympathetic Strike
A sympathetic strike occurs when workers who are not directly involved in a dispute with their employer strike to express solidarity with workers who are on strike in another industry or sector.
Syndicate
A syndicate is a collaborative group of individuals or companies formed to undertake a project that would be difficult to accomplish individually. It can be classified as a partnership or corporation for tax purposes.
Syndicated Bank Facility
A syndicated bank facility, also known as a syndicated loan, is a very large loan provided to a single borrower by a consortium of banks and financial institutions, typically led by a lead bank.
Syndication
Syndication is a method of selling property whereby a sponsor, or syndicator, sells interests to investors. It can take various forms including partnerships, limited partnerships, tenancy in common, corporations, limited liability companies, or S Corporations.
Syndication Costs
Expenditures incurred for promoting and marketing interests, which are capitalized as an intangible asset (and not deductible or amortizable).
Syndicator
A syndicator is a person or organization responsible for selling investments in shares or units within a syndicate.
Synergy in Accounting and Business
Synergy describes the added value created by merging two separate firms, leading to a greater return than the sum of their individual contributions. This enhanced return is typically anticipated during merger or takeover activities.
Syntax in Computer Programming
Syntax in computer programming refers to the set of rules that define how statements in a programming language must be structured. Violating these rules results in syntax errors.
Synthetic Lease
A synthetic lease is a rental agreement that shifts all obligations, risks, and costs of the property to the tenant while the owner receives an absolute fixed rent. It is also known as a credit-tenant lease.
Synthetic System
A synthetic system refers to a production process that combines two or more materials or parts to complete a finished product.
System
A system is an organization of functionally interactive units working towards the achievement of a common goal. All systems have inputs, outputs, and feedback, and maintain a basic level of equilibrium.
System Program
A product of the computer manufacturer designed to help users operate the system efficiently and effectively. It includes various software tools and utilities to manage hardware and software resources.
Systematic Sampling
Systematic sampling is a probability sampling method where researchers select every nth observation from a larger population, following an initial randomly chosen starting point.
Systemic Risk
Systemic risk, also known as market risk or systematic risk, refers to the part of a security’s risk that is common to all securities within the same general class and cannot be eliminated by diversification. The measure of systemic risk for individual stocks is the Beta Coefficient.
Systems Control and Review File (SCARF)
A SCARF is an embedded audit facility in a computer that consists of program code or additional data provided by an auditor and incorporated into a computerized accounting system. It is designed to flag transactions that meet specified criteria for review.
Systems Development Controls
Systems Development Controls refer to the internal controls that ensure the development of computerized systems is properly managed and secured. These measures mitigate risks by enforcing structured protocols such as the segregation of duties.
Systems Network Architecture (SNA)
Systems Network Architecture (SNA) is a proprietary networking architecture created by IBM, primarily used for IBM's mainframe and midrange computer systems.
Systems Programmer
A person who writes the programs needed for a computer system to function, such as operating systems, language processors and compilers, and data file management programs.
Systems-Based Audit
An approach to auditing focused on evaluating an organization's internal control system to determine the quality of its accounting system, thereby assessing the required level of substantive testing for financial statements.
Taxation of Social Security Benefits
A portion of Social Security benefits may be included in taxable income, contingent upon the taxpayer's filing status and total income.

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.