CFA Level 1 glossary 2020
A priori probability - Answer: A probability based on logical analysis rather than
on observation or personal judgment.
abnormal return - Answer: The amount by which a security's return differs
from its expected return, given the security's risk and the market's return.
absolute advantage - Answer: A country's ability to produce a good or service at a
lower absolute cost than its trading partner.
Absolute dispersion - Answer: The amount of variability present without
comparison to any reference point or benchmark.
Absolute frequency - Answer: The number of observations in a given interval (for
grouped data).
Accele book build - Answer: An offering of securities by an investment bank
acting as principal that is accomplished in only one or two days.
Accele methods - Answer: Depreciation methods that allocate a relatively
large proportion of the cost of an asset to the early years of the asset's useful life.
Accounting costs - Answer: Monetary value of economic resources used in
performing an activity. These can be explicit, out-of-pocket, current payments, or
CFA Level 1 glossary 2020
an allocation of historical payments (depreciation) for resources. They do not
include implicit opportunity costs.
Accounting profit - Answer: Income as reported on the income statement, in
accordance with prevailing accounting standards, before the provisions for income
tax expense. Also called income before taxes or pretax income.
Accounts payable - Answer: Amounts that a business owes to its vendors for
goods and services that were purchased from them but which have not yet been
paid.
Accounts receivable turnover - Answer: Ratio of sales on credit to the average
balance in accounts receivable.
Accrued expenses - Answer: Liabilities related to expenses that have been
incurred but not yet paid as of the end of an accounting periodâ€â€an example of an
accrued expense is rent that has been incurred but not yet paid, resulting in a
liability "rent payable." Also called accrued liabilities.
Accrued interest - Answer: Interest earned but not yet paid.
Acid-test ratio - Answer: A stringent measure of liquidity that indicates a
company's ability to satisfy current liabilities with its most liquid assets, calculated
as (cash + short-term marketable investments + receivables) divided by current
liabilities.
CFA Level 1 glossary 2020
Acquisition method - Answer: A method of accounting for a business combination
where the acquirer is required to measure each identifiable asset and liability at
fair value. This method was the result of a joint project of the IASB and FASB
aiming at convergence in standards for the accounting of business combinations.
Action lag - Answer: Delay from policy decisions to implementation.
Active investment - Answer: An approach to investing in which the investor seeks
to outperform a given benchmark.
Active return - Answer: The return on a portfolio minus the return on the
portfolio's benchmark.
Active strategy - Answer: In reference to short-term cash management, an
investment strategy characterized by monitoring and attempting to capitalize on
market conditions to optimize the risk and return relationship of short-term
investments.
Activity ratios - Answer: Ratios that measure how efficiently a company performs
day-to-day tasks, such as the collection of receivables and management of
inventory. Also called asset utilization ratios or operating efficiency ratios.ÂÂ