ESL Podcast 332 - Profit and Loss
to train (someone) in - to help someone learn what he or she needs to know for a new job or position
As the restaurant manager, you will be training in all of the new employees.
to hold the bag - to be responsible for something when others do not do their work; to have to do something
Benny promised to help wash the dishes, but then he went outside to play after dinner and left his sister holding the bag.
profit and loss statement - a report that shows how much money a company has made or lost over a certain period of time
Did you read the company's profit and loss statement before you decided to invest in it?
projection - forecasts; estimates of how something will change numerically over time; guesses about how much of something there will be in the future
The company's sales projections for next year are almost twice as much as we're selling right now.
to plug in (something) - to fill in the blanks; to put numbers into a formula or equation
If your answer was x=8, try plugging in 8 wherever you see an x in the original problem. If the equation still makes sense, then your answer was correct!
to make heads or tails of (something) - to be able to understand something, even a little bit
They were speaking Greek, so we weren't able to make heads or tails of their conversation.
top line - the total amount of money received during a certain period of time, shown at the top of a profit and loss statement
The company had a top line of $50 million, but that is before you consider how much it had to pay to its workers and to other companies.
revenue - money received; money earned; income
If we sell 2,000 pieces at $45 each, we will have revenue of $90,000.
quarter - one-fourth of a year; a three-month period from January-March, April- June, July-September, or October-December
Toy companies have their highest sales in the fourth quarter, when many people buy holiday presents for children.
net income - money earned minus money spent; profit; the money that a company makes after it has paid everything it needs to pay
Even though we had great sales last year, our expenses were so high that we had very little net income.
bottom line - profit; net income; money earned minus money spent; the money that a company makes after it has paid everything it needs to pay
The company president doesn't want to know all the details. He just wants to see the bottom line and know how much money the company is making.
to take (something) into account - to consider; to think about; to include
A South American country seems like an inexpensive place to go on vacation, but once you take airfare into account, it is actually very expensive.
expense - cost; money paid by a person or company to get something
Our office supply expenses include money to buy paper, envelopes, and pens.
gross profits - profits before paying interest and taxes; the money that a company receives, minus the cost of the things that it makes or provides, before it pays interest and taxes
Our gross profits were $20,000, but after we paid taxes there was almost nothing left.
operating expenses - costs that are needed to run a business, but are not actually part of the company's products and/or services, such as rent, electricity, phone, and administrative and marketing costs
The company president decided that operating expenses were too high, so he made the company move to a smaller, less expensive building.
to figure (something) out - to think about something until one understands it; to be able to understand something
It took Ghiza a long time to figure out why her mother was angry with her.
complicated - complex and difficult; not simple; not easy to understand; confusing
Which is more complicated: learning to use a computer or understanding women?