Definition of Autocorrelation

Autocorrelation

The correlation of a variable with itself over successive time intervals.

Accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS)

Schedule of depreciation rates allowed for tax purposes.

Accounts receivable turnover

The ratio of net credit sales to average accounts receivable, a measure of how
quickly customers pay their bills.

accounts receivable turnover ratio

A ratio computed by dividing annual
sales revenue by the year-end balance of accounts receivable. Technically
speaking, to calculate this ratio the amount of annual credit sales should
be divided by the average accounts receivable balance, but this information
is not readily available from external financial statements. For
reporting internally to managers, this ratio should be refined and finetuned
to be as accurate as possible.

applied overhead

the amount of overhead that has been assigned to Work in Process Inventory as a result of productive activity; credits for this amount are to an overhead account

Asset Coverage

Extent to which a company's net assets cover a particular debt obligation, class of preferred stock, or equity position.

Asset-coverage test

A bond indenture restriction that permits additional borrowing on if the ratio of assets to
debt does not fall below a specified minimum.

Asset turnover

The ratio of net sales to total assets.

asset turnover

a ratio measuring asset productivity and showing the number of sales dollars generated by each dollar of assets

asset turnover ratio

A broad-gauge ratio computed by dividing annual
sales revenue by total assets. It is a rough measure of the sales-generating
power of assets. The idea is that assets are used to make sales, and the
sales should lead to profit. The ultimate test is not sales revenue on
assets, but the profit earned on assets as measured by the return on
assets (ROA) ratio.

Bank overdraft

Money owed to the bank in a cheque account where payments exceed receipts.

Break-even time

Related: Premium payback period.

capital recovery

Refers to recouping, or regaining, invested capital over
the life of an investment. The pattern of period-by-period capital recovery
is very important. In brief, capital recovery is the return of capital—
not the return on capital, which refers to the rate of earnings on the
amount of capital invested during the period. The returns from an
investment have to be sufficient to provide for both recovery of capital
and an adequate rate of earnings on unrecovered capital period by
period. Sorting out how much capital is recovered each period is relatively
easy if you use a spreadsheet model for capital investment analysis.
In contrast, using a mathematical method of analysis does not
provide this period-by-period capital recovery information, which is a
major disadvantage.

Cash flow coverage ratio

The number of times that financial obligations (for interest, principal payments,
preferred stock dividends, and rental payments) are covered by earnings before interest, taxes, rental
payments, and depreciation.

Cash flow time-line

Line depicting the operating activities and cash flows for a firm over a particular period.

Cash Turnover

The number of cash cycles completed in one year.

coefficient of correlation

a measure of dispersion that indicates the degree of relative association existing between two variables

Continuous random variable

A random value that can take any fractional value within specified ranges, as
contrasted with a discrete variable.

Correlation

See: correlation coefficient.

Correlation

The simultaneous change in value of two random numeric variables.

correlation analysis

an analytical technique that uses statistical
measures of dispersion to reveal the strength of the
relationship between variables

Correlation coefficient

A standardized statistical measure of the dependence of two random variables,
defined as the covariance divided by the standard deviations of two variables.

Correlation Coefficient

A measure of the tendency of two variables to change values
together

Correlation coefficient

A statistic in which the covariance is scaled to a
value between minus one (perfect negative correlation) and plus one (perfect
positive correlation).

Cover

The purchase of a contract to offset a previously established short position.

Coverage ratios

Ratios used to test the adequacy of cash flows generated through earnings for purposes of
meeting debt and lease obligations, including the interest coverage ratio and the fixed charge coverage ratio.

Coverdell Education IRA

A form of individual retirement account whose earnings
during the period when funds are stored in the IRA will be tax free at the
time when they are used to pay for the cost of advanced education.

Covered call

A short call option position in which the writer owns the number of shares of the underlying
stock represented by the option contracts. Covered calls generally limit the risk the writer takes because the
stock does not have to be bought at the market price, if the holder of that option decides to exercise it.

Covered call writing strategy

A strategy that involves writing a call option on securities that the investor
owns in his or her portfolio. See covered or hedge option strategies.

Covered interest arbitrage

A portfolio manager invests dollars in an instrument denominated in a foreign
currency and hedges his resulting foreign exchange risk by selling the proceeds of the investment forward for
dollars.

Covered or hedge option strategies

Strategies that involve a position in an option as well as a position in the
underlying stock, designed so that one position will help offset any unfavorable price movement in the other,
including covered call writing and protective put buying. Related: naked strategies

Covered Put

A put option position in which the option writer also is short the corresponding stock or has
deposited, in a cash account, cash or cash equivalents equal to the exercise of the option. This limits the
option writer's risk because money or stock is already set aside. In the event that the holder of the put option
decides to exercise the option, the writer's risk is more limited than it would be on an uncovered or naked put
option.

Crossover rate

The return at which two alternative projects have the same net present value.

cycle time

the time between the placement of an order to
the time the goods arrive for usage or are produced by
the company; it is equal to value-added time plus nonvalue-
added time

Debt-service coverage ratio

Earnings before interest and income taxes plus one-third rental charges, divided
by interest expense plus one-third rental charges plus the quantity of principal repayments divided by one
minus the tax rate.

decision variable

an unknown item for which a linear programming
problem is being solved

dependent variable

an unknown variable that is to be predicted
using one or more independent variables

Discrete random variable

A random variable that can take only a certain specified set of discrete possible
values - for example, the positive integers 1, 2, 3, . . .

Doctrine of sovereign immunity

Doctrine that says a nation may not be tried in the courts of another country
without its consent.

employee time sheet

a source document that indicates, for each employee, what jobs were worked on during the day and for what amount of time

Endogenous variable

A value determined within the context of a model.

Exogenous variable

A variable whose value is determined outside the model in which it is used. Also called
a parameter.

Factory overhead

All the costs incurred during the manufacturing process, minus the
costs of direct labor and materials.

First To Die Coverage

This means that there are two or more life insured on the same policy but the death benefit is paid out on the first death only. If two or more persons at the same address are purchasing life insurance at the same time, it is wise to compare the cost of this kind of coverage with individual policies having a multiple policy discount.

Fixed asset turnover ratio

The ratio of sales to fixed assets.

Fixed Assets Turnover Ratio

A measure of the utilization of a company's fixed assets to
generate sales. It is calculated by dividing the sales for the period
by the book value of the net fixed assets.

Fixed-charge coverage ratio

A measure of a firm's ability to meet its fixed-charge obligations: the ratio of
(net earnings before taxes plus interest charges paid plus long-term lease payments) to (interest charges paid
plus long-term lease payments).

Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio

A measure of how well a company is able to meet its fixed
charges (interest and lease payments) based on the cash
generated by its operations. It is calculated by dividing the
earnings before interest and taxes by the total interest charges
and lease payments incurred by the firm.

Fixed overhead

That portion of total overhead costs which remains constant in size
irrespective of changes in activity within a certain range.

fixed overhead spending variance

the difference between the total actual fixed overhead and budgeted fixed overhead;
it is computed as part of the four-variance overhead analysis

fixed overhead volume variance

see volume variance

Forward cover

Purchase or sale of forward foreign currency in order to offset a known future cash flow.

Government bond

See: Government securities.

Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae)

A wholly owned U.S. government corporation
within the Department of Housing & Urban Development. Ginnie Mae guarantees the timely payment of
principal and interest on securities issued by approved servicers that are collateralized by FHA-issued, VAguaranteed,
or Farmers Home Administration (FmHA)-guaranteed mortgages.

Government securities

Negotiable U.S. Treasury securities.

Government sponsored enterprises

Privately owned, publicly chartered entities, such as the Student Loan
Marketing Association, created by Congress to reduce the cost of capital for certain borrowing sectors of the
economy including farmers, homeowners, and students.

idle time

the amount of time spent in storing inventory or
waiting at a production operation for processing

independent variable

a variable that, when changed, will
cause consistent, observable changes in another variable;
a variable used as the basis of predicting the value of a
dependent variable

inspection time

the time taken to perform quality control activities

Interest coverage ratio

The ratio of the earnings before interest and taxes to the annual interest expense. This
ratio measures a firm's ability to pay interest.

Interest coverage test

A debt limitation that prohibits the issuance of additional long-term debt if the issuer's
interest coverage would, as a result of the issue, fall below some specified minimum.

Inventory turnover

The ratio of annual sales to average inventory which measures the speed that inventory
is produced and sold. Low turnover is an unhealthy sign, indicating excess stocks and/or poor sales.

INVENTORY TURNOVER

The number of times a company sold out and replaced its average stock of goods in a year. The formula is:
(Cost of goods sold) / (Average inventory (beginning inventory + ending)/2 )

Inventory turnover

The number of times per year that an entire inventory or a
subset thereof is used.

Inventory Turnover

Ratio of annual sales to inventory, which shows how many times the inventory of a firm is sold and replaced during an accounting period.

inventory turnover ratio

The cost-of-goods-sold expense for a given
period (usually one year) divided by the cost of inventories. The ratio
depends on how long products are held in stock on average before they
are sold. Managers should closely monitor this ratio.

Inventory Turnover Ratio

Provides a measure of how often a company's inventory is sold or
"turned over" during a period. It is calculated by dividing the sales
figure for the period by the book value of the inventory at the end of
the period.

Just-in-time inventory systems

Systems that schedule materials/inventory to arrive exactly as they are
needed in the production process.

just-in-time (JIT)

a philosophy about when to do something;
the when is “as needed” and the something is a production,
purchasing, or delivery activity

Just-in-time (JIT)

A cluster of manufacturing, design, and delivery practices designed to
continually reduce all types of waste, thereby improving production efficiency.

Just-in-time manufacturing

The term for several manufacturing innovations that
result in a “pull” method of production, in which each manufacturing workstation
creates just enough product for the immediate needs of the next workstation in the
production process.

just-in-time manufacturing system

a production system that attempts to acquire components and produce inventory only as needed, to minimize product defects, and to
reduce lead/setup times for acquisition and production

just-in-time training

a system that maps the skill sets employees
need and delivers the training they need just as they need it

key variable

a critical factor that management believes will
be a direct cause of the achievement or nonachievement
of the organizational goals and objectives

Last To Die Coverage

This means that there are two or more life insured on the same policy but the death benefit is paid out on the last person to die. The cost of this type of coverage is much less than a first to die policy and it is generally used to protect estate value for children where there might be substantial capital gains taxes due upon the death of the last parent. This kind of policy is also valuable when one of two people covered has health problems which would prohibit obtaining individual coverage.

lead time

see cycle time

MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System)

A depreciation method created by the IRS under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Companies must use it to depreciate all plant and equipment assets installed after December 31, 1986 (for tax purposes).

Market overhang

The theory that in certain situations, institutions wish to sell their shares but postpone the
share sales because large orders under current market conditions would drive down the share price and that
the consequent threat of securities sales will tend to retard the rate of share price appreciation. Support for this
theory is largely anecdotal.

Market timer

A money manager who assumes he or she can forecast when the stock market will go up and down.

Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS)

Depreciation method that allows higher tax deductions in early years and lower deductions later.

Non-production overhead

A general term referring to period costs, such as selling, administration and financial expenses.

Normal random variable

A random variable that has a normal probability distribution.

Over-the-counter market (OTC)

A decentralized market (as opposed to an exchange market) where
geographically dispersed dealers are linked together by telephones and computer screens. The market is for
securities not listed on a stock or bond exchange. The NASDAQ market is an OTC market for U.S. stocks.

over-the-counter (OTC)

Shares traded off an organized exchange.
Also used to refer to the Nasdaq market.

overapplied overhead

a credit balance in the overhead account
at the end of a period; when the applied overhead
amount is greater than the actual overhead that was incurred

Overbought/oversold indicator

An indicator that attempts to define when prices have moved too far and too
fast in either direction and thus are vulnerable to reaction.

Overdraft

The amount by which a check or other payments exceeds the funds on deposits.

Overdraft Protection

Is an agreement with the Bank or Financial Institution to cover overdrafts. This service will typically involve a fee and be limited to a pre-set maximum amount.

overdraft protection

A short-term source of credit which allows you to overdraw on your account up to a pre-established limit. For example, overdraft protection spares customers both the cost and the personal embarrassment of NSF cheques. overdraft protection is attached to your PCF Chequing Account.

Overdraft System

System whereby a depositor may write cheques in excess of the balance, with the bank automatically extending a loan to cover the shortage.

Overfunded pension plan

A pension plan that has a positive surplus (i.e., assets exceed liabilities).

Overhead

Any cost other than a direct cost – may refer to an indirect production cost and/or to a non-production expense.

overhead

any factory or production cost that is indirect to
the product or service; it does not include direct material
or direct labor; any production cost that cannot be directly
traced to the product

Overhead allocation

The process of spreading production overhead equitably over the volume of production of goods or services.

overhead application rate

see predetermined overhead rate

overhead costs

overhead generally refers to indirect, in contrast to direct,
costs. Indirect means that a cost cannot be matched or coupled in any
obvious or objective manner with particular products, specific revenue
sources, or a particular organizational unit. Manufacturing overhead
costs are the indirect costs in making products, which are in addition to
the direct costs of raw materials and labor. Manufacturing overhead
costs include both variable costs (electricity, gas, water, etc.), which vary
with total production output, and fixed costs, which do not vary with
increases or decreases in actual production output.

overhead efficiency variance

the difference between total budgeted overhead at actual hours and total budgeted
overhead at standard hours allowed for the production
achieved; it is computed as part of a three-variance analysis;
it is the same as variable overhead efficiency variance

Overhead rate

The rate (often expressed per hour) applied to the time taken to produce a product/service, used to allocate production overheads to particular products/services based on the time taken. May be calculated on a business-wide or cost centre basis.

overhead spending variance

the difference between total actual overhead and total budgeted overhead at actual
hours; it is computed as part of three-variance analysis; it
is equal to the sum of the variable and fixed overhead
spending variances

Overlay strategy

A strategy of using futures for asset allocation by pension sponsors to avoid disrupting the
activities of money managers.

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