Business & Economics

Professional vocabulary for commerce, markets, and organisations

Introduction

The business world has its own rich vocabulary for discussing markets, strategy, and organisational dynamics. These words go beyond basic financial terms to capture the nuance of professional communication.

This chapter presents advanced vocabulary used in boardrooms, business reports, and economic analysis. Whether you're reading the Financial Times or preparing a presentation, these words will elevate your professional English.

Themes

All Advanced Vocabulary in This Chapter (24)

• revenue The total income generated by a business or organisation from its normal acti...
• stakeholder A person, group, or organisation that has an interest or concern in a busines...
• leverage The use of borrowed money to increase potential returns on investment; more b...
• merger The combination of two or more companies or organisations into a single entit...
• procurement The process of obtaining goods, services, or works from an external source, o...
• subsidiary A company controlled by a larger parent company; as an adjective, less import...
• portfolio A range of investments held by a person or organisation; a collection of work...
• dividend A sum of money paid regularly by a company to its shareholders from its profi...
• equity The value of shares issued by a company; the value of a property after all de...
• commodity A raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, s...
• tariff A tax or duty imposed on imported or exported goods; a schedule of prices or ...
• fiscal Relating to government revenue, especially taxation, and public spending; rel...
• monetary Relating to money or currency, especially the systems and policies governing ...
• recession A period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial acti...
• entrepreneurial Characterised by the initiative, risk-taking, and innovative thinking associa...
• franchise A licence granted to an individual or group to sell products or services unde...
• outsource To contract out business processes or functions to an external provider, ofte...
• restructure To organise something differently; to change the structure of a company, syst...
• benchmark A standard or point of reference against which things may be compared or asse...
• audit An official examination and verification of accounts or records; a systematic...
• compliance The act of conforming to rules, regulations, standards, or laws; the state of...
• scalable Able to be expanded or adapted in size, scope, or capacity to handle increase...
• disrupt To interrupt the normal course of an activity or process; in business, to rad...
• surplus An amount of something that exceeds what is needed or used; an excess of reve...