Accounting Dictionary – 79 – WRI
WACC see Weighted Average Cost of Capital.
WAGE is actual remuneration paid to an employee for services rendered. Minimum wages, in the U.S.A., are established by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
WARRANT, in government accounting, is an order drawn authorizing payment to a designated payee. In securities, it is a security entitling the holder to buy a proportionate amount of stock at some specified future date at a specified price, usually one higher than current market. This "warrant" is then traded as a security, the price of which reflects the value of the underlying stock. Warrants are issued by corporations and often used as a "sweetener" bundled with another class of security to enhance the marketability of the latter. Warrants are like call options, but with much longer time spans -- sometimes years. In addition, warrants are offered by corporations whereas exchange traded call options are not issued by firms.
WARRANTY is a guarantee given to a buyer from a seller that the goods or services purchased will perform as promised, or a refund will be given, repair will be done at no charge, or an exchange made.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE is one in which different data in the data set are given different "weights." Varying subjective assumptions are derived for determining the level of importance for each data category. For example, many teachers will use a "weighted average" when calculating a student's grade in a course. A teacher might determine the final grade for the course by calculating that the test average is 60% of the grade, quiz average is 30% of the grade, and a single project is 10% of the grade.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE COST OF CAPITAL (WACC) is an average representing the expected return on all of a company's securities. Each source of capital, such as stocks, bonds, and other debt, is weighted in the calculation according to its prominence in the company's capital structure.
WHITE PAPER 1. in a technological industry, is an informational brief offering an overview of a technology, product, issue, standard, policy, or solution - its importance, use and implementation, and business benefits. White Papers have emerged as the standard way of communicating more in-depth information to business decision-makers in terms of problems solved and markets addressed; or, 2. a White Paper can be an official government report of an investigation into a public event that received a great deal of publicity and notoriety; it indicates the official government position on a particular public issue.
WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY is an entity whose parent owns virtually 100% of its common stock.
WINDFALL PROFIT/GAIN is profit that occurs suddenly as a result of an event not controlled by the company or person realizing the gain from the event. For example, a hurricane may bring extraordinary revenue to a roofing contractor as a result of the natural disaster.
WINDOW DRESSING is the act or an instance of making something appear deceptively attractive or favorable. Usually using something, e.g. inflated sales projections, to create a deceptively favorable or attractive impression.
WINDOW OF ENTERPRISE depicts the overall structure of accounting.
WIDGET is a device that is very useful for a particular job. Often used within a name of a fictitious company.
WIP is an acronym for Work in Process/Progress. Usually refers to inventory that has value added from labor or additional processing. When considered for inventory value, the value of the raw material plus the value added component is accounted for in determining the value of that inventory at that point in the process.
WITHHOLDING TAX usually refers to those taxes that are withheld from an employee’s compensation to account for that individuals tax liability on his/her compensation.
WITNESS is an individual who testifies at a trial on what he has seen, heard, or otherwise observed.
WORK CENTER, normally, is an individual production area or sub-process of an overall manufacturing process.
WORKER’S COMPENSATION is, usually, a state or privately managed insurance fund in the United States that reimburses employees for injuries suffered on the job.
WORKING CAPITAL STATEMENT (WCS) is part of the financial statements' "Statements of Cash Flows or Changes in Financial Position." The WCS normally includes sections covering: Sources of Working Capital, Uses of Working Capital, and Working Capital Changes.
WORKING CAPITAL TURNOVER (WCT) shows how efficiently Working Capital (WC) is employed, i.e., it measures how efficiently the business is using its available assets. WCT measures the amount of Net Revenue generated per monetary unit of Working Capital. It varies widely by industry; therefore it is best to compare WCT to industry averages.
WORKING CAPITAL (WC) (the difference between current assets and current liabilities) measures the margin of protection for current creditors. It reflects the ability to finance current operations.
WORK IN PROCESS is parts and subassemblies in the process of becoming completed finished goods.
WORK IN PROGRESS a piece of work that is not yet finished.
WORK SHEET is a document or schedule in which an accountant or auditor gathers information to substantiate an opinion concerning an account balance or 'test of transaction.'
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) is the international trade body formed by the agreement of member nations. The WTO is an evolution of the GATT process designed to resolve trade disputes and work for the lowering of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers.
WRAP ACCOUNT at its most basic is an alternative form of commission arrangement between a securities firm and its client. Wrap accounts generally charge the client an annual fee based on assets in the account in lieu of a per transaction commission structure. In other words, the firm "wraps" together all the costs and charges them off as a "management fee”. Firms often add further features to wrap accounts such as investment management, custodial services, and enhanced reporting.
WRITE-OFF is to decrease the value of an item, e.g., a tax write-off decreases tax liability, a vehicle involved in an accident can be declared a write-off if the cost to repair is in excess of the value of the vehicle.
WRITE-UP is the increase in value of an asset, but it is seldom used and is not allowed in GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).
WRITE-UP SERVICE is the provisioning of all reporting requirements of bookkeeping and accounting services. The following is a non-exhaustive list of reporting services provided:
1099s report preparation for subcontractors.
Bank account reconciliation.
Check coding.
Fixed asset schedules.
Maintenance of general ledger.
Payroll deposit calculations.
Payroll tax filings.
Personal property tax returns.
Preparation of internal financial statements.
WACC see Weighted Average Cost of Capital.
WAGE is actual remuneration paid to an employee for services rendered. Minimum wages, in the U.S.A., are established by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
WARRANT, in government accounting, is an order drawn authorizing payment to a designated payee. In securities, it is a security entitling the holder to buy a proportionate amount of stock at some specified future date at a specified price, usually one higher than current market. This "warrant" is then traded as a security, the price of which reflects the value of the underlying stock. Warrants are issued by corporations and often used as a "sweetener" bundled with another class of security to enhance the marketability of the latter. Warrants are like call options, but with much longer time spans -- sometimes years. In addition, warrants are offered by corporations whereas exchange traded call options are not issued by firms.
WARRANTY is a guarantee given to a buyer from a seller that the goods or services purchased will perform as promised, or a refund will be given, repair will be done at no charge, or an exchange made.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE is one in which different data in the data set are given different "weights." Varying subjective assumptions are derived for determining the level of importance for each data category. For example, many teachers will use a "weighted average" when calculating a student's grade in a course. A teacher might determine the final grade for the course by calculating that the test average is 60% of the grade, quiz average is 30% of the grade, and a single project is 10% of the grade.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE COST OF CAPITAL (WACC) is an average representing the expected return on all of a company's securities. Each source of capital, such as stocks, bonds, and other debt, is weighted in the calculation according to its prominence in the company's capital structure.
WHITE PAPER 1. in a technological industry, is an informational brief offering an overview of a technology, product, issue, standard, policy, or solution - its importance, use and implementation, and business benefits. White Papers have emerged as the standard way of communicating more in-depth information to business decision-makers in terms of problems solved and markets addressed; or, 2. a White Paper can be an official government report of an investigation into a public event that received a great deal of publicity and notoriety; it indicates the official government position on a particular public issue.
WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY is an entity whose parent owns virtually 100% of its common stock.
WINDFALL PROFIT/GAIN is profit that occurs suddenly as a result of an event not controlled by the company or person realizing the gain from the event. For example, a hurricane may bring extraordinary revenue to a roofing contractor as a result of the natural disaster.
WINDOW DRESSING is the act or an instance of making something appear deceptively attractive or favorable. Usually using something, e.g. inflated sales projections, to create a deceptively favorable or attractive impression.
WINDOW OF ENTERPRISE depicts the overall structure of accounting.
WIDGET is a device that is very useful for a particular job. Often used within a name of a fictitious company.
WIP is an acronym for Work in Process/Progress. Usually refers to inventory that has value added from labor or additional processing. When considered for inventory value, the value of the raw material plus the value added component is accounted for in determining the value of that inventory at that point in the process.
WITHHOLDING TAX usually refers to those taxes that are withheld from an employee’s compensation to account for that individuals tax liability on his/her compensation.
WITNESS is an individual who testifies at a trial on what he has seen, heard, or otherwise observed.
WORK CENTER, normally, is an individual production area or sub-process of an overall manufacturing process.
WORKER’S COMPENSATION is, usually, a state or privately managed insurance fund in the United States that reimburses employees for injuries suffered on the job.
WORKING CAPITAL STATEMENT (WCS) is part of the financial statements' "Statements of Cash Flows or Changes in Financial Position." The WCS normally includes sections covering: Sources of Working Capital, Uses of Working Capital, and Working Capital Changes.
WORKING CAPITAL TURNOVER (WCT) shows how efficiently Working Capital (WC) is employed, i.e., it measures how efficiently the business is using its available assets. WCT measures the amount of Net Revenue generated per monetary unit of Working Capital. It varies widely by industry; therefore it is best to compare WCT to industry averages.
WORKING CAPITAL (WC) (the difference between current assets and current liabilities) measures the margin of protection for current creditors. It reflects the ability to finance current operations.
WORK IN PROCESS is parts and subassemblies in the process of becoming completed finished goods.
WORK IN PROGRESS a piece of work that is not yet finished.
WORK SHEET is a document or schedule in which an accountant or auditor gathers information to substantiate an opinion concerning an account balance or 'test of transaction.'
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) is the international trade body formed by the agreement of member nations. The WTO is an evolution of the GATT process designed to resolve trade disputes and work for the lowering of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers.
WRAP ACCOUNT at its most basic is an alternative form of commission arrangement between a securities firm and its client. Wrap accounts generally charge the client an annual fee based on assets in the account in lieu of a per transaction commission structure. In other words, the firm "wraps" together all the costs and charges them off as a "management fee”. Firms often add further features to wrap accounts such as investment management, custodial services, and enhanced reporting.
WRITE-OFF is to decrease the value of an item, e.g., a tax write-off decreases tax liability, a vehicle involved in an accident can be declared a write-off if the cost to repair is in excess of the value of the vehicle.
WRITE-UP is the increase in value of an asset, but it is seldom used and is not allowed in GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).
WRITE-UP SERVICE is the provisioning of all reporting requirements of bookkeeping and accounting services. The following is a non-exhaustive list of reporting services provided:
1099s report preparation for subcontractors.
Bank account reconciliation.
Check coding.
Fixed asset schedules.
Maintenance of general ledger.
Payroll deposit calculations.
Payroll tax filings.
Personal property tax returns.
Preparation of internal financial statements.