ICMAB CMA Knowledge Level key terms

A communication technique where the listener fully concentrates, understands, responds, and then remembers what is being said, often by paraphrasing and asking clarifying questions to confirm understanding.

The transmission of messages without words, including body language, facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, and personal space, which can reinforce or contradict spoken words.

The medium through which a message is transmitted from sender to receiver, such as email, phone, face-to-face conversation, or written report, each with different richness and permanence.

The process by which a receiver's response is sent back to the sender, allowing the sender to verify that the message was understood and to adjust future communication accordingly.

An accounting method that records revenues when earned and expenses when incurred, regardless of when cash is received or paid, providing a more accurate picture of financial performance.

An accounting rule that requires expenses to be recorded in the same period as the revenues they helped generate, ensuring that profit is measured correctly for each accounting period.

The systematic allocation of the cost of a tangible long-term asset over its useful life, reflecting the consumption of the asset's economic benefits in each period.

A contra-asset account that accumulates all depreciation expense recorded on an asset since its acquisition, reducing the asset's book value on the balance sheet.

The net amount at which an asset or liability is recorded on the balance sheet, calculated as original cost minus accumulated depreciation or amortization.

An asset account representing payments made in advance for goods or services to be received in a future period, such as prepaid rent or insurance, which is later expensed as used.

The current worth of a future sum of money or stream of cash flows given a specified rate of return, used to evaluate investments and compare cash flows occurring at different times.

The interest rate used to convert future cash flows into present value, reflecting the time value of money and the risk associated with those cash flows.

The difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows over a period, used to assess the profitability of an investment or project.

The minimum return that a company must earn on its investments to satisfy its investors, often calculated as a weighted average of the costs of debt and equity financing.

A strategic planning tool that identifies an organization's internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats to inform decision-making and strategy formulation.

The process of dividing a broad market into distinct groups of consumers with similar needs, characteristics, or behaviors, enabling targeted marketing strategies for each segment.

The set of controllable tactical marketing tools-product, price, place, and promotion-that a firm blends to produce the desired response in its target market.

The number of subordinates that a manager can effectively supervise directly, influencing organizational structure, communication efficiency, and the degree of decentralization.

A statistical measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values, calculated as the square root of the variance, indicating how spread out data points are around the mean.

A statistical measure of the average squared deviation of each data point from the mean, used to quantify the spread or variability within a data set.

A measure of central tendency calculated by summing all values in a data set and dividing by the number of values, commonly known as the average.

Interest calculated on both the initial principal and the accumulated interest from previous periods, causing the investment or debt to grow at an increasing rate over time.

The value of the next best alternative forgone when making a choice, representing the benefits that could have been received by choosing a different option.

A graphical representation showing the inverse relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded by consumers, typically sloping downward.

A graphical representation showing the direct relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied by producers, typically sloping upward.

A measure of how responsive the quantity demanded or supplied of a good is to a change in its price, income, or related goods' prices, indicating consumer sensitivity.

Software that enables users to define, create, maintain, and control access to a database, ensuring data integrity, security, and efficient retrieval for business applications.

A network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules, protecting an organization's internal network from unauthorized access.

The process of converting data into a coded form to prevent unauthorized access, ensuring confidentiality during transmission and storage of sensitive business information.

Integrated software that manages core business processes-such as finance, HR, and supply chain-across an organization, providing a single source of data and improving efficiency.

A legally binding agreement between two or more parties that creates enforceable obligations, typically requiring offer, acceptance, consideration, and an intention to create legal relations.

Something of value exchanged between parties to a contract, such as money, goods, or services, which makes the agreement legally enforceable.

Failure by a party to fulfill its obligations under a contract without a lawful excuse, entitling the injured party to remedies such as damages or specific performance.

A tort involving failure to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to another person or their property, where a duty of care existed and was breached.

Legal rights protecting creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary works, designs, and trademarks, enabling creators to control and benefit from their creations.

The difference between a company's current assets and current liabilities, representing the funds available for day-to-day operations and short-term financial health.

The level of sales at which total revenues equal total costs, resulting in neither profit nor loss, calculated by dividing fixed costs by the contribution margin per unit.