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Some lessons in basic finance for MPs

Our tongue-in-cheek guide to financial accounting for our right honourable representatives.

What’s it called? The MP definition The Video Arts definition
Fixed costs Absolute essentials of living (to include cleaners, gardeners, butlers and other servants). A cost that remains unchanged even with variations in output.
Break-even point The point at which expenses are maximised (should aim for circa £20,000 per annum). Refers to the price at which a transaction produces neither a gain nor a loss.
Contribution margin An optional donation of time spent in Parliament. The price at which a firm sells its product less the variable cost of producing the product.
Depreciation The point at which the second home should be flipped due to diminishing returns. Certain assets, such as buildings and equipment, depreciate, or decline in value, over time.
Hedging The trimming of excess foliage surrounding a heli-pad. Investment technique designed to offset a potential loss on one investment by purchasing a second investment.
Gearing To acquire ‘gear’ in the form of plasma tellies, sofas, chandeliers…that sort of thing. A measure of the extent to which a company is funded by debt.

The Video Arts range of financial learning resources will help even your most mathematically-challenged managers. It’s specifically aimed at non-financial managers to help them control their budgets, understand working capital and shareholder value, and de-code financial statements.

These world-famous programmes use clear examples aided by familiar faces and jargon-busting language. They are developed in partnership with experts including The Economist and come with a range of in-depth support materials: everything you need to build a complete learning solution for your non-financial managers.

Browse all of our financial resources. 

Posted June 17, 2009 at 8:17 AM in Articles