Capital account: the sum of a company's capital at a particular time

Capital allowance: the tax advantage that a company is granted for money that it spends on fixed assets.

Capital appreciation: the increase in a company's or individual's wealth.   

Capital asset: an asset that is difficult to sell quickly. for example, real estate.

Capital budget: a budget for the use of a company's money. 

Capital controls: regulations placed by a government on the amount of capital residents may hold.   

Capital equipment: Equipment that you use to manufacture a product, provide a service or use to sell, store and deliver merchandise. Such equipment will not be sold in the normal course of business, but will be used and worn out or consumed in the course of business.

Capital gains (and losses): The financial gain made upon the disposal of an asset. The gain is the difference between the cost of its acquisition and net proceeds upon its sale.  

Capital goods: stocks of physical or financial assets that are capable of generating income.  

Capital inflow: the amount of capital that flows into an economy from services rendered abroad.

Capitalism: an economic and social system in which individuals can maximize profits because they own the means of production. 

Capitalist: an investor of capital in a business. 

Capitalization: the amount of money invested in a company or the worth of the bonds and stocks of a company. 

Cash: Money in hand or readily available.

Cash discount: A deduction that is given for prompt payment of a bill.

Cash flow: The actual movement of cash within a business; the analysis of how much cash is needed and when that money is required by a busi­ness within a period of time.

Cash receipts: The money received by a business from customers.  

Centralization: the gathering together, at a corporate headquarters, of specialist functions such as finance, personnel and information technology. Centralization is usually undertaken in order to effect economies of scale and to standardize operating procedures throughout the organization. Centralized management can become cumbersome and inefficient and may produce communication problems. Some organizations have shifted toward decentralization to try to avoid this.

Certificate: A document representing partial ownership of a company that states the number of shares that the document is worth and the names of the company and the owner of the shares. 

Certified Public Accountant: An accountant to whom a state has given a certificate showing that he has met prescribed requirements designed to insure competence on the part of the public practitioner in accounting and that he is permitted to use the designation Certified Public Accountant, commonly abbreviated as CPA.

Chamber of Commerce: An organization of business people designed to advance the interests of its members. There are three levels: national, state and local.  

Chief Executive: the person with overall responsibility for ensuring that the daily operations of an organization run efficiently and for carrying out strategic plans. The chief executive of an organization normally sits on the board of directors. In a limited company, the chief executive is usually known as a managing director. 

Chief Executive Officer: the highest ranking executive officer within a company or corporation, who has responsibility for over-all management of its day-to-day affairs under the supervision of the board of directors. Abbr. CEO 

Chief financial officer: the officer of the organization responsible for handling finds, signing checks, the keeping of financial records, and financial planning of the company. 

Choice: A decision to purchase that is based on an evaluation of alternatives.  

Clicks and brick: a business strategy that involves combining the traditional retail outlets with online commerce. 

Close corporation: a public corporation in which all of the voting stock is held by a few shareholders, for example, management or family members. Although it is a public company, shares would not normally be available for trading because of a lack of liquidity.  

Close-end credit: a loan, plus any interest and finance charges, that is to be repaid in full by a specified future date. Loans that have real estate or motor vehicles as collateral are usually closed-end. 

Collateral: property or goods used as security against a loan and forfeited to the lender if the borrower defaults.  

Co-signers: Joint signers of a loan agreement who pledge to meet the obligations of a business in case of default.

Commercial paper: uncollateralized loans obtained by companies, usually on a short-term basis. 

Commission: A percentage of the principal or of the income that an agent receives as compensation for services.

Contract: An agreement regarding mutual responsibilities between two or more parties.

Controllable expenses: Those expenses that can be controlled or restrained by the business person.

Corporation: A voluntary organization of persons, either actual indi­viduals or legal entities, legally bound together to form a business enter­prise; an artificial legal entity created by government grant and treated by law as an individual entity.

Cost of goods sold: The direct cost to the business owner of those items which will be sold to customers.

Credit: Another word for debt. Credit is given to customers when they are allowed to make a purchase with the promise to pay later. A bank gives credit when it lends money.

Credit line: The maximum amount of credit or money a financial insti­tution or trade firm will extend to a customer.

Current assets: Valuable resources or property owned by a company that will be turned into cash within one year or used up in the operations of the company within one year. Generally includes cash, accounts receivable, inventory and prepaid expenses.