If you are into business or work with any aspect of the business industry, knowing common business abbreviations is a must. Business acronyms are part of the everyday vocabulary, and you need to be familiar with the business communication abbreviations to get the most out of scenarios like boardroom discussions or conferences.
Check out this list of business abbreviations curated by Geekflare. We have sorted it into subcategories so you can easily find your chosen acronym from this business abbreviations glossary.
Finance and Accounting
Here are some commonly used financial abbreviations and accounting acronyms.
Acronym | Full Form |
---|---|
AP | Accounts Payable |
APR | Annual Percentage Rate |
AR | Accounts Receivable |
AUM | Assets Under Management |
CAGR | Compound Annual Growth Rate |
CF | Cash Flow |
COGS | Cost of Goods Sold |
CPA | Certified Public Accountant |
CPI | Consumer Price Index |
D/E | Debt-to-Equity Ratio |
D&A | Depreciation and Amortization |
DCF | Discounted Cash Flow |
EBIT | Earnings Before Interest and Taxes |
EBITDA | Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization |
EPS | Earnings Per Share |
FIFO | First In, First Out |
FY | Fiscal Year |
GAAP | Generally Accepted Accounting Principles |
GL | General Ledger |
IAS | International Accounting Standards |
IFRS | International Financial Reporting Standards |
IRR | Internal Rate of Return |
LIFO | Last In, First Out |
NPV | Net Present Value |
P/E | Price-to-Earnings Ratio |
P&L | Profit and Loss |
ROA | Return on Assets |
ROE | Return on Equity |
ROI | Return on Investment |
SORP | Statement of Recommended Practice |
YTD | Year to Date |
Sales & Marketing
Check out the list of marketing abbreviations and sales acronyms.
Acronym | Full Form |
---|---|
AIDA | Attention, Interest, Desire, Action |
B2B | Business-to-Business |
B2C | Business-to-Consumer |
CPC | Cost Per Click |
CPL | Cost Per Lead |
CRM | Customer Relationship Management |
CTA | Call to Action |
CTR | Click-Through Rate |
CX | Customer Experience |
DA | Domain Authority |
DR | Domain Ranking |
FOMO | Fear of Missing Out |
GA | Google Analytics |
KPI | Key Performance Indicator |
LSI | Latent Semantic Indexing |
PA | Page Authority |
PPC | Pay-Per-Click |
PR | Page Ranking |
SEM | Search Engine Marketing |
SEO | Search Engine Optimization |
SERM | Search Engine Reputation Management |
SERP | Search Engine Results Page |
SMM | Social Media Marketing |
SMO | Social Media Optimization |
UI/UX | User Interface/User Experience |
WP | WordPress |
Legal
The list of commonly used legal abbreviations is as follows.
Acronym | Full Form |
---|---|
ADR | Alternative Dispute Resolution |
AML | Anti-Money Laundering |
FCPA | Foreign Corrupt Practices Act |
GDPR | General Data Protection Regulation |
HIPAA | Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act |
IP | Intellectual Property |
IPO | Initial Public Offering |
LLC | Limited Liability Company |
MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
NDA | Non-Disclosure Agreement |
POA | Power of Attorney |
ROP | Request for Proposal |
SEC | Securities and Exchange Commission |
SOX | Sarbanes-Oxley Act |
T&C | Terms and Conditions |
Human Resources
Here are the human resource related acronyms.
Acronym | Full Form |
---|---|
ATS | Applicant Tracking System |
C&B | Compensation and Benefits |
COBRA | Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act |
D&I | Diversity and Inclusion |
EEO | Equal Employment Opportunity |
FMLA | Family and Medical Leave Act |
FTE | Full-Time Equivalent |
HRBP | Human Resources Business Partner |
HRD | Human Resources Development |
HRIS | Human Resources Information System |
HRMS | Human Resources Management System |
I-9 | Employment Eligibility Verification Form |
KPIs | Key Performance Indicators |
L&D | Learning and Development |
PTO | Paid Time Off |
SOP | Standard Operating Procedure |
T&D | Training and Development |
TA | Talent Acquisition |
General Management
Here are some business jargon used in general management.
Acronym | Full Form |
---|---|
CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
CFO | Chief Financial Officer |
CHRO | Chief Human Resources Officer |
CIO | Chief Information Officer |
CMO | Chief Marketing Officer |
COO | Chief Operating Officer |
CSR | Corporate Social Responsibility |
CTO | Chief Technology Officer |
ERP | Enterprise Resource Planning |
R&D | Research and Development |
RFI | Request for Information |
RFQ | Request for Quotation |
SLA | Service Level Agreement |
SWOT | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats |
VP | Vice President |
Project Management
Project management abbreviations are listed in the following table.
Acronym | Full Form |
---|---|
AC | Actual Cost |
BAC | Budget at Completion |
CBA | Cost-Benefit Analysis |
CR | Change Request |
EAC | Estimate at Completion |
ETC | Estimate to Complete |
EVM | Earned Value Management |
MoSCoW | Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have |
PDCA | Plan, Do, Check, Act |
PM | Project Manager or Project Management |
PMBOK | Project Management Body of Knowledge |
PMO | Project Management Office |
PMP | Project Management Professional |
QMS | Quality Management System |
RACI | Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed |
RAID | Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies |
SDLC | Software Development Life Cycle |
SOW | Statement of Work |
SPI | Schedule Performance Index |
WBS | Work Breakdown Structure |
Supply Chain and Logistic
Supply chain and logistic abbreviations are listed in the following table.
Acronym | Full Form |
---|---|
AC | Activity-Based Costing |
3PL | Third-Party Logistics |
4PL | Fourth-Party Logistics |
ASN | Advanced Shipment Notice |
COO | Country of Origin |
ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival |
ETD | Estimated Time of Departure |
FIFO | First In, First Out |
FOB | Free On Board |
FTL | Full Truckload |
JIT | Just In Time |
LIFO | Last In, First Out |
LTT | Less Than Truckload |
MOQ | Minimum Order Quantity |
PO | Purchase Order |
POD | Proof of Delivery |
RFID | Radio Frequency Identification |
RFQ | Request for Quotation |
SCM | Supply Chain Management |
TMS | Transportation Management System |
VMI | Vendor-Managed Inventory |
WMS | Warehouse Management System |
Startups
Below are some corporate acronyms used in the startup industry.
Acronym | Full Form |
---|---|
ARR | Annual Recurring Revenue |
CAC | Customer Acquisition Cost |
COGS | Cost of Goods Sold |
CVC | Corporate Venture Capital |
ESOP | Employee Stock Ownership Plan |
IPO | Initial Public Offering |
MRR | Monthly Recurring Revenue |
MVP | Minimum Viable Product |
PMF | Product-Market Fit |
PPP | Purchasing Power Parity |
TAM | Total Addressable Market |
VP | Venture Capital |
Conclusion
Now that you have gone through this business abbreviation dictionary, you must familiarize yourself with these abbreviations used in business writing. It will enable you to collaborate better with your colleagues and confidently navigate the complex business landscape.
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EditorRashmi Sharma is an editor at Geekflare. She is passionate about researching business resources and has an interest in data analysis.