The AICPA, or American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, is a non-profit group that represents CPAs across the United States. Learn more about American Institute of Certified Public Accountants The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) started out in 1887 as the American Association of Public Accountants. Its main goal was to elevate the

The Accounting Principles Board (APB) served as the main authority for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) from 1959 to 1973. In 1973, it was succeeded by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The APB’s role was to provide guidelines and rules regarding accounting principles. While some of the opinions issued by the

Selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) cover all the costs that aren’t related to production during a specific time frame. This includes things like marketing, advertising, rent, and utilities. Basically, this category captures almost all the business expenses that don’t go into creating a product or providing a service. SG&A represents the costs involved in

COMEX stands for The Commodity Exchange. It’s the main market for trading futures and options on metals like gold, silver, copper, and aluminum. Back in 1994, COMEX joined forces with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and took over the metals trading there. Then in 2008, the CME Group bought NYMEX, which included the COMEX

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC for short, is a federal agency that operates independently to oversee the derivatives markets in the U.S. This includes things like futures contracts, options, and swaps. The CFTC aims to ensure that markets are competitive and efficient while also safeguarding investors from manipulation, unfair trading practices, and fraud.

The New York Mercantile Exchange, or NYMEX, is the biggest physical commodity futures exchange out there. It’s now part of the CME Group, which is the top player in the derivatives market. The CME Group includes four exchanges: the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), NYMEX, and the Commodity Exchange, Inc.

An alternative trading system (ATS) is basically a trading platform that has fewer regulations compared to traditional exchanges. These ATS platforms are commonly used to connect big buy and sell orders from their users. In the U.S., the most popular kind of ATS is the electronic communication network (ECN), which is a tech-driven system that

A future market is basically a place where people can buy and sell contracts for commodities and other assets that will be delivered at a future date. These contracts are traded on exchanges and help set a price today for something that will be delivered later. Some well-known futures markets include the New York Mercantile

The OTC Pink, now known as the Pink Open Market, is the most basic and risky level among the three platforms for trading over-the-counter (OTC) stocks. All three levels are managed by the OTC Markets Group. This market allows trading in a variety of stocks through any broker, including firms that are in default or

The OTC market is where you can buy and sell securities through a network of broker-dealers rather than on a big exchange like the New York Stock Exchange. This kind of trading can include stocks, bonds, and derivatives, which are financial agreements that get their value from something else, like a commodity. If a company