Damages Damages is the name for money awarded by a court as compensation.
Data Protection Act 1984 This act sets out the rules which an organisation has to follow when they store personal information about people.
De facto De facto means in fact or in reality.
Debenture This is a document issued by a company which acknowledges that some or all of the company's assets are security for a debt (usually to a bank). It is also a name for certain long-term loans to companies.
Debit A debit is: a payment (such as out of a bank account); the cost of buying goods or services; or an entry on the left-hand side in a double-entry bookkeeping system.
Debit card A debit card is an identity card issued by a bank to a customer which the customer can use to buy goods. The price of the goods is charged to the customer's bank account.
Debt securities These are debts which can be bought and sold, such as debentures.
Debtor This is someone who owes money.
Default If someone defaults, they fail to do something which they had agreed to do.
Deferred taxation This is tax which is expected to be paid at some time in the future but is not due in the short term. Payment has usually been postponed because of tax relief.
Defined contribution pension scheme In this type of pension scheme the amount of the pension which will be paid out depends on how much has been invested and how well the fund has performed.
Dependant A dependant is someone who depends on someone else for financial support.
Deposit account This is a bank account in which money is saved. It normally pays interest on the money invested.
Deposit rate This is the rate of interest customers earn on money they keep in a bank deposit account.
Depreciation Depreciation is the drop in value of an asset due to wear and tear, age and obsolescence (going out of date) as recorded in an organisation's financial records.
Depreciation provision This is money set aside (or provided) in a set of accounts to reflect the drop in value of fixed assets caused by wear and tear, age and obsolescence (going out of date).
Determination Ending an agreement is called determination.
Devise Devise means to leave land in a will.
Direct debit This is a payment out of a bank account which is arranged by the organisation which receives the money.
Directors' report Every year, company directors have to prepare a report for the company's members, to explain what the company has been doing and their plans for the future.
Discretionary trust In this type of trust the trustees can decide who will benefit from the trust and how much they will get.
Disposal This happens when something is sold, transferred or given away.
Distribution If a company pays money (or other assets) to its shareholders, it is making a distribution. When a company pays a dividend it is making a distribution.
Dividend If a company has profits to share out, it can pay a dividend. The shareholders get so much dividend for each share they own.
Dividend warrant When companies pay a dividend they send each shareholder a dividend warrant which gives information about the dividend such as the class of share, the amount of the dividend and the tax credit.
Domicile Your domicile is the country where your permanent home is, even if you are living somewhere else for now.
Domiciled This means permanently based in a country.
Drawee In the case of a cheque, this is the bank that will pay the cheque. (In other words, the bank which will pay the amount written on the cheque.)
Drawer This is the person or organisation which has drawn a cheque.
Duty Duty is a levy charged by the Government, usually when things are bought, such as shares or buildings.
Earnings-related If something, such as a pension contribution, goes up in line with increases in earnings, it is described as earnings-related.
Easement An easement is a right to use someone else's land, such as a right of way.
Effects not cleared (uncleared effects) When cheques have been paid into a bank account, but the money for them has not yet been received from the banks they are drawn on, they are called 'uncleared effects'.
Emoluments These are your earnings and they include benefits in kind (such as company cars).
Employer's liability Employers have to take out insurance cover, called employer's liability insurance, to cover claims by employees against the employer for damage caused to them while they are at work.
Endorsement An endorsement is a change to a contract, such as an insurance policy, so that the original terms are changed.
Endowment policy If you have this type of insurance policy, it will pay out a lump sum on a fixed date in the future, or when you die, if this happens earlier.
Enduring power of attorney If a person is capable of dealing with their own affairs at present, they can sign an enduring power of attorney. It will only come into effect when they are no longer capable of looking after their own affairs. It gives authority to the person appointed to act for the person who signed the power of attorney.
Equitable mortgage When a person takes out this type of mortgage they still own the property which is security for the mortgage. They can occupy or live in the property.
Equity Equity is the value of something (such as a house) less money owing on it.
Eurocheques These are cheques issued by banks in Europe which are used with a eurocheque card.
Exchange control The Bank of England controls the flow of currencies in and out of the UK. It buys and sells our currency in to try and keep the exchange rate with other currencies within certain limits.
Exchange equalisation account This is an account kept by the Bank of England. It holds the United Kingdom's foreign exchange and gold reserves.
Exchange of contract When land is sold, the person selling (seller) and the buyer both sign identical copies of the contract and exchange them. The contract is then binding on both of them.
Exchange rate The exchange rate is the value of one currency compared to another. For example, one pound sterling might buy 300 Portuguese escudos.
Excess This is the amount by which someone has gone over their agreed overdraft facility. It is also the first amount of any claim an insurance policyholder has agreed to pay.
Exclusion If an insurance policy does not provide cover for certain things, it will list them and call them exclusions.
Ex-dividend If a share is sold ex-dividend the seller will receive the dividend declared just before it was sold.
Execute This means to carry out a contract.
Executed If a document is made valid (in the eyes of the law), such as by being signed or sealed, it is executed.
Executor This is a man appointed in a will to deal with the estate, according to the wishes set out in that will.
Executrix This is a female appointed in a will to deal with the estate, according to the wishes set out in the will.
Exempt If something is exempt from tax, no tax can be charged on it unless the law is changed. Zero-rate is not the same as exempt. The tax on something zero-rated is 0% at the moment. However, the Government could change it to another rate, such as 2% or 7%, without having to change the law.
Facility This is the agreed amount that a bank will allow a customer to borrow up to.
Final dividend Once a company has drawn up its annual accounts the directors can work out and declare, or recommend to the shareholders, the amount of the final dividend.
Finance lease Under this type of lease the organisation leasing the goods is treated as if it owns the goods. It gains the profits that would come with ownership but it also suffers the losses.
Financial statement This is a statement which includes the annual accounts, directors' report and so on.
Financial year This is the year covered by a set of annual financial statements.
Fiscal This word is used to describe finances controlled by the Government.
Fixed asset A fixed asset is one which is intended to be used for several years. Examples are buildings, machinery and vehicles.
Fixed interest rate This is an interest rate which does not change during the life of a loan.
Floating charge A floating charge is used to provide security for money lent to a company. The charge is over the company's liquid assets (such as stocks and debtors) but it is only triggered by an event such as liquidation.
Floating exchange rates These are exchange rates between currencies which are allowed to go up and down in line with supply and demand. The countries concerned do not attempt to maintain a particular exchange rate.
Forbearance This is when one party to an agreement does not pursue their rights even though another party to the agreement has not kept to the agreement's terms.
Force majeure This is an event which cannot be controlled and which stops duties, under an agreement, being carried out.
Foreign exchange This is the term for foreign currencies which are bought and sold. The markets for buying and selling the foreign currencies are called foreign exchange markets.
Franked investment income This is a company's investment income which has tax credits relating to it.
Free-standing AVC This stands for free-standing additional voluntary contribution. If someone is in an employer's scheme, which is not contracted out of SERPS, they can contract out themselves and pay into a free-standing additional voluntary contribution scheme (FSAVC).
Fully paid share A share becomes fully paid when the company issuing it has received all the money due for the share.
Fund management charge The managers of funds (such as investment trusts and unit trusts) make charges which are a percentage of the value of the investments they are managing.
|
