A
Activity Based Costing – (also known as Activity Based Management) is a method of allocating costs to products & services and is generally used as a tool for planning and control.
Amortisation - the allocation of an asset amount to different time periods or the systematic repayment of a debt, which is the gradual reduction of the debt through regular payments until the total amount has been cleared.
Asset - economic entities that give rise to future economic benefit and is controlled by the entity as a result of past transaction or other events. Examples include cash, equipment, buildings, and land.
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B
Balance Sheet- a statement of the book value of all of the assets and liabilities of an organisation at a specified date, such as the end of the financial year and is a snapshot of the organisation’s financial situation.
Balanced Scorecard- a data gathering tool for measuring a company's activities in terms of its vision and strategies, to give managers a comprehensive view, including both financial outcomes and human issues, of the performance of a business.
Benchmark - a point of reference for a measurement, usually used to evaluate aspects of an organisation in relation to the best practice.
Best Practice - a process, technique or activity that is the most efficient and effective at delivering a specific result than any other method.
Bottom Line - the net income an organisation has after subtracting costs and expenses from total revenue.
Budgeting - corporate financial planning that takes place annually for the upcoming financial year.
Business Analysis- The process of identifying requirements of an organisation to achieve strategic goals through internal changes made to reduce costs and run more efficiently.
Business Intelligence - the process of capturing raw data, then transforming and combining it into relevant information that can be proactively used to improve business performance, through clear and informative results in the form of dashboards, charts and KPI summaries, with full drill-down capabilities.
Business Analysis - detailing steps to achieve organisation-wide goals or targets; a business plan may include:
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C
Capital Expenditure (Capex) - a payment made for the acquisition of a long-term physical asset, such as property, buildings or machinery.
Cash Flow Statement (CF) - an accounting term that refers to the amount of cash being received and spent by a business during a specified period of time and can be measured to evaluate the performance of an organisation.
Centralised System - a business software application that gathers data from multiple software applications and brings the information together for user friendly access and concise reporting.
Competitive Advantage - when an organisation sustains profits that accede the average for its industry, which can be based on cost advantage or differentiation advantage. 1
Compliance - adhering to laws, regulations or policies in an organisation. Examples of Compliance bodies include Sarbanes-Oxley and FDA. Configuration - in relation to computer systems, configuration is the arrangement of functional units according to their characteristics for performance and pertains to the choice of hardware, software and documentation.
Consulting - in regard to software, consulting means providing clients with individual support from our Support Team to implement the software solution and provide ongoing training and development for the individual client.
Corporate Consolidation - a centralised software solution that accesses data from multiple accounting, ERP and operational systems to convert them to a single account structure and a common currency, and merge through multiple levels to provide comprehensive reports at any predefined level.
Corporate Modelling - creating a complete software framework of an individual business that accurately reflects the physical and financial structure and integrates with all relevant operational systems to provide a continuously updated, detailed representation of the organisation.
Corporate Performance Management (CPM) - (also known as Business or Enterprise Performance Management) concept introduced by Gartner Research in 2001, which "all of the processes, methodologies, metrics and systems needed to measure and manage the performance of an organization." 2
Cost Centre - divisions that add to the cost of the organisation and have a negative impact on profit, but indirectly add to the profit of the company.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) - these are the direct expenses attributable to the production of a particular good for sale, which includes materials, direct labour, distribution and sales force costs to produce the good.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - is a broad term that covers all aspects of interaction a company has with its clients. CRM can also be a software tool that captures and stores customer information and allows enterprises to manage customers in an organised way.
1 Porter, Michael E. Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press, 1998 (1985).
2 Buytendijk, Frank; Geishecker, Lee; Wood, Brian (2004), Gartner Research, "Magic Quadrant for CPM Suites: No Dramatic Movement in 2004" Accessed 14 June 2007.
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D
Dashboard - similar to a dashboard in a car, the digital dashboard is a business management tool used to visually ascertain the status of an organisation via key performance indicators.
Data Warehouse - a central repository of data, or database, that integrates information from different operational systems and stores up-to-date information for creating reports or analysing business performance over time.
Database - a collection of organised information records that are stored in a systematic way and can be rapidly be searched and accessed electronically.
Decentralised Software Systems - software applications that are not integrated and require inefficient manual data entry or importation of data from other business applications.
Depreciation - a decrease in the value of a capital asset through age and the reflected loss on the balance sheet.
Development - in regard to software development, it is the process of creating, modifying, re-engineering and maintaining a software application.
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E
End-to-End Solution - a software application that covers an enterprise from the senior management level through departments down to individual cost centres and staff.
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) - (also known as Business or Corporate Performance Management) concept introduced by Gartner Research in 2001, which "all of the processes, methodologies, metrics and systems needed to measure and manage the performance of an organization." 1
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) - information management software system that automates many of the business processes associated with operations, production and inventory aspects of the organisation.
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F
Feasibility Study - a detailed analysis of factors that may influence a potential project to determine whether the project is possible and practical. Structure type, location, funding sources and resource availability are weighed against the expected return on investment of the project.
Forecasting - organisational future budget planning that extends from the medium to the long-term future, allowing organisations to map out the effects of emerging trends, test alternative strategies and forecast corporate performance over multiple years.
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H
Hardware - the physical equipment including the mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical components that make up a computer system.
Help Desk - a single point of contact to provide speedy assistance to users of a specific software application via telephone, fax or email.
Human Resources (HR) - individuals within an organisation and the department and support systems responsible for personnel sourcing and hiring, applicant tracking, skills development and tracking and compliance with associated government regulations.
1 Buytendijk, Frank; Geishecker, Lee; Wood, Brian (2004), Gartner Research, "Magic Quadrant for CPM Suites: No Dramatic Movement in 2004" Accessed 14 June 2007.
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I
Implementation - The process of installing and integrating a software application that is tested, complete and ready to use. It includes all necessary hardware, software, data and documentation.
Information Technology (IT) - computer and communications equipment and software used to automate processes in organisations.
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRP) - standards, also known as International Accounting Standards (IAS), adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to regulate accounting reporting.
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K
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) - a comparative metric or benchmark to measure the success of an employee, cost centre, department or section of an organisation.
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L
Long-Range Planning (LRP) - organisational forecasting that extends from the medium to the long-term future, allowing organisations to map out the effects of emerging trends, test alternative strategies and forecast corporate performance over multiple years.
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M
Marketing Expense Tracking System (METS) - a Mondelio software application that tracks costs and expenditure of an organisation's Marketing department that allows senior management to monitor expenditure.
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O
Off-the-shelf Product - a standardised software system that is not developed, customised or tested for suitability to an individual organisation. It may be a commercial system that is held in stock.
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) - Online retrieval and analysis of data to provide summarised views of business trends and statistics for analysis, reporting, modelling and planning to optimise business performance.
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) - a standard application programming interface for using database management systems.
Overhead Costs - general expenses of operating a business that are not directly related to the goods produced; can include such costs as utilities, telephone, advertising, etc.
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P
Patient Management System (PMS) - computer software system that records patient movements and operations.
Product Release - an updated or new version of a computer software system that is distributed to users of the application.
Profit & Loss Statement - also known as the Income Statement, is an organisation's financial statement that illustrates the total profit or loss of the company by subtracting the cost of goods / services sold, other expenses and tax from the total income.
Profit Margin - an indicator of profitability that can be:
- the price received by an enterprise for goods or services minus the cost of producing them
- the ratio of sales less all operating expenses divided by the number of sales
- the figure determined by dividing net income by revenue for a 12 month period of time.
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Q
Quality Improvement (QI) - a method to improve production or performance and increase efficiency while reducing variability in goods or services.
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R
Real-time - as a general concept refers to a system that responds to events or signals as fast as possible, or as they happen.
Research & Development (R&D) - in regard to software, the investigation and creation of new features and enhancements to an existing application.
Return on Investment (ROI) - a ratio measures that measures the revenue from an investment divided by the financial expenditure of the investment
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S
Sales & Marketing Plan - a digital document that details the actions necessary to achieve one or more marketing objectives and can be used for a product, service, brand or product line.
Scoping - the early planning process to determine the requirements of the client and define project parameters around building the customised software application.
Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) - A government agency responsible for the supervision and regulation of the securities industry.
SEQUEL Server (SQL) - Structured Query Language – a database access language that provides an interface to relational database systems and has become an industry standard.
“Single Version of the Truth” - a phrase used to describe an integrated software solution that provides one account of the performance of an organisation, rather than multiple differing reports dependant upon which decentralised system is being utilised.
Software - coded commands or rules that dictate what tasks the computer should perform.
Spreadsheet - an interactive program that enables users to input and manipulate information (often financial data) in a rectangular on-screen grid.
Staff Level - amount of employees and current wage rates in a business at any one time.
Statutory Report - a legislative annual statement that details the full year’s business activities and financial.
Strategic Planning - a systematic method to long-term plan for the future of an organisation based on current results and overall business objectives.
Streamline - to make a process, activity, system or structure more efficient.
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T
Telecommunications - any transmission or reception of information through using wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic channels.
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U
User Interface (UI) - the components of a computer software system that allow the user to directly interact with and control the program by using a mouse, keyboard or touch controls and screen display.
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V
Variable Cost (VC) - an expense that changes as the level of output of a good or service increases or decreases.
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W
“What if” Scenario - a snap shot of an organisation that demonstrates the potential effects of changing circumstances under different assumptions.
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