-: :1

'1:'.,.!

-:<ri Accournting and financial statest'tents

Freparation of the accountsThe accounting process starts with inputs, and these are i

things such as sales documents (eg invoices) purchasing ,

documents(egreceipts),payrollrecords,bankrecordstravel and entertainment records. The data in these inputs

is then processed by specialized software:

1 Entries are recorded chronologically into'journals'.2 Information from the joumals is posted (= transferred)

into 'ledgers', where it accumulates in specific categories

(eg cash account, sales account, or account for one

particular customer)3 A 'trial balance' is prepared at the end of each

accounting period: tlfs is a summary of the ledger

information to check whether the figures are accurate. Itis used directly to PrePare the main financial statements

(income statement, balance sl-reet and cash flowstatement).

The financial statements of large companies have to be

checked by an external firm of auditors, rvho'sign off on

the accounts' (: officially declare the accounts are correct)'

They are publicly available, and appear in the company's

annual report. Users of financial statements inciude:

shareholders, potential shareholders, creditors (lenders, eg

banks), customert suppliers, joumalists, financial analysts,

government agencies, etc.

Frofit and L@ss AcecuntThe profit and loss account (: income statement, or just'theP&U) summarizes business activity over a period of time- Itbegins with total sales (: revenue) generated during a

month, quarter or year. Subsequent lines then deduct (:subtract) all of the costs related to producing that revenue-

At this point look at the example on page 40, and then

return to this text.

Ba!ance SheetThe balance sheet reports the company's financial conditionon a specific date. The basic equation that has to balance is:

Assets : Liabilities + Shareholders' equity.

6 An 'asset' is anything of value ort'ned by a business-

e A'liability' is any amount owed to a creditor.

* Shareholders' equity (= owners' equity) is what remains

from the assets after all creditors have theoretically been

paid. lt is made up of two elements: share capital(representing the original invesknent in the business

when shares were first issued) plus any retainecl profit(: reserves) that has accumulated over time-

At this point look at the example on page 41, and then

return to this text.

Note the order in which items are listed:

I Assets are listed according to how easily they can be

turned into cash, with'current assets' being more liquidthan'fixed assets'.

e Liabilities are listed according to how quickly creditorshave to be paid, with'current liabilities' (: bank debt,

money owed to suppliers, unpaid salaries and bills)being paid before 'long-term babilities'.

Figures for'current assets' and'current liabilities' are

particularly important to a business. The amount by whichthe former exceeds the latter is called 'working capital'.This gives a quick measu.re of whether there is enough cash

freely available to keep the business running.

eash flow statementCompanies need a separate record of cash receipts and cash

payments. Why is this? Firstly for the reason given above -it shows the real cash that is available to keep the business

rururing day to day (profits are only on paper until the

money actually comes in). Secondly, there are manysophisticated teclrriques that accountants can use to

manipulate profit, whereas cash is real money. It's cash thatpays the bills, not profits.

There are many reasons why companies can have a

problem with cash flow, even if the business is doing well.Amongst them are:

e Unexpected late payments, and non-pavments (bad

debts).e Unforeseen costs: a larger thal expected tar

etc.

+ An unexpected drop in demand.* Investing too much in fixed assets.

Solutions might include:

g Credit control: chasing overdue accounis.

a strike,

6 Stock control: keeping low levels of stotk, rr-L-;r-:r:.lwork-in-progress, delivering to customers :r'r. :e qui iJ;."

e Expenditure control: deiaying spendinq lrn .a:l:;:equipment.

€ A sales pron-rotion to generate cash quiii:l'.'e Using an outside company to recover a j.i:

'factoring').

Coit certert; diScrele bvsiaergunitr whara htdlets a,re tFe^tFofit cetterl: unitt where

profitf are le.\zratedVariance axalygii z col4p4.ri^4 planrreJ

ccrts Cor incoue) with a'ctualcott' (or irrcoree)

Costi."l raethodr (4 staadardv5 ,^l!r4i^41 co5tinl)' Valuirg 6s5ett

Ratio analytis Cwes>t to analy5ep€r+Drua, ce in raore depth, to

co'"iF6,re coruparriei in the

9 ACCOUMTING AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT5

CFO (Chie{ Fi,,.ancial OFfi.e.)-ii oa. tha Board. 5 ierrior

vl.^,L1er' below report to CFO

l. Firarrcial ControllerHarrrrinj: prepari^4 {orecasts

and budletrMoni.torirrl : <oxparinj plannedspardinl with actural rpe,rding

hoducirrj fi,raacial data for thet?.lic,r raanaleraerrt teau

Analyfin4 u4!or irrve5traerrt

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Ratio analyris Cluypei)zliquidity catioi,

profitability ratio!,levera4e (=debt) r-q1cidl tactivity ratiog 2. Tretsurer \

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5. Chie{ AccountiqOfficer

Kee-pin1 the corrpary! Uooffheparin4 financial Etateuertr

Feparing tax returns

Developiaj slratcqiei touir.iuize taie;

Cawes o$cafh-{low probleMt

Late payxrerrtr ard rorr-paynaentr

UnforeSeerr. coft<Unexpected chaxjes irr der,rantl

Over-borrowir4 frou the ba*to firrance eipanfion planf

SolutionsCredit control

Stock control

Expenditure cor,,trol

Marketing initiativeJUfir.,1 an outSide

coMF4.^y to recover a debt

39

Accounting and financial statementsStudy the simplified financial statements for an imaginary retail store. All figures are in €000s. The

convention in accounting is that a negative figure is shown by a bracket. To understand the figures,

work from the right:

e the right-hand column shows totals for each major category

6 the central column shows information that is used in producing the figures to the righte the left-hand column shows details of the calculatior-rs in the central column-

Vocabuiary in financial statements is surprisingly non-standard, with many companies using a mixture

of US and European terms. See the right-hand column for alternatives, more detail, etc.

Profit and Loss Account (Income Statement) For the Year Ended Decembet 31' 20)O(

Revenues

Gross salesLess: Sales returnsLessl Sales discounts

Net sales

Cost of goods sold

PurchasesSalaries of manual workersTransport cosis

Cost of goods sold

Gross profit

Operating expensesSelling expenses

290JU

30(350)

'Revenue' (= income I turnover / sales I the topline)

'Cost of goods sold' (= direct costs) includes

manufacturing costs, salaries of manual (= blue-

collar) workers etc.

'Operating expenses' (= indirecl costs /overhead) include salaries of sales and office staff,

marketing costs, utility bills etc,

'Non-operating income' includes profits irorn

investments in other companies.

'EBITDA' stands for Earnings Before lnlerest, Tax,

Depreciation and Amortization.

'Earnings' (= profit / the bottom line)

'Depreciation' and 'Amortization' are very similar,

and are often r-rsed in the same way. However,'depreciation' can reler to the loss in value of a

tangible asset (eg a vehicle), and 'amortizalion'to

the loss in value of an intangible asset (eg thepurchase of a licence or trademark). This loss over

time is treated as a cost and written ofl (=

subtracted from the profit) over several years.

'lnterest' refers to money paid to the bank lorloans (or received {rom the bank for cash

balances).

'Dividends' is money paid to shareholders.

'Retained profit' is transferred to the Balance

Sheet, where lt ioins the amounts {rom previous

years.

2BO

Salaries for sales staffAdvertising

Total selling expensesGeneral expenses

Salaries for administrative staff

lnsuranceRent

Light, heat and powerOffice suppliesMiscellaneous

Total general expensesTotal operating expenses

Operating protit

Non-operating incomeEBITDADepreciationEBITlnterest paid on bank loansNet income beiore taxes

Less: lncome taxNel incorne (or loss) after taxesDividends

ii Hetained profit

821B

526

1B

102

z

(1eo)

90

595

(10)otrOJ

€)79

(1e)

60(1s)

€47ti---_-_-,---*---

Balance Sheet, December 31, 20)C(

ASSETSCurrent assels

Cash at bankAccounts receivableInventory. Total current assets

Frxed assetsBuilding and improvements

Less: accumulated depreciation

Equipment and vehiclesLess: accumulated depreciation

Furniture and iixturesLess: accumulated depreciatlon

Total fixed assets

lntangible assefsTotat-r ntan gib le assets

Total assets

15

, 200

l€0

300

(e0)

210120(80)

20(B)

9 ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

'Accounts receivable' is the amount owed to thebusiness by customers (= creditors).'lnventory' is the value of raw materials & stock.'Current assets' may also include ,marketable

securities,(= shares intended for disposal within one year).'Fixtures' are part of a building that cannot be moved,such as lights.

'Fixed assets' may also include long_term financialinvestments.

'lntangible assets' include patents, trademarks &'goodwill' (reputation, contacts and expertise ofcompanies that have been bought).

20677

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

Current liabititiesBank debtAccounts payableAccrued taxesAccrued salaries

Total current liabilities

Long-term tiabilitiesMortgageBonds payable (due Mar 2018)

Total long{erm liabilitiesTotal liabilities

Shareholders' equityShare capital (300,000 shares @ €.1)Retained profit

Total owners'equityTotal liabilities & equity

'Bank debt' (= loan capital) also includes any overdraft (=temporary negative balance).

'Accounts payable' is the money owed to suppliers.'Accrued' items are those where an expense has beenincurred, but the money is not yet paid. ,Accrued

salaries,typically includes future bonuses.

Another item, .provisions', can appear under current

liabilities. These are amounts set aside for anticipatedone{ime payments that are not part of regular operations- perhaps a lawsuit, or a compensation package foremployees being laid off.

A'mortgage' is a long{erm bank loan to buy a property.With bonds, the 'principal' (= amount raised by issuingthe bonds) is repayable to the bond holders at ,maturity,.

'share capitar' ( = common stock, AmE) is amount raisedat initial flotation on the stock market.

'Retained profit, (= Reserves / Retained earnings). Thefigure showing here is more than the €42,000 transterredfrom the income statement because it is an amountaccumulated over several years.

20302245

'100

20

300

l_40

117

120ta7

440677

47

9.1 Fill in the missing letters.

1 On a balance sheet, 'assets' are what you ow- and'liabilities' are what you ow-.

2 The loss in value o{ a tangible asset over time is called

'd- - - - - -n'. This loss is 'w* - - -en o- -' in the

accounts over several years. The loss in value of an

intangible asset is called'am-- - -- -- --n'.3 The term 'debtor' is now often replaced with 'accounts

rec- - - - -le'. Similarly, 'creditor' is often replaced with'accounts p____le'.

4 The total value of raw materials + work-in-progress +

5 Expenses that have been incurred but are not yet paid are

called'acc- _ d expenses'

6 The extent to which a firm relies on debt financing rather

than equity financing is called its 'lev- *age'

9.2 Underline the correct words from those in italics.

-l-he terms 'direct costs' and 'variable costs' are close I

Lynony*r. They both refer to things like raw materials :

costs and the wages of manual (= blue collar) workers. But: j

e to emphasize costs which increase in proportion to any

rise in output , say l direct costs / variable costs

+ to ernphaSize costs which can be identified with one

particular product, say zdirect costs / variable costs.

Similarly, the terms 'fixed costs', 'indirect costs' and'operating costs' are close synonyms. They all re{er tothings like advertising, rent and the salaries of office staff.

But:

o lo emphasize costs which stay the same at all levels of

output in the short term, say 3fixed costs / operating

cosfsc to emphasize costs which result from the whole business

(rent, utilities, etc), not ariy particular products, say4indirect costs / operating costs. A synonym here is

'overhead' (BrE overheads).

e to emphasize costs resulting {rom the day-to-day

activities o{ the business (products and processes), saysfixed costs / operating costs.

There are many other types of 'costs' referred to in finance

and accounting. Two of the most important are:

o 6capita! expendlture / capitatism expenditure - the costsof buylng or upgrading physical assets like buildings

and machinery; often referred to in business as'capex'a 7 mark-up costs / marginal costs - the costs o{ increasing

output by one more unit.

and financial statements: Exercises

9.3 Put these words into three groups, so that all thewords in a group have a similar meaning: costs,earnings, expenditure, expenses, income, profit,revenue, sales, spending, turnover-

9.4 Put the words into the correct column.i_--- *_

i accounts payable cost of goods sold ledger

' shareholders' equity EBTTDA trial balance invoicest oPeratinq expenses current assets

Preparation ofaccounts

Profit and lossaccount

Balanre sheet

unsold stock is called 'in- - - - - -y'. ; ":":i::: * o':Y:":

9.5 Put the solutions for managing cash flow 1-6 intothe correct category below.

1 just-in-time manufacturing

2 making payments to suppliers in instalments (= partpayments)

3 leasing fixed assets rather than buying them4 of{ering a discount for early settlement (= complete

payment) of a bill

5 improving sales forecasting so that the warehouse holds, less inventory

6 cancelling the office Christmas party

Credit control:Stock control:Expenditure control:

9.6 Put the sources of new funds 1-6 into the correctcategory below.

1 lssuing new shares

2 lssuing new bonds (note that only large companies do this)3 Trade credit (asking suppliers if you can pay them later)4 Reinvested earnings5 Sale of assets (eg a building, or a part of a company)

6 Bank loan or bank overdraft {= lurporury negativebalance)

Debt financing (money raised has to be paid back to outsidecreditors): I I nEquity financing (money raised comes directly or indirectly

from the owners of the business, who hope to have it paid

back in the form of more pro{is): n I I

NTNTTN

9 ACCOUNIING AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT5

9.7 Match topics 1-5 with the conversation extractsa)--e) below1 cost centers I2 profit centers f3 variance analysis fl4 standard versus marginal costing f,5 valuing assets Ia) 'How are we going to show the depreciation of our new

machinery in the accounts? We could write it off in astraight line over six years. but we,re losing most of thevalue in the early years. I think we should do it on apercentage basis, say 25% every year, so that the bookvalue is more realistic

b) 'We allocated a budget of €200,000 for R&D last quarteibut there seems to be an overspend of €25.000. I need tofind out whats going on.,

c) 'l'd like to see earnings broken down according to ourmajor product lines.'

d) 'All our marketing activities are shown under one budgetheading. ln the future l,d like to see separate figures forthe different areas of marketing so that we can have morecontrol of spending-.

e) 'Should we accept tiris order? The profit rnargins are.low.But, on the other hand, the machines will be running .

anyl /ay, there isn,t much extra labour required, and othervariable costs are low. 5o it,s probably worth it.,

9.8 Study the collocations below. Check any unknownwords in a dictionary.

budgeted, escalating, estimaled, increasing,likely, rising, unexpected, unforeseen

bring down, calculate, cut, figure out, lower,meet, pay, reduce. work out

Now divide the words in each box into three groups,based on their meaning.

escalating, une*pected,increasing, unforeseen costsrising

profits

the figures

equity

9-9 Match the definitions l-4 with the examples offinancial ratios a)-O below.1 Liquidity ratios: these measure ability to turn assets into

cash to pay short-term debts. f]2 Profitability ratios: these measure ability to generate

pro{its. n I I3 Leverage (Debt) ratios: these measure the degree to which

a company relies on borrowed {unds. f]4 Activity ratios: these measure the effectiveness of the useof resources from an operational point of view. f

a) Debt to owners' equity = Total liabilities / Total owners,

Uuaqieiea,estirnafed,likely

figure

bring i

costs

costs

profir'

fiqure

the figures

b) Net profit margin = Net income before taxes / Net salesc) Working capital = Current assets / Current liabilitiesd) Return on equity = Net income after tax / Total owners,

equity

e) lnventory turnover = Cost of goods sold / Averageinventory (mid point between inventory at beginning andending of accounting period)

f) Earnings per share = Net income after taxes / Number ofshares issued

1 To some people, finance is a dry and technical area ofbusiness. ln fact, it5 fascinating. balance sheet they will be

because...

Here's what I know about a fanrous financial scandal thatwas in the news -..

When an auditor looks at aparticularly interested in ...O Agree O Disagree

2 When an auditor looks at an income statement they willbe particularly interested in ... because ...

+J

Trends, graphs and figures

TrendsRead the text and then study the bullet points below

tru lndus{rial At, !raoe I

\t\,

I

l l-\flrl

l,

I

r 'lI

I

I

JF MAr:-rd J:**@astg!Mruf,&rk;:#irtut &*r.:..,G',.. I

i.i_ i;ii .f-nu chart shows the US stock market @ow Jones i1 I inOex) for last year and the lirst quarter of this year. i

As can be seen from the chart, last year started on apositive note. The market rose until late February whenit almost reached the 11,000 level But,interest rateswere rising, and investors decided to take profits.There wa-s a sharp fa!! during the month of March andthe Dow trottomed out at just over 10,000. At that pointinvestors started buying again - strong economicnumbers apd global liquidity (central banks printingmoney) offered support to the market. Over the summerthe Dow was flat, trading in a range from 10,300 to10,700. The market was unable to break out of thisrange, even though company profits were increasing.What was the reason? It was almost entirely due to theprice of oil, which had dimbed dramatically {rom $42 abarrel at the start of the year to $68 in August. This pricerise was caused by the hurricane season in the Gulf ofMexico and increasing tension in the Middle East-

In mid-October the markets started to rallystrongly, and went from 10,200 to 10,900'over just fourweeks. This sudden j rrnp was as a result of commentsmade by a member of the Federal Reserve, whoindicated that interest rates would soon stop rising.This is positive for busindss as the cost of borrowing 1:

'also stops going up. From November to January themarket remained more or Iess unchanged, failing tobreak through the February highs.

Over the last few months the market has advancedagain. The economic backdrop remains healthy:company profits are good,.consumer spending is up,and interest rates are close to reaching a peak. Theonly dark cloud is the price of oil, which has risen backto the $70 level and looks certain to go up further. Thenext hurricane season is approaching and'productionworldwide cannot be significantly expanded.

l 1400

r 1300

I 1200

il100l r000

10900

10800

10700

10600

I 0500

10400

10300

10200

b In any text describing trends there will be verbs andnouns of movement. Examples in this text are fall, bottom

out, be JIat, inuease, etc.

e The mind map opposite lists verbs of movement. Notethat words describing the same type of movement are

often used in different contexts. For example, shareprices 'rally' whereas profits or economies'grow'. Use a

good dictionary to check on points of usage such as this.e Note the use of verb tenses in the text: reacher!, uere

rising, had climbed, has risen, etc. There is a summary ofverb forms and uses in the mind map opposite.

s A text describing trencls will include many examples oflinking words. (See units 20-22.) Examples here are eaen

though, due to, as n result o/and as (rneaning'because').

Transitive and intransitive verbsWhen using verbs of movement it is important to knowwhether they are:

s Transitive - needing an object - shown in the dictionarvwith a'T'.

g Intransitive - used wid'rout an object - shown in thedictionary with an'I'.

So the following verbs are transitive and. r'reed an object (fke

budget):

We cttt I lowererl I rsiserl I reducecl thebudgeit.

But these examples are wrong (no object):Thebudget@The following verbs are intransitive and are used withoutan object:Costs zuent rlown I fell I declined I rose.

But these examples are wrong (there is an object):We@costs.Ivlany verbs like incrense and, decrease can be used both withand wilhout objects.

Adiectives and adverbs of movenrent .

ln the texl some nouns are qualified with adjectives (sharp,

sudden| and some verbs with adverbs (dramatically,sigttifcantly).

Adjectives used to describe movement include: sloto, slight,grndual, steady, quick, rnpid, significant, sharp, substantial,dramntic.

Adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the adjective, andsometimes one or two other letters change as well.

10100

10000

.Uo*1d-, iD_ r^p, i^create, rise, rai5a, put upr.= r,r.r9e'), clivb, pick up) lrourr e,<pA^d, doubie,ghow an upwari trend'

Rapid upward: jr.vap, rocket, foar, take. o{:F

.,.bowr,ward: 1o dow,r, decrea,Se, {all, drop,rlip, back, reduce, lower, brin4 jo*,,. t= lower),cut, 5hrink, halve, rhow a dlwnward tr-end

Rapid dowrrward: plur.^xet, collapge, crafh, 5h.uap

Highr and low5: p€.ak, reach a peaklbottor.a out, hit a lorr

Volatility: {}uctuate, be volatile

, (tability:

.stay .Lhe save, be flat,be (relatively) ur,..chan1ed; level off /'or,,\t ,

Qooa and bad: iuprove C= yt better),.Stre'r1ther., Tecoverl bori,rce backldeteriorate (= yL wor5e), waake^

-(ir.1la pointf : be ahove ./ belou, ltalrd atStatest be up / down

ANbHqURE<

tootir-1 back at an actior ir projrerr

1:9 irt prolr-ess up to a point ir the part:sales hqd 6eea risix4 9tron4ly, but then newcor.rpetitorf e'rrte.ed il,n *".k"i'

-

- , fctiol i; proqress up to the pregert:54let have 6ee-^ rili'^q ir all our raajor- l,arr<elcs

TRErub(, qRAPH-<

AcLion ir progerrFe'ent, tllet are riti^AItronlly

"t ihn *.r^ol.1Pastt sales were risi*aMDre rtro^irl rnrt-fr,

Lootcir.l UactFror,. the preierrt to the part:sa.let hqve ri;e^ 6y 6% thrs yexe

. Frgu the part to eqr-lier ir the sast: \t^te5 h^d.rite^ to a hi4h level, but i 2A06the Frarket bql,.. to .h"^A

Qroplr, chart, bar chart,pie chart, ta6le, dia4r-au

Tit.ie, row ,/ coluran (r.rith headia.ag).horizont,el axis ec,,6eled r^,,th ,^orithi).vertical axit (showi^q the values {o. ...)

Currve, iolid lia.e, dotted lina, darhed line,seliue*I, shtden a:rea., tlope- (steep or Ehalilw)

_Ag carr 6e set_n fror^ the chart,The Sraph,z My next stido- ;howsff*iy now at the {ilurre; for

13 TRENDS, GRAPHS AND FIGURES

the third quarter we c4.A ree ..,

A yeat deal r,rore thar, way ovar

Souewhat uore thrtr, well over

Jult over, ilijhily r.ore than

1."Tld, about, roalhly, sos^ewherer'\ the rajrol o*, 4FproxiMr\tel,r,

Ah'^olt, nearlyr rrot qr,rite, jurt rhort o{Far less lharr,,.owherg.

^q4r,nothinl lika 4t r^rech ar

Jee units 20-22.

57

,#-.+a,18;, trE-ei:-ffi-F Trends, graphs and figures: Exercises

13-1 Match each phrase on the left with its closestsynonym (same meaning) on the right.1 drop by 50%2 rise by 100%3 get better4 get worse5 bounce back

6 grow7 put up

8 bring down

1 rise

2 raise

3 take off4 expand5 fluctuate6 peak

13.2 Match each verb on the left with its closestantonym (opposite meaning) on the right.

13.3 Complete each sentence with a phrasal verb fromthe box.

4 We can 'raise / lower' prices or 'put up / bring down'prices. However, the first tvvo examples / last tuvo examp/esare slightly more formal, and can refer to a change in thelevel or standard of something as well as prices.

'13.5 Put a tick (/) if the sentence is possible. Put a

cross (X) if it is not. The answers depend on whetherthe verb is transitive, intransitive or both.1 We cut cosrs by 5%. n2 We fell costs by 5%. f3 Profits cut by 5%. n4 Profits fell by 5%. I5 We raised prices by 2%. n6 We rose prices by 2olo. n7 lnflation raised by 2%. ,I8 lnflation rose by 2%. t]9 We increased sales by 4o/o. n

10 Sales increased by 4ok. tl11 We went up market share by 3%. tr12 Market share went up by 3%. n13.6 The -ing form of many verbs can be used as anadiective, eg an increasing demand for oil. Makeadjectives from the verbs in the box using theinformation in brackets.

expand grow rise shrink soar

1 a shrinkinq budget (decreasing in size)

2an business (increasing in size)

problem (increasing over a longperiod)

4

5

inf lation (increasing)

costs (reaching a very high level)

13.7 Fill in the missing letters in these adverbs usingthe information in brackets.

1 ra Pid ly (quickly)

2 9r-lly (slowly and by small amounts)

3 st_--ily (in a constant, regular way)

4 sli-ly (a little)

5 mar-lly (fractionally)

6 sig--ly (in a large and noticeable way)

7 sh ly (suddenly and by a large amount)8 dr-lly (suddenly and surprisingly)

Note that'dramatically' can refer to both good and badchanges (unlike in many Latin languages).

a) deteriorateb) recover

c) doubled) raise

e) expandf) lowerg) halve

h) improve

a) plummetb) be flatc) bottom outd) falle) lowerf) shrink

1

bounce back bottom outpick up put up

bring down level offslip back take off

f

4

lf your prices are too high, you have tothem

-.

lf your prices are too low, you have tothem

lf sales reach their lowest level, they

lf sales recover after a period of downward movement,they -=--'=--.lf sales go up a little after being flat for some time, they

6 lf sales go up a lot after being flat for some time, they

7 lf profits were going up - or down -bnd then become l

stable, they : Sales increased...

3a

8 lf profits go down a lrttle after a period of growth, they

13.4 Underline the correct words in italics.1 The verbs 'rise' and 'grow' are similar. However, rise / grow

is more common for longer periods of time, and wherethere is a total increase in size (eg describing theeconomy).

2 The phrasal verb 'grow up' refers to the change frombeing a child to being an adult. lt can also / cannotbeused to re{er to things like profits, the economy.

3 The phrasal verb 'fall down' refers to movement towardsthe ground. lt can a/so lcannot be used to refer to thingslike sales, profits.

13.8 Put a tick (/) if the sentence makes sense. put across (X) if it does not.1 Profits have risen steadily over recent years. fl2 Sales plummeted marginally in July. f,3 The price of oil soared gradually last year. []4 Share prices dropped back slightly last week. I5 Unemployment numbers levelled out sharply- f]13.9 Write the nouns for these verbs. Sometimes theform is the same.

.I3 TRENDS, GRAPHS AND FIGURES

13.12 ft is very cornrnon to use approximate figures _particularly in speech. Match each approximate figurea)-p) to an exact figure l-6 below.

1

rmprove 1

a) just over 1 50b) around 150c) just short of 1 50d) roughly 150e) not quite 150f) almost 150g) some 150h) 150orso

i) far less than 150

l) way, way over 150k) nowhere near 150l) slightly more than 150m)somewhat more than 150_

n) 150 give or take a littleo) somewhere in the region of .l 50p) nothing like as much as 150

1

2

)45

6

7

8

9

10

cut

deteriorate tncrease i1 90fall recover

reduce i

TXtrTn

nfEuTfl

grow

halve

2 1463 1544 1905 2406 140 to 160

rise

'!3.10 Rewrite the ,verb + adverb' sentences as'adjective + noun' sentences.1 Sales fell slightly.

There was u slight fall in sales.2 Profits rose steadily

We saw a in profits3 The economy improved gradually_

There was a in the economy.4 We need to reduce costs sharply.

We need to see a tn costs

13-13 Fill in the gaps with a preposition wherenecessary (in one case there is no preposition). Choosefrom: at, between, down, from, in, into, of, on, to, with.

uDInn

1 Last yeaq sblEi ibse _ €7m _ €7.5m, Sothat3 an increase €0.5m.

2 Last year there was an increase8o/".

sales

'l3.ti Underline the correct words.1 l'd like you to look at the blue segment on this next bar

chart / pie chart.2 l'd like to draw your attention to the headrng / title at the

top of each column of this table.3 l'm sorry, the heading / titte of this next slide is off the

screen, but at leasl you can see the graph.4 The horizontal axis is rnarked with / tabeled with the

months of the year.

5 Sales growth has been very rapid _ as you can see fromthe sfeep / shallow slope of this graph.

Our market share now stands __ 2g%.One .--------..-- five (= sns out of every five) of ourproducts never makes a profit.Two million euros were spent on televisionadvertising.

Unemployment figures have been relatively stable forsome time. fluctuating 4.3o/o and 4.60/o.There hasn't been much movement --- theunemployment figures for some time.Sales rose line -_-- predictions.From January 1st to now, sales have gone up by €0.5mSo that3 a year- _-date increise oI gyo'.Over the last twelve months. sales have gone up by€0.5m. So that5 a year- ---..--,_year increase of gyo.ln this pie chart, sales are broken by region.ln this pie chart, the whole country is dividedfive regions.

-34

8

9

10

11

12

Prepare two graphs. They could be abbut your company(sales, profits, costs, etc) or your country (inflation,

c Speaking practice 2. Regroup and work with a newunemployment, house prices, etc). you could tpke graphsfrom an article on the lnternet or in print, in fl-glish or inyour own language. Remember to label the twJ axes.Speaking practice 1. Tell a partner about the graphs. yourpartner should ask for more information (eg i,m'sorry canyou explain that again?, 'What were the reisons for that?,)

partner - you are going to repeat the exercise and explainthe graphs again. This time speak slowly and focus onaccurary rather than fluency. Take a moment to revie\,n/pages 56-57 before you begin.

a Writing practice. Write a short report baseci on the twographs.

5l:)