What is a Subpoena? A subpoena refers to a summon that legally binds an individual to attend a court or appear before a judge. A subpoena is a writ issued by a court which mandates a person to go to a court to submit evidence, testify or produce records and documents that are needed in a case. A person who has received a subpoena cannot ignore the o...

What is a Market?  A market is just a group of consumers who seek to satisfy similar needs through some form of exchange. First, the participants in the market must have something to exchange. That is, both parties have to have something of value so the consumer in order to be part of a viable market. Further, there must be demand on each side for t...

What is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act? The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is a set of federal laws addressing criminal and unethical conduct of public company boards and management. It also addresses the accounting and auditing practices of firms servicing these public companies.  What are the criminal provisions under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?  The criminal sanct...

What is the Auditing Standards Board? The Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is saddled with the responsibility of communicating audit standards that practitioners are expected to live by. ASB is a senior committee member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). This board serves public interest through auditing, attestation, a...

What is Business Strategy? Strategy is a firm's orientation, objectives, and tactics employed in pursuit of its objectives or goals. A strategic plan is how these attributes are organized or aligned. Strategies can be applied generally to the firm's value proposition or to any objective or goal within the firm. Porter's Generic Strategies identify h...

What is the Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix?  The Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix is an analytical technique used to evaluate the strategic position of a firm based upon internal strengths and weaknesses. It is very similar to a SWOT analysis, but with numerical weighting of factors.  What is the External Factor Evaluation?  The External Factor ...

What is a Double Column Tariff? A Double Column Tariff is a tariff system which has two different duty rates for a particular product. Here, the import tax on the product depends on the country of its origin. The rate is assessed by the importing country's trade relationship with the exporting country. Depending on that relationship the tariff may b...

What is Liquidity? Liquidity is a feature of an asset which makes it easily convertible into cash. An asset or security that can easily be purchased, sold, or converted into cash has liquidity.  Cash itself is a liquid asset, while savings accounts, checkable accounts, assets and securities that are easily changed into cash are also considered liqui...

What is a Burnout? Despite lowering interest rates, mortgage-backed security (MBS) pre-payment rates slow down over time and this is described as Burnout. Mortgage holders have an incentive to refinance when the interest rates drop on the substratal MBS. When refinance fails it is credited to Burnout. Factors such as a drop in creditworthiness, lack...

What is a Strategic Alliance? A strategic alliance is a joint effort or project by two companies. The companies agree to share resources in pursuit of a common goal, objective, or project.   It is similar to a joint venture. The difference between a strategic alliance and joint venture is that the members do not form a separate entity together. As s...