S
Auditing Terms - Ssalary reduction plan (SRP) - (retirement plan allowing employees to contribute pretax compensation)
Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SARSEP) - (Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP) allowing employees to contribute pretax dollars through salary reduction)
Sale and Leaseback (S&L) - (form of lease arrangement in which a company sells an asset to another party, then contracts to lease the asset back from the buyer)
sales journal (SJ) - (journal in which all sales are recorded)
sales ledger (SL) - (a detailed ledger that contains the accounts for each credit sale)
sales returns and allowances (SR&A) - (account used to accumulate cash refunds granted to customers or other allowables related to prior sales)
sales returns journal (SRJ) - (book in which details of goods returned by customers are entered)
same-day funds settlement (SDFS) - (method of settlement in securities transactions where there is no delay in payment or in delivery, in contrast to regular settlements where a three-day settlement period is allowed)
sample audit review file (SARF) - (Representative file for analysis generated by embedded audit software which randomly selects transactions to be included.)
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbox) (SOX) - (Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act) (legislation applying to pubicly traded companies registered with the SEC imposing greater financial reporting/internal control requirements)
Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP) - (Canadian voluntary retirement plan designed for taxpayers who have no access to private pension plans or other arrangements)
Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF) - (U.S. government entity created in 1989 to provide deposit insurance for thrift institutions - merged into the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) in 2005.)
Savings Bond (SB) - (U.S. government bond issued in face value denominations ranging from $50 to $10,000)
Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees Individual Retirement Account (SIMPLE IRA) - (form of salary reduction plan that qualifying small employers may offer to their employees)
Savings and Loan Association (S&L) - (depository financial institution, federally or state chartered, that obtains the bulk of its deposits from consumers and holds the majority of its assets as home mortgages)
schedule performance index (SPI) - (ratio of earned value to planned value)
schedule variance (SV) - (difference between actual production and scheduled production (cost accounting))
scheduled variance (SV) - (difference between the earned value and the planned budget of a project - comparison of what has been completed and earned and how much of the project budget was expected to be completed (project budgeting))
secure digital multimedia card (SD/MMC) - (storage device using encrypted storage of data combined with a write-protection switch)
secure electronic transaction (SET) - (payment protocol involving secure transmission of credit card payment information over the Internet and other networks)
Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (S-HTTP) - (Web communication protocol allowing transfer of files between servers and users in which the packet header information is encrypted)
Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) - (a standard secure e-mail protocol that authenticates the identity of the sender and receiver, verifies message integrity, and ensures the privacy of a message's contents, including attachments)
Secure Shell (SSH) - (network program/protocol that uses cryptography to secure communication, allowing remote command line login and remote command execution between two networked computers)
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) - (a protocol used for Internet communicaton/data transmission which authenticates servers and encrypts data transmitted during a session)
Secured Lease Obligation Bond (SLOB) - (bond, typically issued by electric utilities, to finance power plants, where payments are made from an assigned lease)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - (federal agency charged with regulating U.S. securities markets)
Securities Exchange of Thailand (SET) -
Securities Industry Association (SIA) - (trade group that represents broker-dealers)
Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) - (organization providing communications and computer systems and services for the New York and American Stock Exchange)
Securities Information Center (SIC) - (organization that operates the SEC Lost and Stolen Securities Program)
Securities Industry Committee on Arbitration (SICA) - (private body that applies its arbitration code in cases of customer complaints against securities firms)
Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) - (nonprofit corporation established by Congress insuring customer accounts against brokerage firm failure)
Securities Market Automated Regulated Trading Architecture (SMART) - (NASDAQ)
security association (SA) - (memory storage area used to hold packet session information parameters for key encryption/decryption, authentication, transmission, and verification)
Security-as-a-Service (SAAS) (SecaaS) - (outsourcing of security services management to a third party, capable of providing e-mail, Web, and network protection, often through the cloud)
security officer (SO) (individual responsible for system security controls, monitoring of security controls during operation, and maintaining and/or upgrading system to ensure continued security protection)
Security Operations Center (SOC) - (a centralized group/location that deals with security issues within an organization or enterprise, and is responsible for the monitoring, reporting, and handling of security incidents)
Security Operations Center-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) - (cloud-based, turnkey solution providing real-time threat detection and cybersecurity incident response)
security parameter index (SPI) - (field within a security association which serves as an index for the session parameters)
segregation/separation of duties (SoD) (internal control measure in which individuals are not assigned incompatible duties/conflicting responsibilities - person having custody of an asset, such as cash, is not allowed to account for cash transactions; person with control of an asset is not allowed to authorize transactions related to that asset)
self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) - (Australian pension fund with fewer than 5 members, and all members are trustees)
Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) - (non-governmental industry organization that sets rules and polices conduct of its members)
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses (SG&A) - (organizational expenses not part of goods production (Cost of Goods Sold) and not including interest and amortization costs)
Senate Bill (SB) - (U.S. legislation created or passed by the Senate.)
separate net income (SNI) - (taxable income of a person while being claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer (Australia))
separate trading of registered interest and principal of securities (STRIPS) - (prestripped zero-coupon bond that is a direct obligation of the U.S. Treasury)
Separately Managed Account (SMA) - (professionally managed portfolio of securities that uses pooled money to buy investments owned directly by the account holder)
serial line Internet protocol (SLIP) - (a protocol for exchanging packets over a serial line)
service delivery objective (SDO) - (goal of providing service required by department or organization)
service improvement plan (SIP) - (management plan applied to organizational departments to measure and improve service)
service level agreement (SLA) - (an agreement between a service provider and the customer/user that defines minimum performance targets and how they will be measured)
service level management (SLM) - (process of managing overall IT services to meet organizational goals)
Service Organization Controls (SOC) - (security controls over/monitoring of service organizations - vendors, businesses providing outsourced services to an organization - standards falling under Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 16 after 2011 - replaced by the term "System and Organization Controls" in 2017)
service-oriented architectures (SOA) - (computer system architecture focused on being responsive to customer needs and changing market conditions)
Service Set Identifier (SSID) - (a 32-character unique identifier attached to the header of packets sent over a wireless local area network (WLAN) that acts as a password when a mobile device tries to connect to the network - differentiates one network from another)
set up (SU) - (freight)
Shanghai Stock Exchange (SHSE) -
Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) - (exchange located in the Shenzhen province of China)
Shared Appreciation Mortgage (SAM) - (Mortgage in which the borrower receives a below-market rate of interest in return for agreeing to share part of the appreciation value with the lender.)
shareholders equity (SE) - (total assets minus total liabilities of a corporation)
shipper's export declaration (SED) -
Short Bill (SB) -
short-term capital loss (STCL) - (any loss from a sale or exchange of a capital asset held for not more than one year)
short-run marginal cost (SRMC) - (marginal cost where some input quantities are fixed by decisions)
Sight Draft, Bill of Lading attached (SDBL) - (sight draft - signed, written order by which one party instructs another party to pay a specified sum, payable on demand/bill of lading (carrier document specifying delivery terms) included)
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) - (an unsecure messaging protocol used to send e-mail messages to other hosts)
simple network management protocol (SNMP) - (a protocol used to manage network devices, control configuration, and collect statistics on performance and security)
Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) - (protocoal allowing applications to communicate with each other over the Internet)
Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP) - (pension plan in which both the employee and the employer contribute to an individual retirement arrangement (IRA))
simultaneous peripheral operations online (SPOOL) - (an automated function in which electronic data being transmitted is spooled or stored until the receiving device or storage area is prepared and able to receive the information - print spooler stores print projects until the printer is ready to print)
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) - (Asia-Pacific region's securities and derivatives exchange)
single point of contact (SPOC) - (individual assigned to handle questions or communications relating to an issue, rather than having multiple people involved)
Single Premium Deferred Annuity (SPDA) - (tax-deferred investment similar to an individual retirement account)
Single Premium Life Insurance (SPLI) - (whole life insurance policy requiring one premium payment)
single sign-on (SSO) - (technology which allows a user to authenticate one time - at sign-on - and have access to all system resources or programs without having to reauthenticate for each program within the system)
single stock future (SSF) - (futures contract with one stock or basket of stocks as the underlying security, but without ownership in the stock)
sinking fund (SF) - (money accumulated on a regular basis in a separate custodial account that is issued to redeem debt securities or preferred stock issues)
Small Business Administration (SBA) - (federal agency created to provide financial and management assistance to small businesses)
Small Business Investment Company/Corporation (SBIC) - (company licensed and funded by the Small Business Administration)
Small Corporate Offerings Registration (SCOR) - (securities issues under $1.5 million that qualify for simplified registration under SEC Regulation A)
small office/home office (SOHO) - (a classification of networking equipment, usually marketed to consumers or small businesses, that focuses on low price and ease of configuration)
Small Order Entry (or Execution) System (SOES) - (computerized system used by NASDAQ in which orders for under 1000 shares bypass brokers and are aggregated and executed against available firm quotes by market makers)
Small Profits, Quick Returns (SPQR) -
social and environmental reporting (SER) - (the reporting by organizations of information relevant to corporate social responsibility)
Social Security (SS) - (benefits provided under the Social Security Act of 1935, financed by the Social Security Tax authorized by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), and administered by the Social Security Administration)
Social Security Administration (SSA) - (federal agency charged with administering the federal retirement income benefits system)
Society of Management Accountants (SMA) -
Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) - (industry-owned cooperative supplying funds transfer messages via a dedicated computer network internationally to financial institutions in countries around the world)
socio-economic operating statement (SEOS) - (the expenditures statement of a business on activities concerning society, people, and the environment)
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) - (software application provided as a service, via a Web interface or cloud connection, rather than as a package installed on a local system or computer)
software configuration management (SCM) - (a software system/product which controls and tracks programming changes made during a software development project, verifies compliance with project goals, and maintains a central code repository of project programming)
software development life cycle (SDLC) - (phases or stages involved in developing, deploying, and maintaining a software system, from planning through release)
software process improvement (SPI) - (program model/infrastructure guide for enterprise planning and implementation of a software process improvement program)
Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (SPICE) - (methodology which provides guidance for service quality expectations in software development)
Sold (SLD) - (term applied in securities transactions to confirm a completed securities sale)
source lines of code (SLOC) - (method of estimating the relative physical size of application software based on the number of lines of source code required)
South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) -
Spanish Stock Market Interconnection System (SIBE) - (electronic system linking Spain's stock exchanges)
Special Arbitrage Account (SAA) - (special margin account with a broker reserved for transactions in which the customer's risk is hedged by an offsetting security transaction or position)
Special Assessment Bond (SAB) - (municipal bond issued for special public works projects which is repaid from taxes imposed on those who benefit directly from the project)
Special District Bond (SDB) - (Special Assessment Bond) (municipal bond issued for special public works which is repaid from taxes imposed on those who benefit directly from the project)
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) - (measure of a nation's reserve assets in the international monetary system)
Special Miscellaneous Account (SMA) - (memorandum account of the funds in excess of the margin requirements)
Special Purpose Entity (Vehicle) (SPE) - (finite life entities created by corporations, usually as subsidiaries, for a single purpose - used by Enron for off-balance-sheet financing)
special reserve (SR) -
special tax bond (STB) - (municipal revenue bond that will be repaid through excise taxes on purchases such as gasoline, tobacco, and liquor)
Specialized Small Business Investment Company (SSBIC) -
specific identification method (SIM) - (method under which each inventory item is identified with its cost)
specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (SMART) - (method of measuring, monitoring, and reportinng on information security processes to ensure that organizational security goals are achieved)
specified multi-employer plan (SMEP) - (Canadian multi-employer pension plan)
spousal remainder trust (SRT) - (trust set up by a grantor for a specified period, at the end of which the property passes to the spouse)
Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) - (publication issued by the Office of the Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC))
standard cost (SC) - (cost that should be incurred under normal conditions in producing a given product, or in performing a particular service)
standard deduction (SD) - (fixed deduction amount on U.S. tax returns provided as an alternative to itemizing/listing deductions/costs)
Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC) - (federally designed standard numbering system identifying companies by industry and providing other information)
standard operating procedure (SOP) - (procedures followed/steps taken in carrying out an assignment or regular job duties)
Standard & Poor's (S&P) - (company providing credit ratings on companies and securities)
Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipt (SPDR) - (securities representing ownership in a long-term unit investment trust, traded like stock)
Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index (SPX) - (option traded on exchange)
Standard & Poor's 500 Index Subordinated Notes (SPINS) - (traded security)
State Audit Institution (SAI) - (a country's main body for public sector auditing)
stateful packet inspection firewall (SPI) - (a firewall which examines each packet and denies or permits access based on the packet origin and its internal destination, as well as its comparison with other packets in the conversation)
Statement of Changes in Financial Position (SCFP) - (a statement reporting the financing and investing activities of a business in a period, and indicating the effects on working capital)
Statement of Policy (SOP) - (statement showing the equity of the controlling corporation, accounting methods for consolidation, condition of the controlled corporation)
Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) - (accounting professional guidelines for UK companies)
Statement of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAP) - (statement on accounting conventions/practices created by the councils of the 6 major accounting bodies in the UK in 1990)
statement of work (SOW) - (project management technique used in software development which involves a written description of the product and the customer requirements)
Statements of Auditing Standards (SAS) - (British external auditing standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board)
Statements on Auditing Procedure (SAP) - (name for auditing pronouncements issued before 1972 - replaced by Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS))
Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS) - (pronouncements on auditing engagement procedures/guidance/conventions for CPA firms issued by the Auditing Standards Board - Replaced the Statements on Auditing Procedure (SAP) after 1972.)
Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) -
Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts (SFAC) - (reports issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to indicate the fundamental concepts of financial accounting, reporting, and disclosure)
Statements of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) - (standards/rules to be followed by accountants for accounting, reporting, and disclosure - practices considered to fall within Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) - issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB))
Statements on Internal Auditing Standards (SIAS) - (pronouncements, authoritative interpretations of internal auditing procedures/guidance/conventions issued by the Internal Auditing Standards Board)
Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) - (pronouncements issued by the Accounting and Review Services Committee of the AICPA for compilations (non-audited presentations) and reviews of financial statements)
Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements - attestation standards (SSAE) - (pronouncements on engagements for CPA firms in areas other than audits of historical financial statements (conventional audits) issued by the Auditing Standards Board)
Statements on Standards for Consulting Services (SSCS) - (statements which provide behavioral standards for the conduct of consulting services)
Statements on Standards for Tax Services (SSTS) - (pronouncements issued by the AICPA on standards/guidance for tax practitioners)
Statements of Position (SOPs) - (recommendations, rather than requirements, relating to specialized accounting practices in industries or sectors - issued by the Accounting Standards Executive Committee of the AICPA)
Statistical Analysis System (SAS) - (statistical software package used for analysis and reporting - developed by the North Carolina-based SAS Institute)
Statutory Accounting Principle (SAP) - (accounting rules required by state laws applicable to the insurance industry by statute - Statutory Accounting Principles are generally more conservative than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) )
Statutory Statement of Accounting Principle (SSAP) - (state laws incorporating accounting rules covering insurance companies under Statutory Accounting Principles (SAP) by statute - Statutory Accounting Principles are generally more conservative than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP))
Sterling Transferable Accruing Government Securities (STAGS) - (deep-discount zero-coupon bonds backed by British Treasury securities)
stock appreciation right (SAR) - (a right entitling employees to receive cash or stock in an amount equal to the excess of market value of a stated number of shares over a limit)
stock exchange automated quotations (SEAQ) -
Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) -
Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) -
stock number (SN) -
stock option (SO) (an option giving the holder the right to buy or sell the underlying stock at a specified price, by a specific date)
StockWatch Automated Tracking System (SWAT) - (computerized service that monitors all trading activity and movement in stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange)
Stockholm Automatic Exchange (SAX) -
Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE) -
Stop-Limit Order, Stop-Loss Order (SLO) - (order to a securities broker to buy or sell at a given price, if a stock moves up and to sell at a given price if the stock falls)
storage area network (SAN) - (network-based storage structure consisting of numerous storage devices linked together by a high-speed private network and storage-specific switches)
stores issued (SI) - (memorandum recording the receipts, issues, and usage of materials)
straight-line accruals (SLA) - (method under which total gain or loss from an arrangement is spread evenly over the period of the arrangement)
straight line method (SL) - (bond accounting method under which the bond discount or premium is spread uniformly over the life of the investment)
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis (SWOT) - (an approach to risk assessment and organizational planning that aims to identify the strong and weak aspects (actual and potential) of an activity or organization)
Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities (SMBS) - (mortgage-backed certificates representing separated principal and interest components of the underlying mortgages)
Structured Query Language (SQL) - (a programming language used for creating, updating, deleting, and reading data from a relational database)
Student Loan Marketing Association (SLMA) (Sallie Mae) - (pubicly traded stock corporation that guarantees student loans traded in the secondary market)
subject matter expert (SME) - (individual involved in project management assigned the role of learning about/complying with organizational standards and specific project requirements)
substituted accounting period (SAP) - (under Australian rules, a tax year that ends on a date other than June 30th)
Sum-of-the-Years' Digits (SYD) - (total of the years' digits in the estimated useful life of a plant asset - component of the accounting formula used for calculating depreciation)
Sum-of-the-Year's Digits Method (SOYD) - (accelerated depreciation method using fractional components derived from the number of years of an asset's useful life)
Summary Plan Description (SPD) - (document that explains the fundamental features of a pension plan)
Summary Review Memorandum (SRM) - (memorandum prepared at the conclusion of a peer or quality review which documents the planning, scope or work performed, and the findings and conclusions that support the report and letter of comments issued)
superannuation guarantee (SG) - (minimum required employer contribution to a pension fund (Australia))
superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) - (a charge on an employer who failed to meet the minimum superannuation guarantee contribution (Australia))
superannuation holding accounts reserve (SHAR) - (reserve account maintained to cover cases where the employer failed to meet the superannuation guarantee obligation (Australia))
supply chain management (SCM) - (management of the process of delivering a product or service to a customer, as it moves from the raw materials stage through delivery of the final product to a customer) (software capable of efficiently organizing a company's supply chain process)
Supply Chain Operations Reference model (SCOR) - (framework for analysis and development of an organizational supply chain IT system)
Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) - (a country's main body for public sector auditing)
switched virtual circuit (SVC) - (a logical circuit between two network devices in which a connection path is created for a connection session, then torn down once the connection is no longer needed or used)
Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) - (Australian financial futures and options market)
synchronous data link control (SDLC) - (a protocol used in networks that use dedicated leased lines with permanent physical connections - IBM mainframe environments within a systems network architecture (SNA) network)
SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) - SANS Institute (Private company providing training for the cyber security industry.)
systems control audit review file (SCARF) - (embedded audit software which allows an auditor to determine the reasonableness of tests incorporated into normal processing)
system development life cycle (SDLC) - (the phases or stages involved in developing or acquiring a software system)
system generation (SYSGEN) -
system management facility (SMF) - (building/physical location where system management staff work)
systems network architecture (SNA) - (a formal description or representation of the organization of a systems network and its components and their relationship to each other)
System and Organization Controls (SOC) - (system-level controls related to third-party organizations providing services to organizations - vendors, businesses providing outsourced services to an organization in specialized areas, such as claims processing, data processing - standards falling under Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 18 after 2017 - replaced the earler term "Service Organization Controls")
System and Organization Controls Type 1 report (SOC 1) - (type of report used for entities that audit financial statements, which focuses on assessments of internal control, formally Internal Control over Financial Reporting (ICFR) - standards falling under Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 18 after May 1, 2017 - replaced the earler term "Service Organization Controls")
System and Organization Controls Type 2 report (SOC 2) - (type of report involving Trust Services Criteria, which analyzes security systems at service organizations based on compliance with model security principles - since they may contain sensitive or proprietary information they are not released to the public - standards falling under Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 18 after May 1, 2017 - replaced the earler term "Service Organization Controls")
System and Organization Controls Type 3 report (SOC 3) - (type of report providing summary information about an organization's security systems and procedures, but intended to be publicly available - will not include sensitive or confidential information - within Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 18 after May 1, 2017 - replaced the earler term "Service Organization Controls")