46 Business & Finance Acronyms Everyone in the Workplace Should Know

ROI, KPI, EBITDA, SaaS, YOY — the acronyms that get thrown around in meetings and job postings, decoded in plain language. Built for new hires, MBA students, and anyone tired of nodding along without knowing what something actually stands for.

46 cards Public deck
Question Answer
ROI
Return on Investment
KPI
Key Performance Indicator
B2B
Business to Business
B2C
Business to Consumer
D2C
Direct to Consumer
B2G
Business to Government
YOY
Year Over Year
QOQ
Quarter Over Quarter
P&L
Profit and Loss
EBITDA
Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization
CAGR
Compound Annual Growth Rate
COGS
Cost of Goods Sold
CAC
Customer Acquisition Cost
LTV
Lifetime Value (of a customer)
MRR
Monthly Recurring Revenue
ARR
Annual Recurring Revenue
SaaS
Software as a Service
CEO
Chief Executive Officer
CFO
Chief Financial Officer
COO
Chief Operating Officer
CTO
Chief Technology Officer
HR
Human Resources
IPO
Initial Public Offering
M&A
Mergers and Acquisitions
NDA
Non-Disclosure Agreement
SOP
Standard Operating Procedure
FY
Fiscal Year
QTD
Quarter to Date
YTD
Year to Date
GAAP
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
APR
Annual Percentage Rate
APY
Annual Percentage Yield
ETF
Exchange-Traded Fund
NPV
Net Present Value
IRR
Internal Rate of Return
SWOT
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (analysis)
OKR
Objectives and Key Results
KYC
Know Your Customer
AML
Anti-Money Laundering
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
CPI
Consumer Price Index
FICA
Federal Insurance Contributions Act
401(k)
A tax-advantaged retirement savings plan offered by employers
IRA
Individual Retirement Account
POS
Point of Sale
RFP
Request for Proposal