Definition of profit center

profit center

a responsibility center in which managers are responsible for generating revenues and planning and controlling all expenses

Profit center

An entity within a corporation against which both revenues and costs are
recorded. This results in a separate financial statement for each such entity, which
reveals a net profit or loss, as well as a return on any assets used by the entity.

pseudo microprofit center

a center for which a surrogate
of market value must be used to measure output revenue

real microprofit center

a center whose output has a market value

After-tax profit margin

The ratio of net income to net sales.

Before-tax profit margin

The ratio of net income before taxes to net sales.

Book profit

The cumulative book income plus any gain or loss on disposition of the assets on termination of the SAT.

Commodities Exchange Center (CEC)

The location of five New York futures exchanges: Commodity
Exchange, Inc. (COMEX), the New York Mercantile exchange (NYMEX), the New York Cotton Exchange,
the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa exchange (CSC), and the New York futures exchange (NYFE). common size
statement A statement in which all items are expressed as a percentage of a base figure, useful for purposes of
analyzing trends and the changing relationship between financial statement items. For example, all items in
each year's income statement could be presented as a percentage of net sales.

Gross profit margin

Gross profit divided by sales, which is equal to each sales dollar left over after paying
for the cost of goods sold.

Money center banks

Banks that raise most of their funds from the domestic and international money markets, relying less on depositors for funds.

Net profit margin

Net income divided by sales; the amount of each sales dollar left over after all expenses
have been paid.

Operating profit margin

The ratio of operating margin to net sales.

Profit margin

Indicator of profitability. The ratio of earnings available to stockholders to net sales.
Determined by dividing net income by revenue for the same 12-month period. Result is shown as a
percentage.

Profitability index

The present value of the future cash flows divided by the initial investment. Also called
the benefit-cost ratio.

Profitability ratios

Ratios that focus on the profitability of the firm. profit margins measure performance
with relation to sales. Rate of return ratios measure performance relative to some measure of size of the
investment.

Reinvoicing center

A central financial subsidiary used by an MNC to reduce transaction exposure by having
all home country exports billed in the home currency and then reinvoiced to each operating affililate in that
affiliate's local currency. It can also be used as a netting center.

Risk-adjusted profitability

A probability used to determine a "sure" expected value (sometimes called a
certainty equivalent) that would be equivalent to the actual risky expected value.

GROSS PROFIT

The profit a company makes before expenses and taxes are taken away.

PROFIT

What’s left over after you subtract the cost of goods sold and all your expenses from sales.

Controllable profit

The profit made by a division after deducting only those expenses that can be controlled by the
divisional manager and ignoring those expenses that are outside the divisional manager’s control.

Cost–volume–profit analysis (CVP)

A method for understanding the relationship between revenue, cost and sales volume.

Gross profit

The difference between the price at which goods or services are sold and the cost of sales.
Income The revenue generated from the sale of goods or services.

Net profit

See operating profit.

Operating profit

The profit made by the business for an accounting period, equal to gross profit less selling, finance, administration etc. expenses, but before deducting interest or taxation.

Profit

The difference between income and expenses.

Profit and Loss account

A financial statement measuring the profit or loss of a business – income less expenses – for an accounting period.

Profit before interest and taxes (PBIT)

See EBIT.

Profit centre

A division or unit of an organization that is responsible for achieving profit targets.

Profitability index

See cash value added.

Retained profits

The amount of profit after deducting interest, taxation and dividends that is retained by the business.

Gross profit

The result of subtracting cost of goods sold from sales. Synonymous with gross margin.

cash flow from operating activities, or cash flow from profit

This equals the cash inflow from sales during the period minus the cash
outflow for expenses during the period. Keep in mind that to measure
net income, generally accepted accounting principles require the use of
accrual-basis accounting. Starting with the amount of accrual-basis net
income, adjustments are made for changes in accounts receivable,
inventories, prepaid expenses, and operating liabilities—and depreciation
expense is added back (as well as any other noncash outlay
expense)—to arrive at cash flow from profit, which is formally labeled
cash flow from operating activities in the externally reported statement
of cash flows.

gross margin, or gross profit

This first-line measure of profit
equals sales revenue less cost of goods sold. This is profit before operating
expenses and interest and income tax expenses are deducted. Financial
reporting standards require that gross margin be reported in
external income statements. Gross margin is a key variable in management
profit reports for decision making and control. Gross margin
doesn’t apply to service businesses that don’t sell products.

operating profit

See earnings before interest and income tax (EBIT).

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 and loss statement (P&L statement)

This is an alternative moniker
for an income statement or for an internal management profit report.
Actually, it’s a misnomer because a business has either a profit or a loss
for a period. Accordingly, it should be profit or loss statement, but the
term has caught on and undoubtedly will continue to be profit and loss
statement.

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.

Profit Margin Ratio

A measure of how much profit is earned on each dollar of sales. It
is calculated by dividing the net income available for distribution to
shareholders by the total sales generated during the period.

Profitability Index

A method for determining the profitability of an investment. It is
calculated by dividing the present value of the future net cash flows
by the initial cash investment.

activity center

a segment of the production or service
process for which management wants to separately report
the costs of the activities performed

cost center

a responsibility center in which the manager has
the authority to incur costs and is evaluated on the basis
of how well costs are controlled

cost-volume-profit (CVP)

analysis a procedure that examines
changes in costs and volume levels and the resulting
effects on net income (profits)

investment center

a responsibility center in which the manager
is responsible for generating revenues and planning
and controlling expenses and has the authority to acquire,
dispose of, and use plant assets to earn the highest rate
of return feasible on those assets within the confines and
to the support of the organization’s goals

phantom profit

a temporary absorption costing profit caused
by producing more inventory than is sold

profit margin

the ratio of income to sales

profit sharing

an incentive payment to employees that is
contingent on organizational or individual performance

profit-volume graph

a visual representation of the amount
of profit or loss associated with each level of sales

profitability index (Pl)

a ratio that compares the present value of net cash flows to the present value of the net investment

responsibility center

a cost object under the control of a manager

revenue center

a responsibility center for which a manager is accountable only for the generation of revenues and has no control over setting selling prices, or budgeting or incurring costs

profitability index

Ratio of net present value to initial investment.

Profit Sharing Plan

A retirement plan generally funded by a percentage of company
profits, but into which contributions can be made in the absence of profits.

Gross Profit

Revenue less cost of goods sold.

Gross Profit Margin

Gross profit divided by revenue.

Distribution center

A branch warehouse containing finished goods and service
items intended for distribution directly to customers.

residual income

the profit earned by a responsibility center that exceeds an amount "charged" for funds committed to that center

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