Finance

Control Account: Overview and Purpose in Accounting
A comprehensive article detailing the concept of Control Accounts in accounting, which provide summaries of totals from subsidiary ledgers, such as accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Controller or Comptroller: Chief Accountant of a Company
An in-depth look at the roles and responsibilities of a Controller or Comptroller, the chief accountant of a company. This entry explores their duties, significance, and differences in smaller vs. larger companies.
Conventional Mortgage: Residential Mortgage Loan
A detailed description of a conventional mortgage, including its definition, types, special considerations, examples, historical context, applicability, comparisons, related terms, frequently asked questions, and references.
Conversion Parity: Key Concepts and Application
Conversion Parity is a financial term related to convertible securities and refers to the price at which convertible securities (like bonds or preferred shares) can be converted into common stock.
Conversion Price: Key Value in Convertible Securities
The dollar value at which convertible bonds, debentures, or preferred stock can be converted into common stock; typically announced when the convertible security is initially issued.
Conversion Ratio: Key Concept in Convertible Securities
The Conversion Ratio is a critical financial metric determining how many shares of common stock an investor will receive for each convertible bond or preferred share upon conversion.
Convertibles: Corporate Securities That Are Exchangeable
Convertibles are corporate securities, such as preferred shares or bonds, that can be exchanged for a set number of another form, usually common shares, at a pre-stated price.
Cooling-Off Period: Definition and Applications
The cooling-off period is an interval designed for reflection before finalizing certain financial or employment decisions. In finance, it refers to the duration between filing a preliminary prospectus and offering securities to the public, while in labor relations, it's a mandated period to prevent strikes or lockouts.
Cornering the Market: Illegal Practice in Trading
Cornering the Market is the practice of purchasing a security or commodity in large volumes to control its price, which is considered illegal due to its artificial price manipulation effects.
Corporate Acquisition: Strategic Business Expansion
Corporate acquisition refers to the process by which one company purchases most or all of another company's shares to gain control of that company. It is a strategic move aimed at expanding business operations, entering new markets, or acquiring new technologies.
Corporate Reorganization: Overview of Mergers, Acquisitions, and Restructuring
Corporate reorganization refers to the various ways in which a corporation can restructure its operations, including mergers, acquisitions, and divisive acquisitions.
Corpus: Definition and Significance
Corpus refers to the principal or res of an estate, trust, devise, or bequest from which income is derived, and is crucial in various legal and financial contexts.
Correspondent: Financial Organization Providing Special Services
A correspondent in the financial context refers to an organization that regularly performs services for another organization within a market that may be inaccessible to the latter. This term is widely used in banking, where a correspondent relationship typically involves a depository component to cover expenses and streamline transactions.
Cosign: Understanding Joint Contractual Obligations
Cosigning involves affixing one's signature alongside the principal signer on a contract, transferring liability and responsibility to both parties.
Cosigner: Definition and Role in Finance
A comprehensive overview of a Cosigner, detailing their role, responsibilities, implications, and differences from a co-mortgagor.
Cost Accounting: Detailed Insight on Production Costs
A comprehensive look into cost accounting, a branch of accounting focused on providing detailed information on the costs involved in producing a product, essential for inventory valuation.
Cost Approach Method: Property Appraisal Technique
The Cost Approach method appraises property value by summing the reproduction cost of improvements and the market value of the site, then subtracting depreciation.
Cost Basis: Original Price of an Asset
Understanding Cost Basis, its significance in financial calculations, and its implications for depreciation and capital gains or losses.
Cost Containment: Managing Organizational Costs
Cost containment is the process of maintaining organizational costs within a specified budget; restraining expenditures to meet organizational or project financial targets.
Cost Depletion: Recovery of the Tax Basis in a Mineral Deposit
Cost depletion is a method for recovering the tax basis in a mineral deposit by deducting it proportionately over the productive life of the deposit. This contrasts with the percentage depletion method.
Cost Method: Accounting for Investments in Subsidiary Companies
Understanding the Cost Method in accounting, where a parent company records its investments in subsidiary companies at cost, not recognizing periodically its share of subsidiary income or loss. This method is used when the parent owns less than 20% of the subsidiary's outstanding voting common stock or in instances of significant influence without effective control.
Cost of Capital: Calculation and Significance
The cost of capital is calculated using a weighted average of a firm's costs of debt and different classes of equity. It represents the rate of return a business could earn if it chose another investment with equivalent risk - the opportunity cost of the funds employed in an investment decision.
Cost of Funds: Interest Cost Paid by a Financial Institution for the Use of Money
An in-depth look at the cost of funds, which represents the interest cost a financial institution must pay for the use of money. Analyzing its implications in the banking and savings and loan industries.
Cost Overrun: Excess of a Project's Cost Over Budget
Comprehensive guide to cost overrun, the excess of a project's cost over its budget, including its definition, types, causes, consequences, and mitigation strategies.
Cost Records: Definitions and Applications
A comprehensive explanation of cost records, their importance in investment and accounting, and their different types with examples and historical context.
Cost Segregation: Optimize Your Depreciation for Maximum Tax Benefits
Cost Segregation is the process of separating property assets to accurately classify them for federal tax depreciation, allowing businesses to achieve significant tax savings through professional engineering and accounting assessments.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: Method of Measuring the Benefits Expected from a Decision
Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is a systematic process used to evaluate the benefits and costs associated with a particular decision or project to determine its viability and efficacy. This method is widely applied in both corporate and government sectors to guide decision-making.
Cost-Effectiveness: Generating Value to Offset Costs
Exploring the concept of cost-effectiveness, which refers to the ability to generate sufficient value to offset an activity's cost, often interpreted as revenue in the context of business.
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA): Wage Modification to Offset Living Costs
Comprehensive overview of Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), focusing on its definition, applications in various sectors, historical background, calculation methodology, and impact on economic policies.
Cost-of-Living Index: Economic Indicator
Comprehensive overview of the Cost-of-Living Index, an economic indicator that measures the changes in the price level of a basket of consumer goods and services.
Cost-Plus Contract: Payment for Costs Plus Profit
Explore the intricacies of cost-plus contracts, including their types, benefits, challenges, examples, and historical context.
Average Cost: Understanding Cost Per Unit of Production
Detailed explanation of Average Cost in production, its significance, calculation, types, examples, historical context, and related terms.
Cost, Fixed: An In-depth Examination of Fixed Costs
An exploration of fixed costs in business, including definitions, examples, and their significance in various economic and financial contexts.
Counterfeit: Forged and Fabricated without Right
An in-depth exploration of the concept of counterfeit, explaining its types, historical context, examples, applicability, related terms, FAQs, and more.
Counteroffer: Rejection of an Offer with a Substitute Proposal
A counteroffer is the rejection of an original offer to buy or sell with a simultaneous substitute offer, typically involving different terms such as price, financing arrangements, or other conditions.
Coupon Bond: Bond With Detachable Coupons for Interest Payments
A `coupon bond` is a bond issued with detachable coupons that must be presented to a paying agent or the issuer for semiannual interest payments. It is a type of bearer bond, meaning whoever presents the coupon is entitled to the interest.
Court Bond: Judicial Bond
A comprehensive overview of Court/Court Judicial Bonds including types, purposes, and legal implications.
Cover: Definitions and Applications in Finance
Understanding the term 'cover' in the context of finance, including its implications in stock trading, corporate finance, and bond safety ratings.
Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA): A Tax-Advantaged Education Savings Option
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESA), formerly known as Education IRAs, are tax-advantaged accounts designed to help parents save for their children's education expenses.
CR: Credit
CR is the common abbreviation for Credit, a key concept in finance and accounting.
Cram Down: Understanding Reduction of Debt in Bankruptcy
Cram down refers to the reduction of various classes of debt to a lower amount during bankruptcy proceedings under Section 1129(b) of the Bankruptcy Code.
Crash: Sudden Drop in Finance and Data Processing Failure
A comprehensive overview of the term 'Crash,' focusing on its implications in finance, economics, and data processing, with historical context, examples, and preventative measures.
Credit Analyst: Financial Examiner and Rating Expert
A Credit Analyst assesses the financial affairs of individuals or corporations to evaluate their creditworthiness. This professional also determines the credit ratings of corporate and municipal bonds by analyzing financial conditions and trends of the issuers.
Credit Bureau: Private Organization that Maintains Consumer Credit Data Files
A comprehensive overview of credit bureaus, which are private organizations that collect and maintain consumer credit data files and provide credit information to authorized users for a fee.
Credit Bureau Scores: Key Concepts and Overview
An in-depth exploration of Credit Bureau Scores including their types, significance, calculation methods, historical context, and practical applications.
Credit Card: An Indication of Creditworthiness
A comprehensive guide to understanding credit cards, their functionality, types, historical context, and impact on the financial world.
Credit Default Swap: Financial Derivatives and Risk Management
A comprehensive overview of Credit Default Swaps (CDS) including their functions, mechanisms, examples, historical context, and implications in financial markets.
Credit Limit: Maximum Balance Permitted by Credit Card Issuers
An in-depth guide to understanding what a credit limit is, how it is determined, its types, its impact on credit scores, and practical considerations for managing it.
Credit Line: Detailed Analysis
A comprehensive explanation of Credit Line, also called Line of Credit, including its types, examples, and special considerations.
Credit Rating: Formal Evaluation of Credit History and Repayment Capability
Credit rating is a formal evaluation of an individual's or a company's credit history and capability of repaying obligations. This assessment is conducted by various firms such as Experian or Dun & Bradstreet, with bond ratings also being assigned by agencies like Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor's, and Moody's.
Credit Rationing: Managing Loan Allocation Beyond Market Means
Credit rationing involves the allocation of loans to creditworthy borrowers by methods other than purely market-driven mechanisms, often caused by keeping interest rates below the market equilibrium, resulting in an excess demand for loans.
Credit Requirements: Standards for Issuing Credit
Credit requirements are standards established by creditors that must be satisfied by potential debtors in order for credit to be given. These requirements typically reflect the applicant's ability to repay the loan or make payments for goods or services acquired.
Credit Risk: Financial and Moral Risk of Non-payment
Credit Risk encompasses both financial and moral risks associated with the possibility that an obligation will not be paid, potentially resulting in a loss.
Credit Scoring: Objective Methodology Used by Credit Grantors
A comprehensive overview of credit scoring, explaining the factors credit grantors consider to determine how much credit to grant to an applicant.
Credit Standing: Reputation for Paying Debts
Credit Standing refers to the reputation one earns for paying debts, which tends to be more qualitative than quantitative, differentiating it from credit rating.
Credit Tenant: Financially Strong Leaseholders in Real Estate
A credit tenant in real estate refers to a large, established, and financially robust tenant that is rated at least investment grade by a major credit rating service. Properties leased to credit tenants can secure mortgage financing based on the tenant's high likelihood of honoring its lease.
Credit Union: Not-for-Profit Financial Institution
A comprehensive guide to understanding Credit Unions—a not-for-profit financial institution offering a full range of financial services.
Credit Watch: Indication of Company Credit Under Review
Credit Watch is a term used by bond rating agencies to indicate that a company's credit rating is under review and subject to potential change, generally with the implication of a downgrade due to adverse events affecting its income statement or balance sheet.
Creditor: One to Whom Money is Owed
Creditor refers to an individual or entity to whom money is owed by a debtor, with legal rights to demand and recover money.
Creditworthiness: General Eligibility to Borrow Money
An in-depth examination of creditworthiness, discussing the key factors that influence a person or company's ability to borrow money, including credit rating, credit scoring, and credit standing.
Crony Capitalism: Favoritism in Free-Market Economies
Crony capitalism refers to the favoritism that develops in free-market economies due to close personal relationships between government officials and industry leaders or other interest groups.
Cross Purchase Plan: Strategic Succession Planning for Businesses
The Cross-Purchase Plan is a type of business succession plan used predominantly in partnerships and small corporations to ensure smooth ownership transitions in the event of a partner's death or disability. This plan involves partner-owned life insurance policies designed to fund the buyout of the deceased or disabled partner's interest.
CROSS Securities Transaction: Broker as Agent for Both Sides
A comprehensive analysis of CROSS securities transactions, where the same broker acts as an agent for both buyer and seller, along with legal implications and operational aspects.
Cross-Footing: Validating Spreadsheet Calculations
Cross-Footing is a method used in spreadsheets to ensure the accuracy of numerical data by totaling rows and columns and comparing the sums for agreement.
CROWD: Group of Exchange Members with Defined Functions
A detailed explanation of CROWD, a term referring to a group of exchange members with specific roles congregated around a trading post, including specialists, floor traders, odd-lot dealers, brokers, and more.
Crowding Out: Economic Impact of Heavy Federal Borrowing
Crowding out refers to heavy federal borrowing at a time when businesses and consumers also want to borrow money, leading to higher interest rates and reduced private sector borrowing.
Crown Jewels: Key Assets in Corporate Takeovers
An Overview of Crown Jewels in Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions, focusing on their role as desirable properties whose disposal reduces a company's value and attractiveness as a takeover candidate.
Crown Loan: Demand Loans to Family Members
A Crown Loan is a financial device allowing demand loans to children or parents of lenders, designed initially by Chicago industrialist Harry Crown to confer tax benefits by falling under lower tax categories.
Cum Dividend, Cum Rights, or Cum Warrant: Financial Terms Explained
A detailed explanation of cum dividend, cum rights, and cum warrant, including their definitions, types, implications, and related terms in the stock market.
Cumulative Dividend: Overview and Significance
A comprehensive guide to Cumulative Dividends including their definition, types, examples, historical context, and applicability in finance, particularly associated with Cumulative Preferred Stock.
Cumulative Liability: An In-Depth Look
Cumulative Liability refers to the total limits of liability of all policies or reinsurance contracts that are outstanding on a single risk. This article explores cumulative liability in reinsurance and liability insurance, offering definitions, examples, and important considerations.
Cumulative Preferred Stock: Comprehensive Overview
Cumulative Preferred Stock is a type of preferred stock where unpaid dividends accumulate until they are paid out, taking precedence over common stock dividends.
Cumulative Voting: Stockholder Voting System
A voting system designed to give minority stockholders representation on the board by allowing all votes an individual is eligible to cast to be cast for a single candidate.
Curable Depreciation: Understanding Depreciation That Can Be Corrected
Curable Depreciation refers to the type of depreciation in real estate appraisal that can be rectified at a cost less than the value it adds to the property. Learn more about the concept, applications, and distinctions between curable and incurable depreciation.
Curb Exchange: See American Stock Exchange
Curb Exchange, historically known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), refers to the earlier forms of stock trading conducted literally on the curbs outside the stock exchanges. This progressed into highly organized trading platforms and eventually was absorbed into modern stock exchanges.

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