Salaries and wages
Compensations given by an entity in exchange for service rendered by employees to the entity during the reporting period. Wages are typically paid on an hourly basis while salaries are paid periodically without reference to a specific number of hours worked.

Sale and leaseback
An arrangement whereby the owner of an asset sells it to a buyer, who immediately leases it back to the former owner. This allows the original owner to use the asset without having capital tied up in ownership.

Sale and leaseback accounting
A method of accounting for a sale and leaseback transaction, in which the seller lessee records the sale, removes all property and related liabilities from its statement of financial position, recognizes gain or loss from the sale, and classifies the leaseback.

Schedule of condition
Details the state of the property at the start of a lease, as a standard by which the tenant must hand back the property at the end of lease period.

Sensitivity analysis
An accounting technique that measures the relationship of cost and volume to profits. If small changes in factors such as volume, selling price, variable and fixed costs cause a large change in profit, it can be said that profit is sensitive to that factor, and that it is critical to the business.

Service concession arrangement
An arrangement whereby a government or other public sector body contracts with a private operator to develop, operate and maintain the grantor’s infrastructure assets such as roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, energy distribution networks, prisons or hospitals.

Share option
A contract that gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the entity’s shares at a fixed or determinable price for a specific period of time.  If the share option is not exercised within the specified period of time, then the contractual right lapses.

The owner of shares in a corporation or mutual fund. Shareholders have the right to vote on certain entity matters, including the Board of Directors. Also called stockholder.

A building industry term which means incomplete work, or complete work not in accordance with the specification, identified prior to or at ‘practical completion’ or during the, ‘defects liability period’ or at ‘making

good defects’ inspection.

Snagging list
The joint identification of a list of faults or problems that need to be rectified before the final payment is made to the contractor(s).

The undersurface of an arch, balcony or ceiling.

A food production method in which cooked food is vacuum- packed in central production kitchens so that it can be easily reconstituted at the point of sale by comparatively less skilled staff.

The creation of an independent entity through the sale or distribution of new shares of an existing business of a parent.

Start-up costs
Non-recurring costs associated with setting up a business, such as accountant’s fees, legal fees, registration charges. Also called start-up expenses.

Statement of comprehensive income
A statement presenting all components of profit and loss and other comprehensive income.

Stock exchange supervision
Institution supervising the capital market in order to secure the effectiveness of the capital market and the trade in securities operation as well as to ensure exchange trading conducted on an orderly basis.

Straight-line method
This method charges an equal amount of depreciation to each accounting period that benefits from the use of the fixed asset.

Substantive testing
Tests of account balances performed by the auditor to determine the correctness of the account balances as well as the transactions underlying those balances. Substantive testing consists of both analytical testing and test of detail.

Supervisory board
In Germany/Austria the supervisory board is elected by the shareholder. The supervisory board elects the Board of Management and controls the annual reporting and the business of the Board of Management. It runs the business and is the decision-making body.