Some useful words to know if you are in business and must discuss finance or accounting in English.

Business English: Finance

A financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something. When the amount spent is more than the amount earned it is considered a loss.

A fixed cost is a business expense, such as rent, that is constant regardless of the quantity of goods or services produced.

A variable cost is a business expense that changes in proportion to how much a company produces. Variable costs increase with more production and decrease with less production.

The point at which cost and income are equal and there is neither profit nor loss.

COGS refers to the direct costs of producing the goods sold by a company. Examples are materials and labor. It does not include indirect costs.

Depreciation is an accounting method of allocating the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life to account for declines in value over time.

Accounts receivable are the funds that customers owe a business for products or services that have been invoiced.

Accounts payable is money owed by a business to its suppliers.

A budget is a financial plan for a defined period, often one year. It may also include planned sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets, liabilities and cash flows.

An asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business. It is anything that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can be converted into cash.

A liability is something a business owes, usually a sum of money. Liabilities are settled over time through the transfer of economic benefits including money, goods, or services.

An income statement is a financial statement that shows you a company's income and expenditures. It also shows whether a company is making profit or loss for a given period.

The statement of cash flows is a financial statement that summarizes the movement of cash and cash equivalents that come in and go out of a company.

A balance sheet is a financial statement that reports a company's assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity.  It provides a snapshot of a company's finances (what it owns and owes) as of the date of publication.