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A mixed cost is an expense that has attributes of both fixed and variable costs. In other words, it’s a cost that changes with the volume of production like a variable cost and can’t be completely eliminated like a fixed cost.

Explanation :

 

Wage costs for employees who are paid a monthly salary plus commissions are a good example of mixed costs. This is a common compensation package for salesmen and sales reps. They usually receive a small base salary and commissions based on how many sales they make during the period. The monthly salary is a fixed cost because it can’t be eliminated. Even if the salesperson doesn’t sell anything during the month, the company still has to pay the base salary. The commission, on the other hand, acts more like a variable cost  because it’s based on the productivity of the employee. The more the employee sells the greater the sales commission expense becomes. The company can eliminate this expense altogether if it doesn’t sell anything for the month.

In a nutshell :

• A semi-variable cost, also known as a semi-fixed cost or a mixed cost, is a cost composed of a mixture of both fixed and variable components. 
• Costs are fixed for a set level of production or consumption, and become variable after this production level is exceeded.

A merger is the combination of two companies into one by either closing the old entities into one new entity or by one company absorbing the other. In other words, two or more companies are consolidated into one company.

Explanation :

A merger is a financial activity that is undertaken in a large variety of industries: healthcare, financial institutions, private investments, industrials, and many more. There are two main types of mergers: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal mergers occur when two businesses in the same industry combine into one. This type of combination can cause anti-trust issues depending on the industry. For instance, GM and Ford may not be allowed to merge because of antitrust laws. Vertical mergers occur when two businesses in the same value chain or supply chain merge. For example a hamburger restaurant might merge with a cow farm.

In a nutshell :

• Mergers are a way for companies to expand their reach, expand into new segments, or gain market share.
• A merger is the voluntary fusion of two companies on broadly equal terms into one new legal entity.
• The five major types of mergers are conglomerate, congeneric, market extension, horizontal, and vertical.

Mercantilism is an economic system that proposes that a nation’s wealth increases by having surplus in the balance of trade. It is a concept also known as commercialism, which is based on the belief that a country should encourage exports but at the same time to limit imports with the aim of driving economic growth.

Explanation :

Mercantilism used to be a popular economic system for a long time until the 18th century, namely in European countries like England and France. It substituted feudalism and assumed that the best way to increase nation prosperity was to accumulate gold and precious metals in the hands of the state. This would be possible by maximizing exports, imposing high barriers to imports and encouraging economic self-sufficiency. Stocks of gold also meant powerful governments that invigorated nationalism and colonialism. Under mercantilism, the State had strong intervention in the economy. But this system proved to be disadvantageous because some important elements to guarantee sustainable well being were undervalued, such as education, investment and specialization. On the other hand, self-sufficiency was not a feasible option for small nations. Although it is now considered an outdated, inappropriate system, some mercantilist arguments tend to arise from time to time. Nationalism and protectionism are ideologies that still appear despite the fact that market freedom is nowadays the prevalent economic system in most prosperous countries.

In a nutshell :

• Mercantilism was an economic system of trade that spanned from the 16th century to the 18th century.
• Mercantilism was based on the idea that a nation’s wealth and power were best served by increasing exports and so involved increasing trade.
• Under mercantilism, nations frequently engaged their military might to ensure local markets and supply sources were protected, to support the idea that a nation’s economic health heavily relied on its supply of capital.

A margin account is a brokerage account that allows the customer to use leverage to purchase securities. This means the account holder can take a loan from the broker to make investments.

Explanation :

Margin accounts are set up by brokers to allow their clients to borrow money from them in order to make an investment in the stock market. These accounts are risky because they are collateralized by the client’s equity. This means that any losses the client experiences on the securities he purchases through the loan can affect their own equity, even the one outside the account.Margin accounts charge an interest rate on the borrowed funds and demand a maintenance margin, which is a fixed percentage of the total account’s equity. This margin is the least amount of money that is required to be available in the account calculated as total equity value minus current borrowed funds.If the maintenance margin goes below the fixed percentage, the broker can issue a margin call, which means the account holder must provide new funds within a pre-established time frame or the broker can sell some of the securities without the holder’s approval to increase the maintenance margin to adequate levels.

In a nutshell :

• A margin account allows a trader to borrow funds from a broker, and not need to put up the entire value of a trade.
• A margin account typically allows a trader to trade other financial products, such as futures and options (if approved and available with that broker), as well as stocks.
• Margin increases the profit and loss potential of the trader’s capital.
• When trading stocks, a margin fee or interest is charged on borrowed funds.

A manufacturing statement, also called the schedule of cost of goods manufactured or the schedule of manufacturing activities, is a summary of all of the manufacturing activities and costs. The manufacturing statement is usually split up into four different parts: direct materials, direct labor, overhead, and total manufacturing costs or cost of goods manufactured.

 

 

Explanation :

Manufacturers perform many activities and incur many different costs during the manufacturing process. Each activity and cost must be recorded and compared to the manufacturing budget in order to chart the company’s goals. Most manufacturers use a manufacturing statement to help keep track of the manufacturing activities and expenses.

 

 

In a nutshell :

A manufacturing statement, also called the schedule of cost of goods manufactured or the schedule of manufacturing activities, is a summary of all of the manufacturing activities and costs.

A manipulated variable is an independent variable subject to the changes of an experiment to analyze its effect on a dependent variable. Simply put, the variable is modified to assess its influence over the experiment’s overall result.

 

 

 

Explanation :

Manipulated variables are frequently used in scientific experiments or theoretical research. This method evaluates the change in the results obtained by modifying a given independent variable’s value. By analyzing these changes the person in charge of the experiment can conclude what’s the degree of influence of this variable over the element or phenomena being studied. The manipulated variable experiment is designed to understand the cause-effect relationships between the elements being studied, but in order to identify and try out a manipulated variable there has to be a research or an hypothesis that backs the idea that this variable has a correlation with the dependent variable (the one that the experiment is trying to predict or study). Of course, in order for this to work, the person performing the experiment has to be able to control the input of the manipulated variable.

 

 

 

In a nutshell :

• Manipulated  variables are variables in a statistical model that are changed or determined by their relationship with other variables.
• Manipulated variables are dependent variables, meaning they correlate with other factors—although it can be a positive or negative correlation.

A manager is an individual that supervises both activities and people within a given organization. In other terms, it is the person in charge of overseeing things that get done.

 

 

 

Explanation :

The concept or figure of a manager is mostly related to business environments. Nonetheless, the managing function can be extended to different spheres by applying the underlying concept. A manager is someone that has the responsibility of getting things done. He normally manages both people and resources (physical resources or economic resources, among others). He has to plan, organize, execute and control all the activities he has been delegated with by using all available resources to do it effectively. Managers normally have enough authority to require and dispose of resources as needed. They can hire or fire employees, ask for supplies and equipment and organize teams depending on the nature of the tasks. Companies normally hire managers with professional background and experience or train their current employees to become managers. Broadly speaking, managers within an organizational structure can be classified as operational, tactical and strategic, depending on the nature of their responsibilities. Operational managers are in charge of day-to-day activities such as a production-line supervisor; on the other hand, tactical managers deal with whole departments such as a marketing manager or a plant manager; and finally, strategic managers are those with the responsibility of guiding the organization to achieve expected results, for example a Chief Executive Officer.

 

 

 

In a  nutshell:

•  A general manager is expected to improve efficiency and increase profits while managing the overall operations of a company or division.
• General manager duties include managing staff, overseeing the budget, employing marketing strategies, and many other facets of the business.
• General managers often report to higher-level managers or executives and supervise lower-level managers.
• General managers hold various titles, such as CEO, branch manager, or operations manager

Management accountants (also called managerial accountants) look at the events that happen in and around a business while considering the needs of the business. From this, data and estimates emerge. Cost accounting is the process of translating these estimates and data into knowledge that will ultimately be used to guide decision-making. The main difference between financial and managerial accounting  is whether there is an internal or external focus. Financial accounting  focuses on creating and evaluating financial statements that will be reported externally, like creditors and investors. In contrast, managerial accounting analyses and results are kept in-house for business leaders to use to drive decision-making and run the company more effectively. Managerial accountants handle many facets of accounting. These include margins, constraints, capital budgeting, trends and forecasting, valuation and product costing.

 

 

In a nutshell :

• Management accounting is the process of preparing reports about business operations that help managers make short-term and long-term decisions. 
• It helps a business pursue its goals by identifying, measuring, analyzing, interpreting and communicating information to managers
• Managerial accounting involves the presentation of financial information for internal purposes to be used by management in making key business decisions.
• Techniques used by managerial accountants are not dictated by accounting standards, unlike financial accounting.
• The presentation of managerial accounting data can be modified to meet the specific needs of its end-user.
• Managerial accounting encompasses many facets of accounting, including product costing, budgeting, forecasting, and various financial analysis.

The make or buy decision analysis is an evaluation of manufacturing something in-house versus buying that product from another seller. In other words, it is when a business weighs the pros and cons of making or doing something within the business using company resources or outsourcing  that part of production or business function to an outside party.

Explanation :

 

The make vs buy decision traditionally relates to parts in a manufacturing process. If an organization finds that they can make one or more of the manufacturing inputs that they use in house, then the organization should evaluate the cost and compare it to the cost of purchasing those inputs elsewhere. However, a company also has to make this decision as it relates to building software or carrying out business functions. For example, if an organization needs a certain type of software but does not have the IT resources necessary to build it in-house, then it makes sense for the business to look outside of the business to purchase this software.There are pros and cons to each of the alternatives, and they depend on the amount and type of resources that the firm holds. Things that business should think about other than cost include: cost of ownership, legal considerations, and how often modifications will need to be made to the product.

In a nutshell :

• A make-or-buy decision is an act of choosing between manufacturing a product in-house or purchasing it from an external supplier.
• Make-or-buy decisions, like outsourcing decisions, speak to a comparison of the costs and advantages of producing in-house versus buying it elsewhere.
• There are many factors at play that may tilt a company from making an item in-house or outsourcing it, such as labor costs, lack of expertise, storage costs, supplier contracts, and lack of sufficient volume.
• Companies use quantitative analysis to determine whether making or buying is the most cost-efficient method.