Definition of Accumulated Benefit Obligation (ABO)

Accumulated Benefit Obligation (ABO)

An approximate measure of the liability of a plan in the event of a
termination at the date the calculation is performed. Related: projected benefit obligation.

Accidental Death Benefit (ADB)

Coverage against accidental death usually payable in addition to base amount of coverage.

Accumulated depreciation

A contra-fixed asset account representing the portion of the cost of a fixed asset that has been previously charged to expense. Each fixed asset account will have its own associated accumulated depreciation account.

accumulated depreciation

A contra, or offset, account that is coupled
with the property, plant, and equipment asset account in which the original
costs of the long-term operating assets of a business are recorded.
The accumulated depreciation contra account accumulates the amount of
depreciation expense that is recorded period by period. So the balance in
this account is the cumulative amount of depreciation that has been
recorded since the assets were acquired. The balance in the accumulated
depreciation account is deducted from the original cost of the assets
recorded in the property, plant, and equipment asset account. The
remainder, called the book value of the assets, is the amount included on
the asset side of a business.

Accumulated depreciation

The sum total of all deprecation expense recognized to date
on a depreciable fixed asset.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

Cumulative gains or losses reported in shareholders'
equity that arise from changes in the fair value of available-for-sale securities, from the
effects of changes in foreign-currency exchange rates on consolidated foreign-currency financial
statements, certain gains and losses on financial derivatives, and from adjustments for underfunded
pension plans.

Accumulated Value

An amount of money invested plus the interest earned on that money.

Allocation base A measure of activity or volume such as labour

hours, machine hours or volume of production
used to apportion overheads to products and
services.

Automatic Benefits Payment

Automatic payment of moneys derived from a benefit.

Benefit

An instruction that pays a cash amount upon the occurrence of a specific event.

Benefit Ratio Method

The proportion of unemployment benefits paid to a company’s
former employees during the measurement period, divided by the total
payroll during the period. This calculation is used by states to determine the unemployment
contribution rate to charge employers.

Benefit Value

The amount of cash payable on a benefit.

Benefit Wage Ratio Method

The proportion of total taxable wages for laid off
employees during the measurement period divided by the total payroll during
the period. This calculation is used by states to determine the unemployment
contribution rate to charge employers.

benefits-provided ranking

a listing of service departments in an order that begins with the one providing the most service
to all other corporate areas; the ranking ends with the
service department providing service primarily to revenueproducing
areas

cafeteria plan a “menu” of fringe benefit options that include

cash or nontaxable benefits

Collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO)

A security backed by a pool of pass-throughs , structured so that
there are several classes of bondholders with varying maturities, called tranches. The principal payments from
the underlying pool of pass-through securities are used to retire the bonds on a priority basis as specified in
the prospectus.
Related: mortgage pass-through security

Cost-Benefit Analysis

The calculation and comparison of the costs and benefits of a policy or project.

cost-benefit analysis the analytical process of comparing the

relative costs and benefits that result from a specific course
of action (such as providing information or investing in a
project)

Cost-benefit ratio

The net present value of an investment divided by the investment's initial cost. Also called
the profitability index.

Death Benefit

Amount paid on death of an insured.

Defined benefit plan

A pension plan in which the sponsor agrees to make specified dollar payments to
qualifying employees. The pension obligations are effectively the debt obligation of the plan sponsor.
Related: defined contribution plan

Defined Benefit Plan

A pension plan that pays out a predetermined dollar
amount to participants, based on a set of rules that typically combine the number
of years of employment and wages paid over the time period when each
employee worked for the company.

direct labor

the time spent by individuals who work specifically
on manufacturing a product or performing a service;
the cost of such time

Direct labor

Labor that is specifically incurred to create a product.

Equivalent annual benefit

The equivalent annual annuity for the net present value of an investment project.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

A federal Act creating standards of overtime
pay, minimum wages, and payroll recordkeeping.

Fixed-dollar obligations

Conventional bonds for which the coupon rate is set as a fixed percentage of the par value.

Flat benefit formula

Method used to determine a participant's benefits in a defined benefit plan by
multiplying months of service by a flat monthly benefit.

Full faith-and-credit obligations

The security pledges for larger municipal bond issuers, such as states and
large cities which have diverse funding sources.

General obligation bonds

Municipal securities secured by the issuer's pledge of its full faith, credit, and
taxing power.

Incremental costs and benefits

Costs and benefits that would occur if a particular course of action were
taken compared to those that would occur if that course of action were not taken.

Indirect labor

The cost of any labor that supports the production process, but which is
not directly involved in the active conversion of materials into finished products.

labor efficiency variance

the number of hours actually worked minus the standard hours allowed for the production
achieved multiplied by the standard rate to establish
a value for efficiency (favorable) or inefficiency (unfavorable)
of the work force

Labor efficiency variance

The difference between the amount of time that was budgeted
to be used by the direct labor staff and the amount actually used, multiplied
by the standard labor rate per hour.

Labor Force

Those people employed plus those actively seeking work.

Labor Hoarding

Not laying off redundant workers during a recession to ensure that skilled and experienced workers are available after the recession.

labor mix variance

(actual mix X actual hours X standard rate) - (standard mix X actual hours X standard rate);
it presents the financial effect associated with changing the
proportionate amount of higher or lower paid workers in production

labor rate variance

the actual rate (or actual weighted average rate) paid to labor for the period minus the standard rate multiplied by all hours actually worked during the period;
it is actual labor cost minus (actual hours X standard rate)

Labor rate variance

The difference between the actual and standard direct labor rates
actually paid to the direct labor staff, multiplied by the number of actual hours
worked.

labor yield variance

(standard mix X actual hours X standard rate) - (standard mix X standard hours X standard rate);
it shows the monetary impact of using more or fewer total hours than the standard allowed

Labour oncost

The non-salary or wage costs that follow from the payment of salaries or wages, e.g. National
Insurance and pension contributions.

Labour-Sponsored Venture Funds

Venture capital corporations established by labour unions. They function as other venture capital corporations but are subject to government regulation.

Limited-tax general obligation bond

A general obligation bond that is limited as to revenue sources.

Living Benefit

Some insurance companies include this benefit option at no cost to their policy holders. The insurer considers on a case to case basis, the need for insurance funds before death. If the insured can demonstrate a shortened life of less than two years and with some insurers one year, the insurer will consider releasing up to 50% or a maximum of $100,000 of the life insurance coverage held by the insured. Not all insurers offer this benefit for free. The need has resulted in specific stand alone living benefit/critical illness policies coming into existence. Look under "Different types of Life Insurance" for further information. You might have heard of "Viatical Settlements", the practice of seriously ill people selling the rights to their life insurance policies to third parties. This practice is common in the United States but has not caught on in Canada.

Net benefit to leverage factor

A linear approximation of a factor, T*, that enables one to operationalize the
total impact of leverage on firm value in the capital market imperfections view of capital structure.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

A federal agency that insures the vested benefits of
pension plan participants (established in 1974 by the ERISA legislation).

Target Benefit Plan

A defined benefit plan under which the employer makes
annual contributions into the plan based on the actuarial assumption at that time
regarding the amount of funding needed to achieve a targeted benefit level.

tax benefit (of depreciation)

the amount of depreciation deductible for tax purposes multiplied by the tax rate;
the reduction in taxes caused by the deductibility of depreciation

Unit benefit formula

Method used to determine a participant's benefits in a defined benefit plan by
multiplying years of service by the percentage of salary.

Workers' Compensation Benefits

Employer-paid insurance that provides their employees with wage compensation if they are injured on the job.

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