Accounting & Financial Glossary

Clear definitions of key terms in accounting, finance, and business management for SMEs in Africa (SYSCOHADA, WCR, DSO...).

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57 terms defined

A

Accounting Journal

Chronological record of all accounting entries of the company.

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Assets

All goods and rights owned by the company (fixed assets, inventory, receivables, cash).

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B

Balance Sheet

Financial statement showing the company's financial position at a given date: assets, liabilities and equity.

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Bank Overdraft

Cash facility granted by the bank allowing a negative balance on the account.

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Bank Reconciliation

Verification of the match between accounting entries and bank statements.

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Break-even Date

Date in the year when revenue reaches the break-even point.

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Break-even Point

Revenue level at which the company covers all its costs (fixed + variable) and starts generating profit.

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C

Cash Flow

Movement of cash in and out of a business over a given period.

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CCC (Cash Conversion Cycle)

Total time between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. CCC = DSO + DIO - DPO.

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Chart of Accounts

Organized list of all accounts available to the company, classified by category.

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CII (Cross-Industry Invoice)

XML e-invoice format based on the UN/CEFACT standard, used as the basis for Factur-X.

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Clearance Model

E-invoicing model where each invoice is pre-validated by the tax authority before being sent to the customer.

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Corporate Income Tax

Tax on profits earned by companies. Rate varies by country.

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D

Depreciation

Allocation of the cost of a fixed asset over its expected useful life.

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DIO (Days Inventory Outstanding)

Average number of days inventory is held before being sold.

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Discount / Bill Discounting

Reduction granted for early payment, or banking operation of selling trade bills.

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DPO (Days Payable Outstanding)

Average number of days the company takes to pay its suppliers.

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DSF (Statistical and Tax Return)

Mandatory annual return in OHADA countries combining financial statements and tax information.

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DSO (Days Sales Outstanding)

Average number of days required to collect customer payments after invoice issuance.

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E

E-reporting

Obligation to transmit invoicing data to tax authorities for transactions not covered by e-invoicing (B2C, international).

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EBITDA

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. Measures pure operational performance.

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Equity / Shareholders' Equity

Resources belonging to the company's owners: share capital, reserves and retained earnings.

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F

Factoring

Transfer of accounts receivable to a financial institution (factor) in exchange for immediate payment.

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Factur-X

Hybrid e-invoice format (readable PDF + structured XML data), French-German standard compliant with EN 16931.

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FEC (Accounting Entries File)

Standardized digital file containing all accounting entries, required by French tax authorities.

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Fiscal Year

12-month period over which the company prepares its annual accounts (usually January 1 to December 31).

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FNE (Normalized Electronic Invoice)

Normalized electronic invoicing system of Ivory Coast via DGI, with pre-validation and fiscal seal.

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G

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

European regulation on personal data protection, applicable since May 2018.

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General Ledger

Record grouping all accounting entries by account, showing the balance of each account.

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Gross Margin

Difference between revenue and the direct cost of goods or services sold.

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I

IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards)

International accounting standards used in 140+ countries, mandatory for listed companies in Europe.

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Income Statement

Financial statement summarizing revenues and expenses for the fiscal year to determine net income.

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J

Journal Entry

Recording of an economic transaction in accounts, following the double-entry principle.

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L

Liabilities

All debts and obligations of the company towards its creditors, shareholders and the state.

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M

MECeF (Certified Electronic Invoicing Machine)

Certified electronic invoicing system of Benin, transmitting each invoice in real-time to DGI.

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N

Net Cash Position

Difference between available cash and short-term financial debts of the company.

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O

OHADA (Organization for Harmonization of Business Law in Africa)

Organization of 17 African countries that harmonized their business law, including accounting law (SYSCOHADA).

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P

PCG (French General Chart of Accounts)

French accounting standard defining recording rules, chart of accounts and mandatory financial statements.

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Peppol

International network for exchanging electronic invoices between businesses and public administrations.

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PPF (Public Invoicing Portal)

Central directory + DGFiP data concentrator. Since the free PPF as an invoicing tool was abandoned (Oct. 2024), B2B mandatorily flows through an Approved Platform.

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Provision / Allowance

Accounting charge recorded to cover a probable risk or asset impairment.

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R

Receivable

Amount of money owed to the company by a third party (customer, government, etc.).

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RLS (Row Level Security)

Database security mechanism that restricts data access row by row based on the user.

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ROI (Return on Investment)

Ratio measuring the profitability of an investment: (Gain - Cost) / Cost × 100.

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S

SCF (Algerian Financial Accounting System)

Algerian accounting standard inspired by IFRS, in force since 2010.

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SECeF (Certified Electronic Invoicing System)

Electronic invoicing system used in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso for DGI invoice certification.

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Statutory Audit

Legal mission to verify annual accounts by an independent statutory auditor.

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SYSCOHADA (OHADA Accounting System)

Harmonized accounting system applicable in the 17 OHADA member countries in Africa.

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T

TAFIRE (OHADA Cash Flow Statement)

Financial Resources and Uses Table - Mandatory financial statement in SYSCOHADA, equivalent to the cash flow statement.

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Tax Return

Document filed with tax authorities declaring taxable income and taxes due.

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Tax Return Package

Set of tax forms and financial statements to be filed annually with the tax authorities.

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Trial Balance

Summary table of all accounts with their debit/credit totals and balances.

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U

UBL (Universal Business Language)

XML standard for electronic business documents (invoices, orders, etc.), maintained by OASIS.

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V

VAT (Value Added Tax)

Indirect consumption tax collected at each stage of the production and distribution chain.

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W

WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union)

Economic and monetary union of 8 West African countries sharing the CFA Franc (XOF).

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Withholding Tax

Tax deduction made directly by the payer on the amount paid to the beneficiary.

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Working Capital Requirement

Amount the company must finance to cover the gap between receipts and disbursements related to its current operations.

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