Business Money & Finance

Corporate Revenues · Financial Problems · Raising Capital

💡 Pro Tip: Bài học này tập trung vào Tài chính Doanh nghiệp (Corporate Finance). Di chuột (hover) vào các từ in đậm màu cam để xem định nghĩa chi tiết bằng tiếng Anh. Chú ý sự khác biệt giữa Gross và Net, Turnover và Revenue.

A. Financial Matters: Income and Expenditure

In business, it is crucial to understand the money coming in and the money going out. The total amount of money a company receives from selling its goods or services is called its turnover. A broader term for money received, including taxes or other income sources, is revenue.

Conversely, the money a business spends on its operations is referred to as its expenditure or expenses. To determine success, businesses look at their profits.

Key Profit Terms:

Gross profit: The profit calculated before taxes and other costs are deducted.
Net profit: The final amount of profit remaining after all taxes and expenses have been paid.
Profit margin: The percentage difference between the cost to produce a product and its selling price.

B. Financial Problems and Bankruptcy

Businesses often face challenges. Even if a business is making a profit, it might struggle with its overheads. If more money is going out than coming in on a daily basis, the business has a cash flow problem.

📉 Debt: When a company owes money, it is in debt.
❌ Write off: If a customer cannot pay, the company may have to write off the debt (accepting it is lost).
🏛️ Bankrupt: If debts become overwhelming, a company may go bankrupt or be declared bankrupt by a court, meaning it must close down.

C. Raising Capital and Investment

To start or expand, a business needs capital. For new and potentially risky ideas, founders might seek venture capital from specialized investors (also called backers).

There are several ways a business can secure funding:

Selling shares: Investors buy a portion of the company. If successful, they are paid a dividend.
Getting a loan from a bank.
Using an overdraft facility for short-term cash flow needs.
Receiving a sudden injection of capital to boost operations or save the company from financial trouble.

✍️ Comprehensive Practice

Hệ thống bài tập tự động chấm điểm. Hoàn thành toàn bộ các ô trống trước khi nộp bài.

Exercise 14.1: Business Definitions

Vocabulary Matching

Provide the exact financial term that matches each definition. (One or two words per gap).

1. The total amount of money taken in by a business over a period:

2. The total amount of money that a business spends:

3. Regular, unavoidable costs like rent, electricity, and salaries:

4. Profit calculated before tax is deducted: profit

5. Profit calculated after tax and all deductions: profit

6. To accept that a debt will never be paid back (phrasal verb):

Exercise 14.2: Financial Collocations

Word Pairing

Fill in the correct verb or noun to complete the standard business collocations.

1. To a dividend to shareholders.

2. To bankruptcy in court.

3. To capital to start a new business.

4. A sudden of capital to save the company.

Exercise 14.3: Sentences in Context

Gap Fill

Complete the sentences with words from the theory section.

1. After years of struggling with debt, the company finally went last month.

2. The startup founders need to raise some to expand their operations into Asia.

3. Our bank account is empty, so we asked the bank to extend our limit so we can pay the staff.

4. Because their app was unproven and risky, they had to seek capital.

5. The company had a great year, and the investors were thrilled with the large they received.

Exercise 14.4: Business Case Study

Reading & Integration

Read the short business case and fill in the blanks using the financial vocabulary.

Our tech startup faced a serious cash (1) problem because our monthly (2) (like office rent and software licenses) were far too high compared to our sales. Soon, we found ourselves in massive (3) and owed money to multiple suppliers.

To avoid going (4) and closing down, we desperately needed a sudden (5) of capital. Thankfully, we presented our business plan to some private (6) who agreed to provide the necessary funding in exchange for 20% of the company's shares.