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Global
Terminology
These are some global terminologies and acronyms used in a business context.
SAP
It stands for Systems, Applications and Products.
ERP
It stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. It is a type of software system that helps organizations automate and manage core business processes. It’s capable of linking a company’s financials, supply chain, operations, commerce, reporting, manufacturing, and human resources activities on one platform. (e.g. SAP and Oracle)
ECC
It stands for ERP Central Component. It is the largest system element of the SAP Business Suite, and consists of the group of functions that businesses can perform.
S/4
Some sources say that "S" stands for Simple and "4" refers to the generation sequence, others say the the "S/4" comer from the short version "Suite 4" of "SAP Business Suite 4 HANA".
HANA
It stands for High Performance Analytic Appliance and was introduced for marketing purposes (although it doesn´t sounds a proper acronym). But according to other sources, initially the name HANA was conceived in Palo Alto, as Hasso’s New Architecture inspired by SAP's founder, Hasso Plattner.
SAP OSS Note
OSS stands for Online Attendance System. As the name implies, it is the service accessible through the internet. The SAP note is a set of instructions for correcting known bugs and providing answers to frequently asked questions, and it is part of the SAP service portal.
MRP
It stands for Material Requirements Planning. It is a software-based integrated inventory and supply management system designed for businesses. Companies use MRP to estimate quantities of raw materials, maintain inventory levels, and schedule production and deliveries. Both MRP and MRP II are seen as predecessors to ERP
MRP II
It stands for Manufacturing Resource Planning. It is an integrated information system evolved from early MRP by including the integration of additional data, such as employee and financial needs. Both MRP and MRP II are seen as predecessors to ERP.
Modules
Modules, in SAP, are a set of applications created to support specific business processes within an organization, designed exactly like the functional areas or departments that a company has, from finance to sales, including procurement, production and many others.
ABAP
It stands for Advanced Business Application Programming, also known originally as Allgemeiner Berichts-Aufbereitungs-Prozessor (in German) or General report-consolidating processor (in English). It is the programming language created by SAP. In its syntax, SAP ABAP is similar to the COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) programming language, and it is clearly based on the natural language, with its functions integrated with database access via Open SQL statements. The programming language can utilize procedural, object-oriented, and other programming principles. Although ABAP is SAP’s primary programming language, programs written with ABAP can run alongside those based on other programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, and others.
KPI
It stands for Key Performance Indicator. It is a type of performance measurement that evaluates the success of an organization or of a particular activity.
KANBAN
It is a Japanese word for Sign. It is a scheduling system for lean manufacturing, used for inventory control in just-in-time (JIT) production. An industrial engineer at Toyota, developed kanban to improve manufacturing efficiency using visual cues to prompt the action needed to keep a process flowing. One of the main goals is to limit the buildup of excess inventory at any point on the production line.
JIT
It stands for Just-in-Time. It is a form of inventory management that requires working closely with suppliers so that raw materials arrive as production is scheduled to begin, but no sooner. The goal is to have the minimum amount of inventory on hand to meet demand.
PDCA
It stands for Plan-Do-Check-Act. It is a four-step cycle problem-solving iterative technique used to improve business processes. The PDCA process is similar to the Japanese business philosophy of Kaizen.
Kaizen
It is a Japanese term meaning change for the better or continuous improvement. It is a Japanese business philosophy that focuses on gradually improving productivity and making a work environment more efficient. The concept also applies to all process, crossing organization boundaries, improving all functions and involving all employees, from the CEO to the assembly line workers.
ASAP
In an SAP context, It stands for Accelerated SAP. Despite being widely used as "As Soon As Possible" in business-related and non-business contexts. It is a SAP methodology designed to help implementations as efficiently as possible. Its goal is to effectively optimize time, people, quality and other resources.
Agile
In software development, it is an umbrella term for a set of frameworks and practices based on the values and principles expressed in the Agile Manifesto. Basically it is a simple concept of continuous incremental improvement through small and frequent releases, using daily meetings, segregating deliverables in User Stories, addressing Personas, analysing Milestones and using product strategies such as Interative and Incremental developments. Despite being much more effective when used in small software developments (e.g. mobile apps), it is widely used in SAP projects with such methodologies as SCRUM, SAP Activate and others.
SCRUM
The term scrum comes from rugby football, where players packing closely together with their heads down and try to gain possession of the ball. The scrum methodology, commonly used in software developments, is a way to get work done as a team in small pieces at a time, with continuous experimentation and feedback loops along the way to learn and improve as you go, helping people and teams deliver value incrementally in a collaborative way. The fundamental unit of scrum is a small team, consisting of a product owner, a scrum master, and developers, where the methodological process involves daily scrum meetings, with product backlogs to be done, segregated in user stories, with sprint cycles for the deliverables.
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Trade Name
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name.
Brazil-specific Terminology
These are some Brazil-specific terminologies and acronyms used in a Business context, related to taxation and legal requirements in the national territory.
LATAM
It stands for Latin America. It is a geographical grouping widely used by global corporations to define regional business activity. It is a shorthand method to refer to the countries of American continent that speak the languages derived from Latin (Spanish, Portuguese and French). Latin America comprises almost all of South and Central America with exceptions, and Mexico of North America.
Mercosul / Mercosur
It stands for Mercado Comum do Sul (in Portuguese) or Mercado Común del Sur (in Spanish). In English it is known as Southern Common Market. It is a South American trade bloc and its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency.
BRICS
It stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The term was originally developed in the context of foreign investment strategies. It was introduced in the 2001 publication, "Building Better Global Economic BRICs" by the Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill.
CNPJ
It stands for Cadastro Nacional de Pessoa Juridica (in Portuguese). It is the Company ID and also the Tax Number for legal entities.
CPF
It stands for Codigo de Pessoa Fisica (in Portuguese). It is the taxpayer's identification for natural person. In other countries like UK is similar to NIN (National Insurance Number), or in US, the SSN (Social Security Number).
SAP: It is to be informed in the customer/vendor master record if the customer/vendor is a natural person.
RG
It stands for Registro Geral (in Portuguese) or General Registration (in English). It is the Brazilian natural person ID (Identification / Identity).
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Tax Regimes [ More... ]
Or in Portugues "Regime Tributatio". It is what determines which taxes will be paid by a company and how it will be done. There are 3 tax regimes in Brazil: Actual profit, Presumed profit and Simplified (in Portugues "Simples Nacional").
CNAE [ More... ]
It stands for Codigo Nacional da Atividade Economica (in Portuguese) or National Code of Economic Activity (in English). It is the code of national classification of the companies according to their economic Activity.
CFOP [ More... ]
It stands for Codigo Fiscal de Operacoes e Prestacoes (in Portuguese) or Fiscal Code of Operations and Provisions (in English).
It is the code defined by the Brazilian authorities to describe the type of the business transaction.
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IBGE
It stands for Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (in Portuguese) or Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (in English). It is the Brazilian state agency responsible for surveying the country's data. This institute, founded with the aim of gathering geographic information and Brazilian statistics, is of great importance in government terms. It is responsible, among other duties, for carrying out the demographic census. Traditionally, the IBGE conducts censuses in cyclical ten-year periods, providing important socioeconomic information for the country.
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CONCLA
It stands for Comissão Nacional de Classificação (in Portuguese) or National Classification Commission (in English). It is the institution responsible for statistical classifications in Brazil, for selected topics, used in the country's statistical system and administrative records and the international classifications associated with them.
The classifications organized by CONCLA are: CNAE, CBO, CID-10, PRODLIST, Dialling Phone Codes, Environment Classification, Education Classification and others.
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EFR
It stands for Ente Federativo Responsável (in Portuguese) or Responsible Federal Entity (in English). It is an administrative unit of public body and they can provide their information in a decentralized way. For example, the Vitória Municipality has the Vitória City Hall as its EFR, that is, in most cases the EFR is the City Hall.
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ANATEL
It stands for Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes (in Portuguese) or National Telecommunications Agency (in English). It is the regulatory agency for the Brazilian telecommunications sector. Its main roles are to supervise and edit rules for the sector, as well as mediate conflicts between operators and consumers.
UF
It stands for Unidade Federativa (in Portuguese) or Federative Unit (in English). Basically they are all the states of Brazil, plus the Distrito Federal (Federal Distric). For example, São Paulo is a Federation Unit, and the UF of São Paulo is SP.
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BACEN / BCB / BC
It stands for Brazilian Central Bank. It is the institution responsible for regulating, controlling and supervising the Brazilian financial system.
SISBACEN
It stands for Sistema de Informações Banco Central (in Portuguese) or Central Bank Information System (in English). It is the group of IT systems and resources that support the Brazilian Central Bank.
PTAX
The term comes from PTAX800, a SISBACEN transaction (Central Bank System) used for many years, by the public, to consult exchange rates. The transaction was deactivated on September 1, 2014, but the name remained, due to widespread use by foreign exchange market agents. The PTAX is the reference exchange rate (BRL/USD) most used in the Brazilian foreign exchange market, it is calculated and published by the Brazilian Central Bank on a daily basis.
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DREX
It standard for Digital, Real, Eletronico, X representa modernidade e conexao (in Portugues) or Digital, Real, Eletronic, X stands for modernity and connection (in Enlish). DREX is the name of the digital version of the Real (BRL). Considered the newest solution by the (BCB) Central Bank of Brazil to digitize the economy.
Despite also using blockchain technology, as well as crypto currencies (Bitcoin), the DREX is not a crypto currency. This is because the economic policies and fundamentals of the Brazilian digital currency will be the same as the physical Real and will be 100% controlled by the BCB. This means that the value of the asset will be stable in relation to the Brazilian real (1 BRL = 1 DREX) and will be controlled and monitored by the Brazilian Central Bank.
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Boleto
It is a payment form (bank payment slip) very common in Brazil. Vendor send Boletos to their customers attached to the invoice (NF Nota Fiscal) or in an electronic format.
Duplicata
It is a payment method used to collect payments from customers, like a trade note.
The commercial duplicata is a nominal document issued by the Banks, with the overall value and the invoice due date.
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PIX
PIX is not an acronym, nor does it mean a specific concept. It is a new Brazilian Payment Method, that was named, by Brazilian Central Bank, with the name PIX because the term is reminiscent of technology, transactions and pixels (the luminous points on a screen).
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CNAB
It stands for Centro Nacional de Automacao Bancaria (in Portuguese) or National Banking Automation Center (in Eglish). It is a flat file layout for bank communication, allowing automatic payment, collection and receipt of bank statements.
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FEBRABAN
It stands for Federação Brasileira de Bancos (in Portuguese) or Brazilian Federation of Banks (in Eglish). It is the main entity representing the Brazilian banking sector. It has a wide range of activities but all aimed at improving the financial system. In the SAP banking context, it represents one of the most used bank file formats by the main banks in Brazil.
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PPI
It stands for Preco de Paridade de Importacao (in Portuguese) or Import Parity Price (in English). Basically it is the total cost to internalize a product. It is commom used to refer to Fuel, in other words, it is a reference calculated based on the purchase price of fuel, plus logistical costs up to the delivery point, which includes freight, port fees, road transport and others.
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NF-e [ More... ]
It stands for Nota Fiscal Eletronica (in Portuguse) or Eletronic Nota Fiscal (in English). It is the official document in Brazil in a form of "electronic tax invoice". This kind of e-invoicing is used in logistics and services operations and it is the basis for Brazilian legal operations and reports.
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CC-e
It stands for Carta de Correcao Eletronica (in Portuguese) or Electronic Correction Letter (Electronic Correction Letter). It is a event to correct the Nota Fiscal (e-invoice) information, which has already authorized by tax authorities. If there is any incorrect information in the Nota Fiscal (e-invoice) the issues is responsible for issuing a correction (CC-e).
CT-e
It stands for Conhecimento de Transporte Eletronico (in Portuguese) or Electronic Bill of Lading (in English). It is similar to Nota Fiscal (e-invoice), but it is used for freight instead of goods or services.
SPED
It stands for Sistema Publico de Escrituracao Digital (in Portuguese) or Public System of Digital bookkeeping (in English). It is an e-Reporting to standardize and simplify the fiscal and accounting reports, with objective to replace paper-based reports.
Suframa
It stands for Superintendencia da Zona Franca de Manaus (in Portuguese) or Superintendence of the Manaus Free Trade Zone (in English). It ia an organization dependent on the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade with the purpose of developing the Manaus area (it is the largest city in the Amazon rainforest) and promote sustainable economy. Companies taking part in such program get a Suframa registration number.
EFD Fiscal
It stands for Escrituracao Fiscal Digital (in Portuguese) or Digital Fiscal Bookkeeping (in English). It is also known as SPED EFD Fiscal. It is a report under the SPED solution umbrella that the main purpose is send information about the ICMS (Goods and Services Tax) and IPI (Tax on Industrialized Products).
EFD Contributions
It stands for Escrituracao Fiscal Digital (in Portuguese) or Digital Fiscal Bookkeeping (in English). It is also known as SPED EFD Contributions. It is a report under the SPED solution umbrella that the main purpose is send information about the PIS (Social Integration Program) and COFINS (Contribution to Social Security Financing).
IPTU
IPVA
G7 G20
DIRF
ECD
FCI
PERDCOMP
DCTF
GIA
IR
ISS
CIAP
REINF
EU Specific Terminology
These are some EU specific terminologies and acronyms used in a Business context, related to taxation and legal requirements in the national territory.
EMEA
It stands for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. It is a geographical grouping and an acronym widely used by global corporations to define regional business activity. It is a shorthand method to refer to the three continents and their regional areas.
EU
It stands for European Union. It is a political and economic grouping of 27 countries committed to shared democratic values. The European Union was created to bind the nations of Europe closer together for the economic, social, and security welfare of all, into a single entity.
EAA
It stands for European Economic Area. The EEA aims to strengthen trade and economic relations between each of the EEA countries. The EEA includes EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. It allows them to be part of the EU’s single market.
EFTA
It stands for European Free Trade Association. It is a regional trade organisation and a free trade area between each of the Member States, which are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area was created following the Schengen Agreement, signed in 1985 in a village in Luxemburg. The Schengen Convention, which followed in 1990, set out more details on the operation of the borderless area. In the Schengen Area there are no passport or border controls at the borders within the area. The Schengen Area is made up of 23 of the 27 EU Member States plus the 4 countries that form the EFTA
SEPA
It stands for Single Euro Payments Area. It is a payment-integration initiative of the European Union for simplification of bank transfers in Euro.
Eurozone
It is the economic region formed by those member countries of the European Union that have adopted the euro.
Euro
The Euro is the official currency of the European Union, adopted by some, but not all member. It is the world's second most popular reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, and the second most traded.
NATO / OTAN
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (in English) or OTAN that stands for Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord (in French) or Organizacao do Tratado do Atlantico Norte (in Portuguese). It is a security alliance of 31 countries from North America and Europe to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.
Ombudsman
The European Ombudsman investigates complaints about mismanagement in the institutions and bodies of the European Union. The Ombudsman is completely independent and impartial.
INTRASTAT
It is the system, with harmonised rules, for collecting information and producing statistics on the trade in goods between countries of the European Union.
EXTRASTAT
It is the system, with harmonised rules, for collecting information and producing statistics on the trade in goods between the EU and non-EU countries.
KOBRA Declaration
A monthly declaration to the German authorities that records the export of sensitive goods (for example, weapons and goods that can be used to manufacture weapons).
The declaration may contains information such, Legal Entity ID, Date, Goods Direction, Reference Number, KOBRA B Record, KOBRA C Record, INTRASTAT Receipt/Dispatch, SED / AERP Export, EXTRASTAT / VAR Export/ Import, and more.
UK Specific Terminology
These are some UK specific terminologies and acronyms used in a Business context, related to taxation and legal requirements in the national territory.
HMRC
It stands for His/Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs or simply HM Revenue and Customs. It is the UK's tax, payments and customs authority, and its purpose is to collect taxpayers' money to support UK’s public services.
NIN
It stands for National Insurance Number. Also referred as NINo.
It is a number used in the UK to record the national insurance contributions and taxes on behalf of taxpayers. The number is unique to each person and used throughout life.It's made up of two letters, six numbers and a final letter. (e.g. XX 00 00 00 X)
PAYE
It stands for Pay As You Earn. It is the system used by the tax office (HMRC) to tax people who are employed. This is the system that your employer or pension provider uses to take Income Tax and National Insurance contributions before they pay your wages or pension.
P45
It is the reference code of a tax form titled "Details of employee leaving work" that an employer gives to an employee upon termination of employment. In other words, you’ll get a P45 from your employer when you stop working for them. This form provides information about the amount of income and total taxes paid while the person was employed.
The P45 in slang terms is equivalent to "pink slip" in the United States.
P60
It is a form or certificate that shows how much you have earned, and the amount of tax you have paid in the last tax year. In other words, your P60 shows the tax you’ve paid on your salary in the tax year (6 April to 5 April). You get a separate P60 for each of your jobs every tax year.
P11D
It is a form used to report benefits provided and expense payments made to employees by employers, that are not put through the payroll (PAYE), about their ‘benefits in kind’ (for example company cars or interest-free loans).
Personal Allowance
A tax-free amount of income in each tax year. The amount is called the personal allowance. If income is below that level in the tax year, no tax is due.
ILR
It stands for Indefinite Leave to Remain. It is the UK permanent residency and also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study in UK for as long as you like. It is the equivalent of the US Green Card.
US Specific Terminology
These are some US specific terminologies and acronyms used in a Business context, related to taxation and legal requirements in the national territory.
NAFTA
It stands for North American Free Trade Agreement. It was an agreement signed by Canada, United States and Mexico that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. It is the one of the largest trade blocs in the world by gross domestic product and resulted in the elimination or reduction of barriers to trade and investment among members.
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SOX / Sarbox Compliance
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It stands for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It is a 2002 law that congress passed to increase accountability in the financial sector. The law helps ensure public companies engage in non-deceptive business accounting practices.
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IRS
It stands for Internal Revenue Service. It is a government agency that administers tax laws and collects federal taxes from U.S. individual and corporate taxpayers.
SSN
It stands for Social Security Number. It is a numerical identifier assigned to U.S. citizens and other residents to track income and determine benefits. All U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary or working residents have a Social Security number, with very few exceptions.
TIN
It stands for Tax Identification Number. It is an unique set consisting of a nine-digit number used as a tracking number by the IRS to identifies individuals, corporations, and other entities. It is mandatory for anyone filing annual tax returns with the IRS.
GC
It stands for Green Card. It is also known as permanent resident card. It is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States.
W2 / W-2
It is a US form, also known as the Wage and Tax Statement. It is the document an employer is required to send to each employee and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the end of the year. A W-2 reports employees' annual wages and the amount of taxes withheld from their paychecks. A W-2 employee is someone whose employer deducts taxes from their paychecks and submits this information to the government.
C2C
It stands for Corporation-2-Corporation, or simply, Corp-2-Corp. It is a contract in which one corporation hires another corporation and pay the salaries for the work of another corporation. To work under C2C position employee must have a company settled up.
1099-Misc
It is a IRS form, called 1099-MISC Miscellaneous Income or Miscellaneous Information. It is used to report certain types of miscellaneous compensation, such as rents, prizes, and awards, healthcare payments, and payments to an attorney.
AERP
It stands for Automated Export Reporting Program. A monthly declaration reporting exports from the US to the Bureau of the Census.
SED
It stands for Shipper's Export Declaration. It is a document to monitor shipments of controlled goods.
HMF
It stands for Harbor Maintenance Fee. It is a fee intended for who benefit from maintenance of US ports and harbors.
Article written by Luiz C. Mariani | Published April 2023 (Updated June 2023)
Reference sources:
SAP (www.sap.com); Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org); Investopedia (www.investopedia.com); Agile Alliance (www.agilealliance.org); Brazilian Ministry of Finance (www.gov.br); HM Revenue & Customs (www.gov.uk);IRS (www.irs.gov); Census Bureau (www.census.gov);