ACCOUNTING / BOOKKEEPING / CPAs |
|
Accountancy (profession) or accounting (methodology) is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about information that helps managers and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions. Financial accounting is one branch of accounting and historically has involved processes by which financial information about a business is recorded, classified, summarized, interpreted, and communicated. Auditing, a related but separate discipline, is the process whereby an independent auditor examines an organizations financial statements in order to express an opinion -- that conveys reasonable but not absolute assurance -- as to the fairness and adherence to generally accepted accounting principles, in all material respects.
|
ADVERTISING |
|
Firms in the advertising and public relations services industry prepare advertisements for other companies and organizations and design campaigns to promote the interests and image of their clients. This industry also includes media representativesÂfirms that sell advertising space for publications, radio, television, and the Internet; display advertisersÂbusinesses engaged in creating and designing public display ads for use in shopping malls, on billboards, or in similar media; and direct mail advertisers. A firm that purchases advertising time (or space) from media outlets, thereafter reselling it to advertising agencies or individual companies directly, is considered a media buying agency. Divisions of companies that produce and place their own advertising are not considered part of this industry.
|
ANTITRUST |
|
Antitrust or competition laws are laws which seek to promote economic and business competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Government agencies known as competition regulators regulate antitrust laws, and may also be responsible for regulating related laws dealing with consumer protection.
|
APPRAISAL / VALUATION |
|
The appraisal value is the value of a company based on a projection of future cashflows that its owners will receive from the company's assets as well as from its current and future operations.
The appraisal value is often used to measure the financial performance of insurance companies. It is also a useful tool in measuring the viability of new ventures.
|
AUTO - AIR BAGS |
|
An airbag, also known as a Supplementary/Secondary Restraint System (SRS) or as an Air Cushion Restraint System (ACRS), is a flexible membrane or envelope, inflatable to contain air or some other gas. Air bags are most commonly used for cushioning, in particular after very rapid inflation in the case of an automobile collision.
|
BUSINESS |
|
In economics, business refers to the social science of managing people to organize and maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular creative and productive goals. The etymology of business literally refers to the state of being busy, in the context of the individual as well as the community or society.
|
COPYRIGHT - GENERAL |
|
Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by governments to regulate the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. At its most general, it is literally "the right to copy" an original creation. In most cases, these rights are of limited duration. The symbol for copyright is ©.
|
DAMAGES |
|
In law, damages refers either to the harm suffered by a claimant in a civil action, or to the money paid or awarded to the plaintiff in compensation for such harm.
Generally, there are three kinds of damages: special damages, general damages, and punitive damages. Special damages are the enumerable or quantifiable monetary costs or losses suffered by the plaintiff, or the compensation therefore. For example, medical costs, repair or replacement of damaged property, lost wages, lost earning potential, loss of business, loss of irreplaceable items, loss of support, etc. General damages are items of harm or loss suffered, for which only a subjective value may be attached. Examples of this include personal injury, physical or emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, disfigurement, loss of reputation, loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.
|
DEFAMATION |
|
In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of publishing (meaning to a third party) a false statement that negatively affects someone's reputation. "Defamation" is the term generally used internationally, and is accordingly used in this article where it is not necessary to distinguish between "libel" and "slander".
|
DUE DILIGENCE |
|
Due diligence (also known as due care) is the effort made by an ordinarily prudent or reasonable party to avoid harm to another party or himself. Failure to make this effort is considered negligence. Quite often a contract will specify that a party is required to provide due diligence.
|
EMPLOYMENT |
|
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. In a commercial setting, the employer conceives of a productive activity, generally with the intention of creating profits, and the employee contributes labour to the enterprise, usually in return for payment of wages.
|
ENGINEERING - FORENSIC |
|
Forensic engineering is the investigation of materials, products, structures or components that fail or do not operate/function as intended. A criminal aspect is possible in any investigation but is not always the case; civil cases are much more common. Generally the purpose of a forensic engineering investigation is to locate cause or causes of failure with a view to improve performance or life of a component. It can also involve investigation of intellectual property claims, especially patents. Methods used in forensic investigations include reverse engineering, inspection of witness statements, a working knowledge of current standards, as well as examination of the failed component itself. The fracture surface of a failed product can reveal much information on how the item failed and the loading pattern prior to failure.
|
EUROPEAN COMPETITION POLICY |
|
Competition law is one of the areas of authority of the European Union. It comprises three main policy areas:
Antitrust: control of collusion and other anti-competitive practices which has an effect on the EU (or, since 1994, the European Economic Area). This is covered under Articles 81 and 82 EC respectively.
Mergers: control of proposed mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures involving companies which have a certain, defined amount of turnover in the EU/EEA. This is governed by the Council Regulation 139/2004 EC (the Merger Regulation).
State aid: control of direct and indirect aid given by EU Member States to companies. Covered under Article 87 EC (ex Article 92).
|
EXPERT WITNESS SALES |
|
An expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of education, or profession, or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of his subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon his opinion.
|
FORENSIC COMPUTERS |
|
Computer forensics is application of the scientific method to digital media in order to establish factual information for judicial review. This process often involves investigating computer systems to determine whether they are or have been used for illegal or unauthorized activities. Mostly, computer forensics experts investigate data storage devices, either fixed like hard disks or removable like compact disks and solid state devices.
|
INSURANCE - GENERAL |
|
General insurance policies, including automobile and homeowners policies, provide payments depending on the loss from a particular financial event. General insurance typically comprises any insurance that is not determined to be life insurance, and is called property and casualty insurance in the U.S..
In the UK, General insurance is broadly divided into three areas; personal lines, commercial lines and London market.
The London market insures with large commercial risks, for example insuring supermarkets, football players and other very specific risks.
Commercial lines products are usually designed for relatively small legal entities. These would include workers comp (employers liability), public liability, product liability, commercial fleet and other general insurance products sold in a relatively standard fashion to many organisations.
Personal lines products are designed to be sold in large quantities. This would include autos (private car), homeowners (household), pet insurance, creditor insurance and others.
|
INSURANCE - PROPERTY |
|
Property insurance provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, theft or weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main ways - open perils, or all risk perils, and named perils. Open perils cover all the causes of loss not specifically excluded or eliminated in the policy. Named perils require the actual cause of loss to be listed in the policy for insurance to be provided. The more common named perils include such damage causing events as fire, lightning, explosion and theft. Some of the more common exclusions include earthquake, flood, nuclear incidents, and war.
|
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - ANALYSIS |
|
In law, intellectual property (IP) is a broad entitlement extending the concept of property beyond its materialist definitions to include information, ideas, and other intangible assets in their expressed form. Depending on jurisdiction, IP rights generally enable the holder to exercise exclusive rights over the the subject matter (or "work") of the IP using copyright, patent, trademark, industrial design right and similar legal protections. The term reinforces that such works are the product of the mind or intellect and that any rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property.
|
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - LICENSING |
|
In law, intellectual property (IP) is a broad entitlement extending the concept of property beyond its materialist definitions to include information, ideas, and other intangible assets in their expressed form. Depending on jurisdiction, IP rights generally enable the holder to exercise exclusive rights over the the subject matter (or "work") of the IP using copyright, patent, trademark, industrial design right and similar legal protections. The term reinforces that such works are the product of the mind or intellect and that any rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property.
|
INVESTMENT BANKING |
|
Investment banks assist public and private corporations in raising funds in the capital markets (both equity and debt), as well as in providing strategic advisory services for mergers, acquisitions and other types of financial transactions. They also act as intermediaries in trading for clients. Investment banks differ from commercial banks, which take deposits and make commercial and retail loans. In recent years, however, the lines between the two types of structures have blurred, especially as commercial banks have offered more investment banking services. In the US, the Glass-Steagall Act, initially created in the wake of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, prohibited banks from both accepting deposits and underwriting securities; Glass-Steagall was repealed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1998. Investment banks may also differ from brokerages, which in general assist in the purchase and sale of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. However some firms operate as both brokerages and investment banks; this includes some of the best known financial services firms in the world.
|
LICENSING |
|
A license or licence is a document, contract or agreement giving permission for an individual or entity to do something (such as manufacture a product), or to apply something (such as a trademark), with the objective of commercial gain. Typically, the party giving the permission is referred to as the 'licensor' and the party receiving the licence as 'licencee' or Licensee. The licensor typically offers the license for a specified period of time. Both the Licensor and the Licensee have obligations which may be expressed in the body of the agreement or is expressed in general law.
|
LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS |
|
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and someone who engages in this study is called a linguist.
|
MANAGEMENT |
|
Management" (from Old French ménagement "the art of conducting, directing", from Latin manu agere "to lead by the hand") characterises the process of leading and directing all or part of an organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). Early twentieth-century management writer Mary Parker Follett defined management as "the art of getting things done through people."
|
MERGERS / ACQUISITIONS |
|
The phrase mergers and acquisitions or M&A refers to the aspect of corporate finance strategy and management dealing with the merging and acquiring of different companies as well as other assets. Usually mergers occur in a friendly setting where executives from the respective companies participate in a due diligence process to ensure a successful combination of all parts.
|
PARALEGAL |
|
A legal assistant or paralegal is a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible (ABA House of Delegates,1997).
|
PATENTS |
|
A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive, and useful or industrially applicable.
|
PLAGIARISM |
|
Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty, specifically the unacknowledged use of another person's idea(s), information, language, or writing. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. Plagiarism is not necessarily the same as copyright infringement, which occurs when one violates copyright law.
|
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT |
|
A property management company is tasked with the responsibility of managing the multiple aspects which come along with the ownership of real estate. This is much akin to the role of management in any business. One important role is that of acting as liaison between the landlord and tenant. Duties of property management companies include accepting rent, responding to and addressing maintenance issues, advertising vacancies for landlords, and doing credit and background checks on tenants.
|
PUBLISHING |
|
Publishing is the industry concerned with the production of literature or information - the activity of making information available for public view.
|
TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT |
|
Find TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT experts and consultants for TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT litigation support.
|
TRADE DRESS |
|
Trade dress refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the facade of a building such as a restaurant) that may be registered and protected from being used by competitors in the manner of a trademark. These characteristics can include the three-dimensional shape, graphic design, color, or even smell of a product and/or its packaging.
|
TRADEMARK |
|
A trademark is a distinctive sign of some kind which is used by a business to uniquely identify itself and its products and services to consumers, and to distinguish the business and its products or services from those of other businesses. A trademark is a type of industrial property which is distinct from other forms of intellectual property.
|
TRADE SECRETS |
|
A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information used by a business to obtain an advantage over competitors within the same industry or profession. In some jurisdictions, such secrets are referred to as "confidential information", while in others they are a subset or example of confidential information.
|
|
