Business

Investment in PP&E

Investment in PP&E. Dollars spent on property, plant, and equipment. Sometimes called capital investment or capital expenditures.

Income Statement

A financial statement that shows a company's Revenue, Expenses and Net Income. The income statement shows how much profit or loss a company generates over a period of time—a month, a quarter, or a year. The income statement is sometimes referred to as the earnings statement, profit and loss statement, or P&L. The layout is: Revenue - Expenses = Net Income (or Net Profit). It closes out to Retained Earnings after the end of the year.

Contribution Margin Percentage

Contribution Margin divided by Sales (aka Gross Margin Percentage)

Emergency Loan

A loan automatically given in the simulation when a company runs out of cash. In the real world, emergency loans do not exist. When you run out of cash, you have a "Liquidity Crisis," "Chapter 11," or "Bankruptcy" on your hands.

Balance Sheet

A means of summarizing a company's financial position at a specific point in time. The Balance Sheet equation is: Assets = Liabilities + Owners' Equity. The "left side" of the Balance Sheet (Assets) shows what the company owns. The "right-side", or labilities an equity, shows who paid for the assets. The Balance Sheet is considered a "snapshot" of company's current financial position.

Working Capital

A measure of a business's ability to pay its financial obligations, working capital equals the difference between a company's current assets (easily sellable goods, cash, and bank deposits) and its current liabilities (debt due in less than a year, interest payments, etc.). Shortages of working capital are often relieved by short-term loans. It is calcualted as current assets - current liabilites.

Quick Ratio

A measure of a company's assets that can be quickly liquidated and used to pay debts. It is sometimes called the acid-test ratio, because it measures a company's ability to deal instantly with its liabilities. To calculate: (cash + receivables + marketable securities) ÷ current liabilities.

Productivity

A measure of your workforce output

Dividend

A payment (usually occurring quarterly) to the stockholders of a company, as a return on their investment. Dividends reduce retained earnings and are NOT an expense on the income statement.

Net Profit

Net Profit. (See Net Income or Net Earnings)

Accounts Payable

Accounts payable (A/P). Money owed by the company to suppliers, vendors or creditors.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable (A/R). Money owed to the company for goods or services sold. A sale has occurred, but the company has not received the cash yet.

Amortization Expense

Amortization Expense. The expense of intangible asset (copyrights, trademarks, etc.) over time.

Accrual-basis Accounting

An accounting method whereby income and expenses are booked when they are incurred, regardless of when they are actually received or paid. Revenues are recognized during the period in which the sales activity occurred; expenses are recognized in the same period as their associated revenues.

Cash-basis Accounting

An accounting process that records transactions when cash actually changes hands. This practice is less conservative than accrual accounting when it comes to expense recognition, but sometimes more conservative when it comes to revenue recognition.

Retained Earnings

An accumulation of annual net income left after payments of dividends reported on a company's balance sheet. Basis computation is: Previous year's Retained Earnings + Net Profit - Dividends = Ending Retained Earnings.

Asset Turnover

Asset Turnover. Sales (within a given year) ÷ Total Assets. A measure of how efficiently a company uses its assets. The higher the number, the better.

Fixed Assets

Tangible Assets that are difficult to convert to cash—for example, buildings, and equipment. Sometimes called plant assets or PP&E for property, plant and equipment..

Banker's Ratio

Banker's ratio. See current ratio.

Capital Expenditure

Capital expenditure or capital investment. The payment required to acquire or improve a capital asset (Fixed Asset).

Free Cash Flow

Cash Flow from Operations - Capital Expenditures

Equity

Comprised mainly of Common Stock and Retained Earnings (shown on the right side of the Balance Sheet). Represents how much of company assets were paid for by owners or shareholders. On a balance sheet, equity is referred to as shareholders' equity or owner's equity.

Net Margin

Contribution Margin (Revenue - COGS) less Period Costs (aka Fixed Costs). In other words: revenue - variable costs - fixed costs = Net Margin

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of Goods Sold or (COGS). Expenses that are tied to the sale of each unit, primarily direct labor and materials costs. See Variable Costs

Period Costs

Costs that are not tied directly to the cost of producing a unit. Examples include administration, salespeople, managers, and depreciation. These costs are also known as fixed costs.

Working Capital

Current Assets minus Current Liabilities

Current Ratio

Current Assets ÷ Current Liabilities. This is a prime measure of how solvent a company is. It's so popular with lenders that it's sometimes called the banker's ratio. Generally speaking, the higher the ratio, the better financial condition a company is in.

Market Capitalization

Current stock price × number of shares outstanding

Dividend Yield

Dividend per share ÷ Stock Price

EBITDA

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization

EBIT

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). See operating profit.

EPS

Earnings per share (EPS). One of the most commonly watched indicators of a company's financial performance, it equals net income divided by the number of shares outstanding. When EPS falls, it usually takes the stock's price down with it.

Variable Costs

Expenses that are tied to the sale of each unit, primarily direct labor and materials costs (aka Cost of Goods Sold)

GAAP

Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The rules and conventions that accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions and preparing financial statements.

Gross Margin

Gross Margin. Percentage See Contribution Margin Percentage

Gross Profit

Gross profit. See Contribution Margin (revenue - costs of goods sold).

Liabilities

Liabilities include Accounts Payable, Current Debt and Notes Payable (shown on the right side of the Balance Sheet). Represents how much of company assets were paid for by bankers, bond holders, or other creditors.

Net Earnings

Net Earnings (See Net Income)

Net Income

Net income (or Loss). The income (or loss) of an organization after deducting the expenses, including interest and taxes, incurred in earning that income. It is usually the last amount on the Income Statement.

ROA

Return on Assets: Net Income ÷ Total Assets. Expressed as a percentage, ROA is a quantitative description of how well a company has invested in its assets. To calculate it, divide the net income for a given time period by the total assets. The larger the ROA, the better a company is performing.

Owner's Equity

Owner's equity. See equity.

Price-Earnings Ratio

Price Earnings Ratio (P/E) Current stock price ÷ EPS

Promotion

Promotion (aka Promo Budget) The process of creating product awareness before customers shop (driven by the Promo Budget in the simulation)

PP&E

Property, plant, and equipment (PP&E). A line item on a balance sheet that lists the book value of a business's land, buildings, machinery, equipment, and natural resources that are used for the purpose of producing products or providing services.

Financial Statements

Reports of a company's financial performance. The three basic types of statements included in an annual report are: the Income Statement, the Balance Sheet, and the Cash Flow Statement. These statements provide different financial perspectives on a company's performance.

ROE

Return on Equity: Net Income ÷ Total Equity. This measure shows the return on the portion of the company's financing that is provided by owners. It answers the question, "How profitable have management's efforts been?". To calculate ROE, divide the total income by total owners' equity.

ROI

Return on investment). A financial ratio measuring the cash return from an investment relative to its cost. It is calculated as: (increase in investment - cost of investment) / cost of investment.

ROS

Return on sales: Net Income ÷ Total Sales. Also known as profit margin, ROS is a way to measure a company's operational efficiency—how its sales translate into profit.

SWOT

SWOT analyses. An analysis of a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Contribution Margin

Sales less variable costs (aka Gross Profit)

Sales

Sales. Dollar amount given in exchange for product (aka Revenue, Top Line)

Shareholder's Equity

Shareholders' equity. See equity.

Cash Flow Statement

Shows a company's sources and uses of cash as well as the net change in cash for a company in a given period. It's categories are cash from (1) operating activities, (2) investing activities and (3) financing activities. It shows the flow of cash in, through, and out of the company.

Acid Test Ratio

The acid test ratio is calcualted as (cash + receivables + marketable securities) / current liabilities. See quick ratio.

Revenue

The amount recognized on the sale of a product or service. (aka Sales)

Forecasting

The art and science of predicting demand such that you supply adequate products to satisfy demand and yet not accumulate excess inventory.

Depreciation Expense

The decrease in value of a Fixed or Tangible Assets over time or use. (CapSim uses 15 year straight-line depreciation with no salvage value.) It is calcuated as: (Cost - Salvage Value) ÷ Life

Assets

The economic resources of a company. Assets are listed on the Balance Sheet and commonly include cash, accounts receivable, notes receivable, inventories, land, buildings, machinery, equipment, and other investments.

Placement

The process of making the product accessible in a way which is convenient for consumers. (driven by the Sales Budget in the simulation)

Sales Budget

The sales budget drives accessibility, which governs everything during and after the sale.

Cumulative Profits

The sum of all company profits over multiple periods.

Cumulative Free Cash Flow

The sum of all the Free Cash Flows since you took over management of the company

Inventory

The supplies of the company that are or will become its product. Examples include raw materials, work-in-progress, the merchandise in a shop, and the finished goods in a warehouse.

Breakeven

The volume level at which the total contribution from a product line or investment equals total fixed costs. To calculate the breakeven volume, subtract the variable cost per unit from the selling price to determine the unit contribution, and then divide the total fixed costs by the unit contribution.

Book Value & Book Value per Share

This term can be used in various ways. In the simulation, Book Value sometimes refers to Book Value per Share, which is Total Equity divided by number of shares outstanding. Sometimes Book Value is stated as Total Equity. Furthermore, the book value of an assets is the value at which an asset is carried on a balance sheet (historical cost less accumulated depreciation).

Leverage.

Total Assets ÷ Total Equity. Leverage provides insights into a company's Financial Structure. It is a measure of risk for investors and creditors. Investors tend to like high leverage, while creditors tend to like low leverage. For the simulation the ideal range for leverage is greater than 1.8 and less than 2.8.

Days of Working Capital

Working Capital divided by daily sales: (Current Assets - Current Liabilites) ÷ (Sales / 365) or may be presented as (Current Assets - Current Liabilites) X 365 ÷ Sales.

Financial Structure

Your company's relationship between Debt and Equity (or how your company pays for its assets). See Leverage.