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.
For example, if your credit card has a fixed APR of 18.24%, that means the APR will remain the same from month to month. A variable APR, however, is an interest rate that is normally tied to another rate, such as the prime rate or Treasury bill rate. If the other rate changes, it is likely your interest rate will change accordingly, whether it be up or down. A variable APR can change from day to day. For instance, if you have a credit card with a variable interest rate, look in your cardholder agreement to see to which interest rate your APR is tied. Your agreement may state that your APR is tied to the prime rate and is equal to prime + 5.99%.