Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 332, Profit and Loss.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 332.
Transcription by CastingWords.
The learning guide contains all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions not found on the audio episode, cultural notes, comprehension questions and a complete transcript of this episode.
This episode is a dialogue between Dolores and Anton talking about the money that their company makes or doesn't make.
Let's get started.
Manuel in accounting is supposed to help me with this report, but he called in sick today.
I can't believe my luck.
He's supposed to be training me in, and he's left me holding the bag.
Let me see if I can help.
I'm supposed to use the information from this profit and loss statement to make some projections about the company's future performance for our report, but I'm not sure what I'm doing.
I need to plug in some numbers here, but I can't make heads or tails of this.
Well, if you look at the top of the statement, you'll see the top line which shows the revenue the company brought in in the third quarter of this year.
Is that what you need?
Yes, I think so, but I also need to know our net income.
Here is the bottom line.
That takes into account all of the revenue and expenses during the third quarter.
Those are in this column.
See?
See?
I guess all the information is here.
I just needed to know where to look.
Thanks.
I couldn't have figured it out without you.
It's not that complicated.
Hopefully, Manuel will be back tomorrow.
Manuel?
Who needs him?
Our dialogue begins with Dolores saying to Anton Manuel in accounting in the accounting department is supposed to help me with this report but he called in sick today.
He called up and said he wasn't coming to work.
That's to call in sick.
Dolores says.
Dolores says To train someone.
In is a two-word phrasal verb in English, which means to help someone learn what he or she needs to know for a new job or a new position.
He's being trained in as a manager.
He is receiving training as a manager.
Dolores says that Manuel left her holding the bag.
This is an idiomatic expression.
To hold the bag or to be left.
Holding the bag means to be responsible for something when other people don't do their work.
You have to do something because someone else didn't do what they were supposed to do.
So Dolores is left holding the bag.
Anton says, let me see if I can help.
Dolores then explains I'm supposed to use the information from this profit and loss statement to make some projections about the company's future performance.
A profit and loss statement is a report that shows how much money a company has made or lost over a certain amount of time.
So you take all the money the company receives from selling its products or services and you subtract the amount of money the company has spent on expenses and And the result is either a profit, meaning your company made money, or a loss, meaning your company lost money.
This is sometimes called a P&L statement or a P&L, profit and loss, P&L.
Dolores says that she needs to make some projections about.
A projection in this sentence means a forecast, an estimate of how something will change over time.
It's a guess about what will happen in the future.
You can use the verb to project in this same way.
I project that our company will have a profit, or I'm projecting a profit for our company.
Here she uses the noun projection.
Dolores says that she needs to plug in some numbers here, but she can't make heads or tails of it.
To plug in something is another phrasal verb in English.
It means to put numbers into a formula or an equation.
To fill in the blanks, we might say.
I need to plug in the numbers in my spreadsheet, my Excel spreadsheet, to figure out if our company has made money or lost money.
That expression to plug in has a couple of different meanings.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Dolores says she can't make heads or tails of something.
To make heads or tails means to be able to understand something, even if it's just a little bit, a small amount.
I understand a little.
But if you say, I can't make heads or tails of this, you mean you can't understand anything.
The word heads and tails comes from a coin.
A coin has two sides.
One side is called heads usually because there's a picture the head of some famous ruler from that country.
In Great Britain, for example, there is a picture of the queen.
That would be the heads side of the coin.
Tails is the back side of the coin.
But the expression to make heads or tails of something means to be able to understand something.
Anton says, well, if you look at the top of the statement, you'll see the top line.
The top line means the total amount of money that the company received during a certain amount of time.
It's shown at the top of a profit and loss statement.
This top line shows the revenue the company brought in in the third quarter of this year.
The word revenue here just means income, the amount of money that the company received.
Anton says.
The top line shows the revenue the company brought in or received in the third quarter of this year.
A quarter is 25% of something.
In this case, a quarter means one-fourth of the year, three months during the year.
So a year has four quarters.
January, February, March is quarter one.
April, May, June, quarter two.
July, August, September, quarter three.
October, November, December, quarter four.
The exact meaning of the word quarter depends on the context.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations about how to use that word.
Anton says, is this what you need?
Dolores says, yes, I think so, but I also need to know our net income.
Your net N-E-T income is the money that you received minus the money that you spent, or the money the revenue earned minus, or taking away, the money you spent.
It's another word really for profit.
Anton then says, here is the bottom line.
We just talked about the top line.
That's on a profit and loss statement where you see the revenue for the company.
The bottom line is whether the company made money or not.
It's the last line on a profit and loss statement.
It shows the profit or the loss.
We use this expression, the bottom line, also in general conversation to mean what is the final conclusion.
What is the most important thing here?
Here it is the last line of the P&L statement.
Anton says the bottom line takes into account all of the revenue and expenses during the third quarter.
To take into account or to take something into account is, yes, another phrasal verb in English.
It means to consider.
It means to include in this case.
So it includes all of the revenue and expenses, the costs that the company paid during the third quarter.
Delores says that's great, but I also need to know the gross profits and operating expenses.
On a profit and loss statement.
The gross G-R-O-S-S profits are the profits that you make before paying any taxes or interest on a loan.
It's the money that you receive minus the cost of things before the taxes and interest are included.
The operating expenses are the costs that are needed to run a business.
They're not actually part of the product.
So let's say you're making a car.
Well you need doors and wheels, steering wheel, glass.
You put all those together to make the car.
Your operating expenses would be all the other things that you need in order to have a company.
You have to pay for your rent.
You have to pay for electricity and the phone and so forth.
Dolores then says To figure out something or to figure something out is a two-word or phrasal verb meaning to think about something until you understand it, to be able to understand something.
I can't figure this computer out means I can't understand how to use it.
Anton says it's not that complicated, meaning it's not that difficult.
It's not that complex.
He says, hopefully, Manuel will be back tomorrow.
Dolores says, Manuel, who needs him?
Meaning she can now do it by herself.
So basically what happened here is that Anton trained in Dolores on how to write this report.
So Manuel doesn't really have to do any of the work tomorrow.
Good idea he called in sick.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Manuel in accounting is supposed to help me with this report, but he called in sick today.
I can't believe my luck.
He's supposed to be training me in, and he's left me holding the bag.
Let me see if I can help.
I'm supposed to use the information from this profit and loss statement to make some projections about the company's future performance for our report, but I'm not sure what I'm doing.
I need to plug in some numbers here, but I can't make heads or tails of this.
Well, if you look at the top of the statement, you'll see the top line which shows the revenue the company brought in in the third quarter of this year.
Is that what you need?
Yes, I think so, but I also need to know our net income.
Here's the bottom line.
That takes into account all of the revenue and expenses during the third quarter.
That's great, but I also need to know the gross profits and operating expenses.
Those are in this column.
See?
I guess all the information is here.
I just needed to know where to look.
Thanks.
I couldn't have figured it out without you.
It's not that complicated.
Hopefully, Manuel will be back tomorrow.
Manuel?
Who needs him?
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2007.
