The Internet offers a large array of free dictionaries and glossaries of accounting and financial terms. The providers offer these tools with the professional businessperson in mind. They do a nice job with precision and cross-referencing via hyperlinks to other related terms.
By design, these sites provide quick access to financial terms related to all businesses, thus worthy to bookmark. Each glossary and dictionary of financial terms applies in various ways to general accounting, tax issues, bookkeeping, international business and investing. When looking for financially related definitions consider the following:
1. Know where to find a finance dictionary with numerous entries covering the broad field of accounting and finance.
2. Locate a specialized financial terms dictionary or glossary for review or use in business journalism.
3. Understand investing and trading terminology to enhance your personal acumen.
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Locate a financial terms glossary for everyday use
Search the broad collection of financial terms from A through Z, with quick references and to-the-point definitions, at these websites.
I recommend: Go to Duke.edu for Campbell R. Harvey’s
Hypertextual Finance Glossary with more than 8,000 entries and 18,000 hyperlinks. Visit
Yahoo! for their comprehensive financial terms glossary with acronyms. Go to
InvestorWords.com for a financial glossary containing more than 6,000 entries and 20,000 cross-links among terms; browse by letter at the bottom of page.
SmartMoney provides an extensive finance glossary with cross-links to other entries.
Use a specialized accounting financial dictionary for studies and writing
These resources provide definitions for professionals in the business field requiring a concise dictionary of financial terms.
I recommend: See ITS Tutorial School’s comprehensive definitions for commerce in the
Accounting, Business Studies and Economics Dictionary. Go to the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountant’s
Accounting Terminology Guide, prepared for business journalists.
Pick a glossary or dictionary of finance and investment terms for investors
The words in these dictionaries cover all investing vocabulary from easy to complex terms and acronyms in quick fashion. Find terms like "Gilt Strip," "Gilt-Edged Bond," "Give-up" and "ACS" among others.
I recommend: See The William Margrabe Group, Inc, for a
Derivatives Dictionary. Go to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for their
Glossary of Futures and Options Terms. Use the
NYSE Euronext financial terms glossary by clicking a letter and then any word from the sidebar.
Select an online financial accounting dictionary for new and old words
Whether you want to brush up on your vocabulary, study for an auditing exam or find new finance terminology in today's accounting field, these dictionaries provide the answers.
I recommend: Go to
VentureLine.com and select a word’s first letter from an accounting dictionary with more than 3,200 entries. Go to Accounting Institute Seminars for their
Auditing Dictionary of Terms that appear on the CPA exam. Find your financial terms in the
Dictionary of Accounting Terms provided by AccountingCoach, LLC, with online viewing, printing or downloading of complete dictionary available. Use the
Accounting Dictionary online by typing in your word or use the Title Index at Answers Corporation.
Find specialized accounting and financial terms
These resources offer clarity for tax preparers and international business expertise.
I recommend: Get tax and finance definitions from the
Glossary of Terms at Total Tax Solutions, Inc. See the finance glossary for
International Glossary of Business Valuation Terms, adopted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts and others.
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