Executive Assistants

A-Z of business acronyms for busy Executive Assistants

Decode common business terms with our A-Z guide for EAs.

We've all been there - sitting in a meeting and your boss or a colleague uses an acronym or abbreviation that's impossible to decipher, and you spend the rest of the meeting time trying to work out what it is, instead of focussing on what's actually being said.  Perhaps these are industry terms that you'll get to know over time, but why wait? Here is a breakdown of some of the most common terms that will prop up in your daily work life, so you can arm yourself for the next time someone says "FIFO" and expects you to know what it means.

Business and Consulting Services 

B2B - Business to Business
B2C - Business to Consumer
BPM - Business Process Management
BPR - Business Process Reengineering
CAPM - Capital Asset Pricing Model
CEO - Chief Executive Officer
CFO - Chief Financial Officer
CIO - Chief Information Officer
COO - Chief Operating Officer
CAGR - Compound Annual Growth Rate
CRM - Customer Relationship Management
EA - Executive Assistant
EBITDA - Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization 
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning
FIFO - First In, First Out
GAAP - Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
HR - Human Resources
IPO - Initial Public Offering
IRR - Internal Rate of Return
IT - Information Technology
JIT - Just In Time
KPI - Key Performance Indicator
LBO - Leveraged Buyout
M&A - Mergers and Acquisitions
MOU - Memorandum of Understanding
NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement
NPS - Net Promoter Score
OEE - Overall Equipment Effectiveness
OPEX - Operating Expenses
PA - Personal Assistant
P&L - Profit and Loss
PESTLE - Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental
PMO - Project Management Office
PMP - Project Management Professional
R&D - Research and Development
RACI - Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed
RFQ - Request for Quotation
RFI - Request for Information
RFP - Request for Proposal
ROI - Return on Investment

SLA - Service Level Agreement

SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
SOP - Standard Operating Procedure
SOW - Statement of Work
SWOT - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
T&M - Time and Materials
TQM - Total Quality Management
UI - User Interface
UAT - User Acceptance Testing
USP - Unique Selling Proposition
UX - User Experience
VC - Venture Capital
WIP - Work in Progress
Technology Products and Services

AI - Artificial Intelligence
API - Application Programming Interface
CRM - Customer Relationship Management
CSS - Cascading Style Sheets
DNS - Domain Name System
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language
IT - Information Technology
IoT - Internet of Things
KPI - Key Performance Indicator
ML - Machine Learning
MVP - Minimum Viable Product
NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer
P&L - Profit and Loss
QA - Quality Assurance
R&D - Research and Development
ROI - Return on Investment
SaaS - Software as a Service
SEO - Search Engine Optimization
SLA - Service Level Agreement
SOW - Statement of Work
SQL - Structured Query Language
UI - User Interface
UX - User Experience
VR - Virtual Reality
VPN - Virtual Private Network
WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network
XML - Extensible Markup Language

Production and Manufacturing
5S - Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain
BOM - Bill of Materials
BPR - Business Process Reengineering
CAD - Computer-Aided Design
CAM - Computer-Aided Manufacturing
CEO - Chief Executive Officer
CFO - Chief Financial Officer
CIO - Chief Information Officer
CNC - Computer Numerical Control
COO - Chief Operating Officer
CPK - Process Capability Index
CRM - Customer Relationship Management
ISO - International Organization for Standardization
IT - Information Technology
JIT - Just In Time
Kaizen - Continuous Improvement
KPI - Key Performance Indicator
LEAN - Efficient production methodology
LIFO - Last In, First Out
MES - Manufacturing Execution System
MRP - Material Requirements Planning
MRP II - Manufacturing Resource Planning
MOQ - Minimum Order Quantity
MTO - Make to Order
MTS - Make to Stock
MUDA - Waste
OEE - Overall Equipment Effectiveness
P&L - Profit and Loss
PPAP - Production Part Approval Process
QA - Quality Assurance
QC - Quality Control
RFQ - Request for Quotation
ROI - Return on Investment
R&D - Research and Development
SMED - Single Minute Exchange of Die
SOP - Standard Operating Procedure
TAKT - Rate of customer demand
TQM - Total Quality Management
TPM - Total Productive Maintenance
UI - User Interface
VSM - Value Stream Mapping
VPN - Virtual Private Network
WIP - Work in Progress

 

 

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