GE 2014 Annual Report Download - page 140

120 GE 2014 FORM 10-K
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
Backlog Unfilled customer orders for products and product services (expected life of contract sales for product services).
Borrowing Financial liability (short or long-term) that obligates us to repay cash or another financial asset to another entity.
Borrowings as a percentage of total capital invested For GE, the sum of borrowings and mandatorily redeemable preferred
stock, divided by the sum of borrowings, mandatorily redeemable preferred stock, noncontrolling interests and total
shareowners’ equity.
Cash equivalents Highly liquid debt instruments with original maturities of three months or less, such as commercial paper.
Typically included with cash for reporting purposes, unless designated as available-for-sale and included with investment
securities.
Cash flow hedges Qualifying derivative instruments that we use to protect ourselves against exposure to variability in future
cash flows. The exposure may be associated with an existing asset or liability, or with a forecasted transaction. See “Hedge.”
Commercial paper Unsecured, unregistered promise to repay borrowed funds in a specified period ranging from overnight to
270 days.
Comprehensive income The sum of Net Income and Other Comprehensive Income. See “Other Comprehensive Income.”
Derivative instrument A financial instrument or contract with another party (counterparty) that is designed to meet any of a
variety of risk management objectives, including those related to fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates or
commodity prices. Options, forwards and swaps are the most common derivative instruments we employ. See “Hedge.”
Discontinued operations Certain businesses we have sold or committed to sell within the next year and therefore will no
longer be part of our ongoing operations. The net earnings, assets and liabilities, and cash flows of such businesses are
separately classified on our Statement of Earnings, Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Cash Flows,
respectively, for all periods presented. In the second quarter of 2014, we adopted a new standard for accounting for
discontinued operations as described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements. There were no disposals that qualified
as discontinued operations under the revised definition in 2014.
Effective tax rate Provision for income taxes as a percentage of earnings from continuing operations before income taxes and
accounting changes. Does not represent cash paid for income taxes in the current accounting period. Also referred to as
“actual tax rate” or “tax rate.”
Ending Net Investment (ENI) The total capital we have invested in the financial services business. It is the sum of short-term
borrowings, long-term borrowings and equity (excluding noncontrolling interests) adjusted for unrealized gains and losses on
investment securities and hedging instruments. Alternatively, it is the amount of assets of continuing operations less the
amount of non-interest-bearing liabilities.
Equipment leased to others (ELTO) Rental equipment we own that is available to rent and is stated at cost less accumulated
depreciation.