1、Business+Expenses+&+Business+Trip 及答案解析(总分：86.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、BPart Reading (总题数：1，分数：18.00)BText A/BBBackground Information/BBusiness expenses. Money expended or cost incurred in a firms efforts to generate revenue, representing cost of doing business. Expenses may be in the form of actual cash pay
2、ments(such as wages and salaries), a computed “expired“ portion(depreciation)of an asset, or an amount taken out of the firms earnings(such as bad debts). Expenses are summarized and charged in the firms income statement as deductions from the income before assessing income tax. Whereas all expenses
3、 are costs, not all costs(such as those incurred in acquisition of income generating assets)are expenses.List of Typical Business ExpensesFollowing is a list of typical business expense categories. Which ones will be applicable to your business?Advertising expensesBank service charges and feesBusine
4、ss start-up costsBusiness taxes, fees, licenses, dues, memberships, and subscriptionsComputer, printer, software, telephone and utilitiesDelivery, freight and expressEducation expenses for maintaining or improving required skillsInsurance expenseLegal and attorney feesMaintenance and repairsMeals an
5、d entertainmentManagement and administration feesOffice expensesSalaries, wages and benefitsTravel expensesBLearn New Ways to Manage Business Expenses/BYour products or services might be in high demand, but generating revenue means little if your company cant retain it. Learn how to hold onto the pr
6、ofits you make by managing expenses that you can control.As a business owner, it is likely that you have spent more than one sleepless night thinking about a challenge that faces your company. After all, if youre not constantly focused on how to improve your business, who else will be? Especially wh
7、en it comes to managing expenses, you probably have the sole responsibility of determining what are acceptable and unacceptable costs.But, what if you no longer had the burden of being the sole big-picture person? What if your employees began thinking about ways to improve the business? Your expense
8、s would likely go downand youd probably get a lot more sleep.Get the Most Out of the “Brains“ You HiredA major flaw with todays business world is that owners are bottlenecks for their companies progress and improvement, says Lanny Goodman, CEO of Management Technologies Inc., Albuquerque, N.M. If a
9、companys owner is the only one bearing responsibility for improving operations, then progress is also limited to the owners ideas, available time and order of priorities. The best way to eliminate this bottleneck effect is by enlisting employees in the quest to improve the company. But how can a bus
10、iness owner inspire workers to truly care about things such as cost cutting? Profit sharingan agreement between a business and its workers, by which employees share in some of the companys profitsis the ultimate motivational tool, according to Goodman.Most people probably see profit sharing as a ben
11、efit better suited for large corporations, but Goodman believes the benefits of profit sharing are universal. Employees should be asked for expense management ideas on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, he says. The incentive for employees is that once profit has reached a certain amount, they wo
12、uld receive a certain percentage above that amount. This type of profit sharing is based on the idea that employees have contributed to the increased profits both in terms of generating ideas on cost-cutting as well as working toward these cost-cutting measures.A secondary benefit of profit sharing
13、is that employees who receive additional financial incentives will be less likely to leavereducing the cost of turnover, Goodman says. In addition, everyone will ensure that co-workers carry their weight because one persons performance affects everyone.If profit sharing isnt the right fit for your c
14、ompany, there are other methods for motivating employees to reduce costs. For instance, Aldonna Ambler, president of AMBLER Growth Strategy Consultants Inc., Hammonton, N.J., tells workers to “find yourself a raise.“ On a quarterly or annual basis, give employees the task of finding $5 000 or $10 00
15、0 that is being used for old and inefficient processes. Then redirect that money toward new technology and innovations, Ambler says. Offer an incentive by directing some of the money to workers who devised effective cost-cutting ideas.Get CenteredMotivating your workers is a good start, however, it
16、will mean little if nobody knows how expenses impact your company. According to Ambler, the primary causes of overspending are1. Workers dont know how much they should spend.2. Workers underestimate how much they can spend and end up having to throw more money at a problem later on.It follows that t
17、he remedy for overspending is creating a better understanding of your budget. More clarity can be achieved by grouping your profit and loss statement into easily understandable categories, Ambler says.Once you. have a clear grasp of your budget, compare your gross profit to that of competitors. Use
18、resources such as association industry reports, such as Dun & Bradstreet reports, to determine what your competitors books look like. Be sure to compare your companys cash flow with others in the industry, says Jerome Katz, Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship at the John Cook School of Busi
19、ness at Saint Louis University in St. Louis. Then, use these comparisons as a gage for expense management.Dont Let Bad Debt Go Too LongYour companys success doesnt just depend on attracting new customers, it depends on the ones you retain. For this reason, it can be hard to take a firm stance with c
20、ustomers who have outstanding debt. Unfortunately, its hard to manage expenses if you cant count on the money thats suppose to come in.Business owners tolerate bad debt too long and wait too long before going to collection agencies, according to Katz. “Youre just trying to keep from being stretched
21、so tight that you break,“ he says. While payment periods differ by industryfrom 30,60, 90 to 120 daysmore than 120 days is rarely acceptable for any kind of business. If youre concerned that shortening payment periods will offend clients, tell customers right off the bat that someone elseyour attorn
22、ey, your accountant or consultantis the one pushing you to tighten up payment periods. Another strategy is to offer early payment discounts, such as a 2 percent discount for paying within 10 days instead of paying the full amount in 30 days. By reigning in your customers debt period, you create more
23、 flexibility to manage your businesss expenses.Merge Two IndustriesYour company may fit into an easily definable categoryclothing retailer, box maker, auto-parts manufacturerbut you may benefit from blurring the lines a bit. Merging two distinct industries can allow you to eliminate extra costs whil
24、e directing resources toward key components, Ambler says. For instance, the immensely popular Cirque du Soleil shows combined theaters and the circus. By creating something that is “halfway“ between two industries, Cirque has eliminated the need for expenses such as exotic animals on the circus side
25、, and paying big-name actors on the theater side.BExercises/B（分数：18.00）(1).I. Match the word with the appropriate meaning.（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(2).turnover（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(3).budget（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(4).overspend（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(5).subscription（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(6).outstanding（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_(7).freight（分数：1
26、.00）填空项 1:_(8).II. True or False.According to Lanny Goodman, a major flaw with todays business world is that a business owner didnt inspire his workers enough.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(9).Profit sharing is a universal and unique way to help eliminate “bottleneck“ effect.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(10).In order to att
27、ract new customers, business owner has to tolerate bad debt of the customers he retained.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(11).One business owner can get to know the exact budget of his counterparts through Dun& Bradstreet reports.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(12).Merging two industries may help a company perform better on exp
28、ense management.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(13).III. Multiple Choices.Profit sharing means that _ .（分数：1.00）A.employees share in some of the companys profitsB.accountants share in some of the companys profitsC.managers share in some of the companys profitsD.customers share in some of the companys profits(14).
29、The benefit NOT mentioned in the text of motivating employees is _ .（分数：1.00）A.the employees becoming aware of cost-cutting and initiative to take measuresB.reducing the cost of turnoverC.encouraging the development of a companys technologyD.providing new opportunities for employees to get job promo
30、tion(15).What is Dun & Bradstreet report?（分数：1.00）A.It is a companys budget book.B.It shows only the cash flow of every single company within the same industry.C.It shows the difference between companies budget management.D.It shows information on companies and is frequently used for corporate resea
31、rch.(16).The following are strategies mentioned to shorten payment periods EXEPT _ .（分数：1.00）A.telling your customers that it is your consultant who pushes you to tighten up the payment periodsB.telling your customers that it is your accountant who pushes you to tighten up the payment periodsC.resor
32、ting to law protectionD.offering early payment discounts(17).Which of the statement is NOT true?（分数：1.00）A.Merging two industries may help a company perform better on expense management.B.Business payment periods of 2 months is rarely acceptable.C.In order to motivate your workers, you need to group
33、 your profit and loss statement into easily understandable categories.D.For a company, one employees leaving can cause serious effect on others.(18).IV. Answer the questions. Can you suggest some methods to motivate the employees? 19. How to create a better understanding of your budget? 20. What mig
34、ht you do to reign in your customers debt period?（分数：1.00）填空项 1:_二、BText B/B(总题数：1，分数：28.00)BBackground Information/BFrontline individuals can be the weakest link for any business activity-and managing corporate travel expenses is no exception. The problem is that unlike the majority of corporate co
35、st centers, travel expenses rely on individual choice and discretion, which leads almost inevitably to emotionally driven decisions and often unpredictable behavior. Even with the best tools in place, it is impossible to maintain full visibility(and hence control)of travel costs if employees are not
36、 mandated to use them effectively. Robust policies and procedures are essential-as are the desire and ability of users to comply with them.BHow to Put the Brakes on Rising Travel Expense/BUnlike some business costs, travel expense is one expense that most companies can manage better. It is widely re
37、garded as one of an average organizations top three controllable expenses, along with compensation and health care. Need help putting some curbs on your business travel spending? This article offers some strategies.ZOLL Medical Corp., a Chelmsford, Mass., maker of resuscitation devices, spends 1 per
38、cent to 2 percent of revenues per year on business travel expenses, according to the companys chief financial officer, A. Ernest Whiton. For a company with 1 000 employees and 2005 revenues of $211 million, that is a sizable chunk of change.ZOLL is hardly the only midsize company spending heavily on
39、 travel. With business people traveling more and rising fuel prices driving up airfares, travel spending is threatening to spiral out of control in some companies. In a November 2005 American Express survey of U.S. finance executives, mostly at midsize businesses, 56 percent of respondents forecast
40、higher travel spending in 2006.Yet, unlike some mounting business costs, business travel expense is one expense that most companies can manage better. How? According to travel industry experts, the basic principles of travel cost management are simple:Define rules by drafting a sound travel policy.L
41、everage your spending power.Carefully scrutinize expense reports.Set a sound travel policy“Midsize companies booked 31 percent of their flights, 35 percent of their hotel rooms, and 20 percent of theft rental cars with non-preferred vendors in 2005.“From Business Travel NewsMark Walton, principal at
42、 business travel adviser Consulting Strategies LLC, in Deerfield, Ill., recommends starting with a written corporate travel policy. Without concrete guidance on which flights to take, hotels to book and expenses to report, even the most ethical employees will unwittingly make wasteful decisions. For
43、 example, according to a June 2006 survey by Business Travel News, midsize companies make just 48 percent of their reservations online-even though travel industry research shows that companies can save roughly 15 percent by purchasing tickets on the Web.“Travel policies can be as short as two pages
44、or as. long as 40 pages.“ Walton says. In general, greater specificity means greater savings. But longer policies can also be more complex and more likely to generate employee resentment.Once your policy is ready, communicate it to employees through formal training, and post it on the company intran
45、et, says Sushmitha Koka, a senior research analyst at business travel consulting firm PayStream Advisors Inc. in Charlotte, N.C. Companies that take such simple actions, she says, can experience from 33 percent to 50 percent fewer policy violations.Consolidate your spendingAnother fundamental strate
46、gy for reducing travel expenses is to book all of your flights, hotel rooms, and rental cars through a corporate travel management agency. Such firms, which typically provide both online and phone-based services, can help enforce your travel policy. More important, they provide comprehensive data on
47、 spending patterns that you can use to negotiate price breaks with preferred travel partners.“With data comes power,“ says Michael MacNair, president and CEO of Alexandria, Virginiabased MacNair Travel Management Inc. For example, some airlines offer discounts to companies that spend as little as $5
48、00 000 a year on tickets, MacNair notes, but only if you can document your purchasing history. “The key is to know what you spend and convince the suppliers you can move market share,“ he says.Larger companies are not the only ones that can obtain leverage in pricing. For instance, though big lodgin
49、g chains are usually unwilling to bargain with midsize organizations, a particular hotel will often cut their rates for you if your employees are frequent guests.Of course, enforcing a preferred vendor policy with employees can be tough. Midsize companies booked 31 percent of their flights, 35 percent of their hotel rooms, and 20
