Definition of flexible manufacturing system (FMS)

flexible manufacturing system (FMS)

a production system in which a single factory manufactures numerous variations
of products through the use of computer-controlled
robots
focused factory arrangement
an arrangement in which a
vendor (which may be an external party or an internal corporate
division) agrees to provide a limited number of
products according to specifications or to perform a limited
number of unique services to a company that is typically
operating on a just-in-time system

Accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS)

Schedule of depreciation rates allowed for tax purposes.

Clearing House Automated Payments System (CHAPS)

A computerized clearing system for sterling funds
that began operations in 1984. It includes 14 member banks, nearly 450 participating banks, and is one of the
clearing companies within the structure of the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS).

Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS)

An international wire transfer system for high-value
payments operated by a group of major banks.

Dupont system of financial control

Highlights the fact that return on assets (ROA) can be expressed in terms
of the profit margin and asset turnover.

European Monetary System (EMS)

An exchange arrangement formed in 1979 that involves the currencies
of European Union member countries.

Federal Reserve System

The central bank of the U.S., established in 1913, and governed by the Federal
Reserve Board located in Washington, D.C. The system includes 12 Federal Reserve Banks and is authorized
to regulate monetary policy in the U.S. as well as to supervise Federal Reserve member banks, bank holding
companies, international operations of U.S.banks, and U.S.operations of foreign banks.

Imputation tax system

Arrangement by which investors who receive a dividend also receive a tax credit for
corporate taxes that the firm has paid.

Just-in-time inventory systems

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

Multirule system

A technical trading strategy that combines mechanical rules, such as the CRISMA
(cumulative volume, relative strength, moving average) Trading system of Pruitt and White.

Nonsystematic risk

Nonmarket or firm-specific risk factors that can be eliminated by diversification. Also
called unique risk or diversifiable risk. systematic risk refers to risk factors common to the entire economy.

Progressive tax system

A tax system wherein the average tax rate increases for some increases in income but
never decreases with an increase in income.

Split-rate tax system

A tax system that taxes retained earnings at a higher rate than earnings that are
distributed as dividends.

Systematic

Common to all businesses.

Systematic risk

Also called undiversifiable risk or market risk, the minimum level of risk that can be
obtained for a portfolio by means of diversification across a large number of randomly chosen assets. Related:
unsystematic risk.

Systematic risk principle

Only the systematic portion of risk matters in large, well-diversified portfolios.
The, expected returns must be related only to systematic risks.

Two-tier tax system

A method of taxation in which the income going to shareholders is taxed twice.

Unsystematic risk

Also called the diversifiable risk or residual risk. The risk that is unique to a company
such as a strike, the outcome of unfavorable litigation, or a natural catastrophe that can be eliminated through diversification.
Related: systematic risk

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).

Accounting system

A set of accounts that summarize the transactions of a business that have been recorded on source documents.

Flexible budget

A method of budgetary control that flexes, i.e. adjusts the original budget by applying standard
prices and costs per unit to the actual production volume.

Planning, programming and budgeting system (PPBS)

A method of budgeting in which budgets are allocated to projects or programmes rather than to responsibility centres.

Periodic inventory system

An inventory system in which the balance in the Inventory account is adjusted for the units sold only at the end of the period.

Perpetual inventory system

An inventory system in which the balance in the Inventory account is adjusted for the units sold each time a sale is made.

Systematic Risk

The amount of total risk that cannot be eliminated by portfolio
diversification. The risk inherent in the general economy as a
whole. Also known as market risk.

Unsystematic Risk

The amount of total risk that can be eliminated by diversification by
creating a portfolio. Also known as asset-specific risk or
company-specific risk.

actual cost system

a valuation method that uses actual direct
material, direct labor, and overhead charges in determining
the cost of Work in Process Inventory

business intelligence (BI) system

a formal process for gathering and analyzing information and producing intelligence to meet decision making needs; requires information about
internal processes as well as knowledge, technologies, and competitors

charge-back system

a system using transfer prices; see transfer
price

computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)

the use of computers to control production processes through numerically
controlled (NC) machines, robots, and automated assembly systems

computer integrated manufacturing (CIM)

the integration of two or more flexible manufacturing systems through the use of a host computer and an information networking system

cost control system

a logical structure of formal and/or informal
activities designed to analyze and evaluate how well
expenditures are managed during a period

cost management system (CMS)

a set of formal methods
developed for planning and controlling an organization’s
cost-generating activities relative to its goals and objectives
cost object anything to which costs attach or are related

enterprise resource planning (ERP) system

a packaged software program that allows a company to
(1) automate and integrate the majority of its business processes,
(2) share common data and practices across the entire enterprise, and
(3) produce and access information in a realtime environment

flexible budget

a presentation of multiple budgets that
show costs according to their behavior at different levels
of activity

hybrid costing system

a costing system combining characteristics
of both job order and process costing systems

job order costing system

a system of product costing used
by an entity that provides limited quantities of products or
services unique to a customer’s needs; focus of recordkeeping
is on individual jobs

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

management control system (MCS)

an information system that helps managers gather information about actual organizational occurrences, make comparisons against plans,
effect changes when they are necessary, and communicate
among appropriate parties; it should serve to guide organizations
in designing and implementing strategies so that
organizational goals and objectives are achieved

management information system (MIS)

a structure of interrelated elements that collects, organizes, and communicates
data to managers so they may plan, control, evaluate
performance, and make decisions; the emphasis of the
MIS is on internal demands for information rather than external
demands; some or all of the MIS may be computerized
for ease of access to information, reliability of input
and processing, and ability to simulate outcomes of
alternative situations

manufacturing cell

a linear or U-shaped production grouping of workers or machines

manufacturing cycle efficiency (MCE)

a ratio resulting from dividing the actual production time by total lead time;
reflects the proportion of lead time that is value-added

manufacturing resource planning (MRP II)

a fully integrated materials requirement planning system that involves
top management and provides a basis for both strategic
and tactical planning

normal cost system

a valuation method that uses actual
costs of direct material and direct labor in conjunction with
a predetermined overhead rate or rates in determining the
cost of Work in Process Inventory

performance management system

a system reflecting the entire package of decisions regarding performance measurement and evaluation

process costing system

a method of accumulating and assigning costs to units of production in companies producing large quantities of homogeneous products;
it accumulates costs by cost component in each production department and assigns costs to units using equivalent units of production

pull system

a production system dictated by product sales
and demand; a system in which parts are delivered or produced
only as they are needed by the work center for which
they are intended; it requires only minimal storage facilities

push system

the traditional production system in which
work centers may produce inventory that is not currently
needed because of lead time or economic production/
order requirements; it requires that excess inventory be
stored until needed

red-line system

an inventory ordering system in which a red
line is painted on the inventory container at a point deemed
to be the reorder point

responsibility accounting system

an accounting information system for successively higher-level managers about the performance of segments or subunits under the control
of each specific manager

standard cost system

a valuation method that uses predetermined
norms for direct material, direct labor, and overhead
to assign costs to the various inventory accounts and
Cost of Goods Sold

two-bin system

an inventory ordering system in which two
containers (or stacks) of raw materials or parts are available
for use; when one container is depleted, the removal
of materials from the second container begins and a purchase
order is placed to refill the first container

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.

Manufacturing resource planning (MRP II)

An expansion of the material requirements planning concept, with additional computer-based capabilities in the areas of
direct labor and machine capacity planning.

Du Pont system

A breakdown of ROE and ROA into component ratios.

lock-box system

system whereby customers send payments to a post office box and a local bank collects and processes checks.

Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS)

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

Federal Reserve System

The central banking authority responsible for monetary policy in the United States.

Flexible Exchange Rate

An exchange rate whose value is determined by the forces of supply and demand on the foreign exchange market.

Price System

See market mechanism.

Electronic Federal Tax Payment Systems (EFTPS)

An electronic funds transfer system used by businesses to remit taxes to the government.

Flexible Spending Account

A form of cafeteria plan allowing employees to pay
for some medical or dependent care expenses with pretax pay deductions.

Automated storage/retrieval system

A racking system using automated systems
to load and unload the racks.

Enterprise resource planning system

A computer system used to manage all company
resources in the receipt, completion, and delivery of customer orders.

Manufacturing resource planning

An integrated, computerized system for planning
all manufacturing resources.

Pull system

A materials flow concept in which parts are only withdrawn after a
request is made by the using operation for more parts.

Push system

A materials flow concept in which parts are issued based on planned
material requirements.

Two-bin system

A system in which parts are reordered when their supply in one
storage bin is exhausted, requiring usage from a backup bin until the replenishment
arrives.

Visual review system

Inventory reordering based on a visual inspection of on-hand
quantities.

Flexible Term

Optional periods of time which the conditions of a contract will be carried out.

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.

Interac system

Canada's bank machine and electronic debit system. If you use your bank card at a bank machine which displays the Interac symbol (and that bank machine is not your bank's machine), you will be charged a fee.

PLUS system

A bank machine network outside Canada, across the U.S. and internationally. Customers who use a bank machine with a 'PLUS' symbol may be charged a fee.

systematic withdrawal plan

Plans offered by mutual fund companies that allow unitholders to receive payment from their investment at regular intervals.

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