Definition of bottom line

bottom line

A commonly used term that refers to the net income (profit)
reported by a business, which is the last, or bottom line, in its income
statement. As you undoubtedly know, the term has taken on a much
broader meaning in everyday use, referring to the ultimate or most important
effect or result of something. Not many accounting-based terms have
found their way into everyday language, but this is one that has.

net income (also called the bottom line, earnings, net earnings, and net

operating earnings)
This key figure equals sales revenue for a period
less all expenses for the period; also, any extraordinary gains and losses
for the period are included in this final profit figure. Everything is taken
into account to arrive at net income, which is popularly called the bottom
line. Net income is clearly the single most important number in business
financial reports.

Bank line

line of credit granted by a bank to a customer.

Bottom-up equity management style

A management style that de-emphasizes the significance of economic
and market cycles, focusing instead on the analysis of individual stocks.

Capital market line (CML)

The line defined by every combination of the risk-free asset and the market portfolio.

Cash flow time-line

line depicting the operating activities and cash flows for a firm over a particular period.

Characteristic line

The market model applied to a single security. The slope of the line is a security's beta.

Demand line of credit

A bank line of credit that enables a customer to borrow on a daily or on-demand basis.

Euro lines

lines of credit granted by banks (foreign or foreign branches of U.S. banks) for Eurocurrencies.

Investment product line (IPML)

The line of required returns for investment projects as a function of beta
(nondiversifiable risk).

Line of credit

An informal arrangement between a bank and a customer establishing a maximum loan
balance that the bank will permit the borrower to maintain.

Linear programming

Technique for finding the maximum value of some equation subject to stated linear constraints.

Linear regression

A statistical technique for fitting a straight line to a set of data points.

Log-linear least-squares method

A statistical technique for fitting a curve to a set of data points. One of the
variables is transformed by taking its logarithm, and then a straight line is fitted to the transformed set of data
points.

Line of credit

An informal arrangement between a bank and a customer establishing a maximum loan
balance that the bank will permit the borrower to maintain.

Mortgage pipeline

The period from the taking of applications from prospective mortgage borrowers to the
marketing of the loans.

Mortgage-pipeline risk

The risk associated with taking applications from prospective mortgage borrowers
who may opt to decline to accept a quoted mortgage rate within a certain grace period.

Old-line factoring

Factoring arrangement that provides collection, insurance, and finance for accounts receivable.

Revolving line of credit

A bank line of credit on which the customer pays a commitment fee and can take
down and repay funds according to his needs. Normally the line involves a firm commitment from the bank
for a period of several years.

Security characteristic line

A plot of the excess return on a security over the risk-free rate as a function of
the excess return on the market.

Security market line

line representing the relationship between expected return and market risk.
Security market plane A plane that shows the equilibrium between expected return and the beta coefficient
of more than one factor.
Security selection
See: security selection decision.

Simple linear regression

A regression analysis between only two variables, one dependent and the other explanatory.

Simple linear trend model

An extrapolative statistical model that asserts that earnings have a base level and
grow at a constant amount each period.

Straight line depreciation

An equal dollar amount of depreciation in each accounting period.

Swingline facility

Bank borrowing facility to provide finance while the firm replaces U.S. commercial paper
with eurocommercial paper.

W-type bottom

A double bottom where the price or indicator chart has the appearance of a W.
See: technical analysis.

STRAIGHT-LINE DEPRECIATION

A depreciation method that depreciates an asset the same amount for each year of its estimated
life.

Line item

Generic types of assets, liabilities, income or expense that are common to all businesses and
used as the basis of financial reporting, e.g. rent, salaries, advertising etc.

Straight-line

A method of depreciation.

straight-line depreciation

This depreciation method allocates a uniform
amount of the cost of long-lived operating assets (fixed assets) to each
year of use. It is the basic alternative to the accelerated depreciation
method. When using the straight-line method, a business may estimate a
longer life for a fixed asset than when using the accelerated method
(though not necessarily in every case). Both methods are allowed for
income tax and under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Security Market Line

A graph illustrating the equilibrium relationship between the
expected rate of return on securities and their risk as measured by
the beta coefficient

line employee

an employee who is directly responsible for
achieving the organization’s goals and objectives

linear programming

a method of mathematical programming used to solve a problem that involves an objective function and multiple limiting factors or constraints long-term variable cost a cost that was traditionally viewed as a fixed cost

Management Accounting Guidelines (MAGs)

pronouncements of the Society of Management Accountants of
Canada that advocate appropriate practices for specific
management accounting situations

product line margin

see segment margin

red-line system

an inventory ordering system in which a red
line is painted on the inventory container at a point deemed
to be the reorder point

regression line

any line that goes through the means (or averages) of the set of observations for an independent variable and its dependent variables; mathematically, there is a line of “best fit,” which is the least squares regression line

timeline

representation of the amounts and timing of all
cash inflows and outflows; it is used in analyzing cash flow
from a capital project

line of credit

Agreement by a bank that a company may borrow at any time up to an established limit.

security market line

Relationship between expected return and beta.

straight-line depreciation

Constant depreciation for each year of the asset’s accounting life.

45-Degree Line

A line representing equilibrium in the goods and services market, on a diagram with aggregate demand on the vertical axis and aggregate supply on the horizontal axis.

Other-than-Temporary Decline in Market Value

The standard used to describe a decline in market value that is not expected to recover. The use of the other-than-temporary description as
opposed to describing a loss as permanent stresses the fact that the burden of proof is on the
investor who believes a decline is only temporary. That investor must have the intent and financial
ability to hold the investment until its market value recovers. In the absence of an ability to
demonstrate that a decline is temporary, the conclusion must be that a decline in value is other
than temporary, in which case the decline in value must be recognized in income.

Formalized Line of Credit

A contractual commitment to make loans to a particular borrower up to a specified maximum during a specified period, usually one year.

Line of Credit

An agreement negotiated between a borrower and a lender which establishes the maximum amount against which a borrower may draw. The agreement also sets out other conditions, such as how and when money borrowed against the line of credit is to be repaid.

Operating Line of Credit

A bank's commitment to make loans to a particular borrower up to a specified maximum for a specified period, usually one year.

line of credit

A revolving source of credit with a pre-established limit. You access the funds only as you need them, and any amount that you pay back becomes accessible to you again. Unlike a personal loan, a line of credit permits you to write cheques and make bank machine withdrawals, and requires you to pay interest only on the funds that you actually use.

online bill payment

The electronic payment of a bill via the Internet. The specified amount of the bill is electronically debited from your account.

personal line of credit (PLC)

A revolving source of credit with a pre-established limit. You access the funds only as you need them, and any amount that you pay back becomes accessible to you again. Unlike a personal loan, a PLC permits you to write cheques and make bank machine withdrawals, and requires you to pay interest only on the funds that you actually use.

secured loan or line of credit

A lump sum of funds (loan), or a revolving source of credit with a pre-established limit (line of credit), for which the customer must provide collateral.

Personal Line of credit (Credit Insurance)

A bank's commitment to make loans to a borrower up to a specified maximum during a specific period, usually one year.

income statement

Financial statement that summarizes sales revenue
and expenses for a period and reports one or more profit lines for the
period. It’s one of the three primary financial statements of a business.
The bottom-line profit figure is labeled net income or net earnings by
most businesses. Externally reported income statements disclose less
information than do internal management profit reports—but both are
based on the same profit accounting principles and methods. Keep in
mind that profit is not known until accountants complete the recording
of sales revenue and expenses for the period (as well as determining any
extraordinary gains and losses that should be recorded in the period).
Profit measurement depends on the reliability of a business’s accounting
system and the choices of accounting methods by the business. Caution:
A business may engage in certain manipulations of its accounting methods,
and managers may intervene in the normal course of operations for
the purpose of improving the amount of profit recorded in the period,
which is called earnings management, income smoothing, cooking the
books, and other pejorative terms.

profit

The general term profit is not precisely defined; it may refer to net
gains over a period of time, or cash inflows less cash outflows for an
investment, or earnings before or after certain costs and expenses are
deducted from income or revenue. In the world of business, profit is
measured by the application of generally accepted accounting principles
(GAAP). In the income statement, the final, bottom-line profit is generally
labeled net income and equals revenue (plus any extraordinary gains)
less all expenses (and less any extraordinary losses) for the period. Inter-
nal management profit reports include several profit lines: gross margin,
contribution margin, operating profit (earnings before interest and
income tax), and earnings before income tax. External income statements
report gross margin (also called gross profit) and often report one
or more other profit lines, although practice varies from business to
business in this regard.

profit module

This concept refers to a separate source of revenue and
profit within a business organization, which should be identified for
management analysis and control. A profit module may focus on one
product or a cluster of products. Profit in this context is not the final, bottom-
line net income of the business as a whole. Rather, other measures
of profit are used for management analysis and decision-making purposes—
such as gross margin, contribution margin, or operating profit
(earnings before interest and income tax).

profit ratios

Ratios based on sales revenue for a period. A measure of
profit is divided by sales revenue to compute a profit ratio. For example,
gross margin is divided by sales revenue to compute the gross margin
profit ratio. Dividing bottom-line profit (net income) by sales revenue
gives the profit ratio that is generally called return on sales.

High-low-close chart

A financial chart usually used to plot the high, low,
open, and close price of a security over time. Plots are vertical lines whose top
is the high, bottom is the low, open is a short horizontal tick to the left, and
close is a short horizontal tick to the right.

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