The balance sheet is one of the most important pieces of financial information issued by a company. It is a snapshot of what a company owns and owes at that point in time. The income statement, in contrast, shows the company's revenues and profits over a certain period.
Variable interest entity. Variable interest entity (VIE) is a term used by the United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in FIN 46 to refer to an entity (the investee) in which the investor holds a controlling interest that is not based on the majority of voting rights. It is closely related to the concept of a special purpose entity.
Conflict of Interest (COI). A conflict of interest exists when two or more contradictory interests relate to an activity by an individual or an institution. The conflict lies in the situation, not in any behavior or lack of behavior of the individual. That means that a conflict of interest is not intrinsically a bad thing.