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Factoring: selling the rights to the amounts owing by debtors to a finance company for an agreed amount (which is less than the figure at which they are recorded in the accounting books because the finance company needs to be paid for providing the service).

FIFO (First In First Out): FIFO, or First In First Out, is an assumption that enables the cost of stock to be calculated. When sales are made the items sold are assumed to be the earliest purchased, so the cost of items in stock always reflect the most recent purchases.

Final Accounts: this is a term previously used to refer to statements produced at the end of accounting periods, such as the trading and profit and loss account and the balance sheet. Nowadays, the term 'financial statements' is more commonly used.

Finance Lease: this is an agreement whereby the lessee enjoys substantially all the risks and rewards associated with ownership of an asset other than legal title. Financial Accounting Financial accounting is concerned with recording financial transactions that have already occurred and with providing information from the accounting records, for example in order to prepare VAT returns, and Trial Balance (the starting point for the preparation of the Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet).

The main features of financial accounting are that it:

• Records transactions that have happened already;

• Looks backwards to show what has happened in the past;

• Is accurate to the nearest penny, with no estimated amounts;

• Is often a legal requirement to keep accounts (in order to prepare VAT returns, and tax returns for the HM Revenue & Customs showing income and expenditure);

• Maintains confidentiality of information (e.g. payroll details, VAT returns).

Financial Modelling: manipulating accounting data to generate forecasts and perform sensitivity analysis.

Financial Statements: the more common term used to refer to statements produced at the end of accounting periods, such as the trading and profit and loss account and the balance sheet (sometimes referred to as 'Final Accounts' or simply 'The Accounts').

Fixed Assets: assets which the business intends to retain for the coming year rather than convert into cash. Typical fixed assets include property, office equipment and motor vehicles. Assets which have a long life bought with the intention to use them in the business and not with the intention to simply resell them.

Fixed Capital: accounts Capital accounts which consist only of the amounts of capital actually paid into the firm.

Fixed Costs: expenses which remain constant whether activity rises or falls, within a given range of activity.

Float: the amount at which the petty cash starts each period.

Forecasting: taking present data and expected future trends, such as growth of a market and anticipated changes in price levels and demand, in order to arrive at a view of what the likely economic position of a business will be at some future date.