Business English Vocabulary | Business English Pod

BEP 356 – Accounting English: Discussing Taxes (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Finance and Accounting / March 10, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on accounting English vocabulary for discussing taxes.

Spring is a busy time for accountants in the U.S. and many other countries. That’s because spring is when corporations and individuals have to file a tax return with the government. It’s our yearly reminder that we don’t get to keep everything we earn.

Of course, those busy accountants aren’t just calculating your revenue and costs. They’re looking for ways to reduce the amount you – or your business – have to pay in tax. And that’s why the chatter around offices and board rooms is all about ways to avoid handing over too much money to the tax man.

Listen to these conversations and you’ll notice many useful expressions. For example, I’ve already used the phrase “file a tax return.” That verb “file” always goes with “return” when we talk about our annual submission to the government. You can learn those words together, as one expression or “collocation.”

A collocation is just a natural combination of words that native English speakers learn as a chunk. With English collocations, we don’t have to go searching for every word in our brain. Instead, we pull out a string of words that matches our intended meaning. Learning these strings of words is more efficient, and will make you sound more natural. As you listen to today’s conversation, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll continue with a conversation about the tax situation of a company called Brando Equipment. Christie has been giving an update to two senior managers: Glen and Ivana. Last time, Christie gave them an overall picture of the tax situation, and today she’s providing more detail.

Listening Questions

1. What does Christie say is one factor that increased their reported income?
2. What helped reduce the company’s reported income by about $50,000?
3. What important issue does Ivana want to discuss in more detail at the end of the dialog?”

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BEP 355 – Accounting English: Discussing Taxes (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Finance and Accounting / March 1, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on accounting English for discussing taxes.

There’s an old saying in English that “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” But, although taxes are certain, the exact amount you have to pay isn’t. Just ask any accountant. For both companies and individuals, there are all sorts of ways to lower your tax bill. And a lower tax bill means more money in our pockets, or in our shareholders pockets. For this reason, tax is a popular topic of discussion, especially in the spring when most taxes are due.

In this accounting English lesson, we’ll listen to three managers at Brando Equipment discuss their tax situation. During the conversation, the managers use a lot of common expressions related to taxes. We call these expressions “collocations.” A collocation is just a group of words that go together naturally.

Some English collocations, such as “take a chance,” are widely used. But many collocations are particular to a certain field of work or topic. And to work in that field or discuss that topic, you need to know these special expressions. When it comes to taxes, for example, you need to know that we use the verb “file” with “taxes” to talk about our yearly report to the government. Learning collocations like this in different fields will develop your vocabulary and help you sound more natural.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Christie, Glen, and Ivana discuss the tax situation at Brando Equipment, a subsidiary their company has recently purchased. Glen and Ivana are corporate managers, while Christie is an accountant. The three colleagues use many English collocations and vocabulary specific to taxes as they talk about how much tax Brando Equipment owes.

Listening Questions

1. What does Ivana hope that they finish by the 30th of the month?
2. Near the start of the conversation, what does Christie say is higher than they anticipated?
3. What key piece of information does Glen want to know?

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Business English News 43 – Climate Change

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business News, ESL Podcast / February 18, 2020

Change is a constant, and the earth’s climate has never been perfectly stable. But in recent years the pace of climate change has accelerated to the point of crisis. Scientists around the world are sounding the alarm, and more and more people and institutions are realizing that drastic times require drastic measures. Business is not immune. According to the New York Times:

The Carbon Disclosure Project analyzed submissions from 215 of the world’s 500 biggest corporations. They found that these companies faced roughly $1 trillion in potential costs related to climate change in the decades ahead, unless they took proactive steps to prepare. By the companies’ own estimates, the bulk of those financial risks could start to materialize in the next five years or so.

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BEP 351 – Idioms for Describing Relationships (Part 2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms / November 19, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on business English idioms for describing relationships.

We all spend a lot of time every week at work. So much, in fact, that sometimes it feels like our colleagues are a kind of family. And just like families, workplace relationships can be a source of both satisfaction and stress. Sometimes we support each other, while at other times we argue bitterly. And sometimes our disagreements are constructive, while at other times they can generate conflict.

In any case, whether they’re positive or negative, workplace relationships are a constant source of fascination. And English has many idioms and expressions to describe how people get along, or don’t get along. These idioms will help you discuss the often complicated relationships in your workplace.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin three colleagues at an insurance company. They’ve been talking about the relationships between the people on a new team. In their discussion, they use many English idioms to describe how people get along, both past and present.

Listening Questions

1. How was the relationship between Dave and Diego?
2. What happened when Ivan and Dave were asked to open a new office together?
3. What does Mark say about his relationship with Chuck?

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BEP 350 – Idioms for Describing Relationships (Part 1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms / November 10, 2019

Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod. My name’s Edwin, and I’ll be your host for today’s lesson on business English idioms for talking about relationships.

They say that success in business is all about relationships. Certainly, your success in a particular workplace is greatly dependent on how you relate to those around you. That includes your colleagues, your collaborators, your staff, and your bosses. If you don’t develop good relationships, then it probably doesn’t matter how great your work is.

Relationships aren’t just important, they’re also interesting. What do you and your colleagues talk about when you chat socially? A lot of your conversations are probably about the people at your workplace. Who isn’t getting along, who is getting along a little too well, who doesn’t like who, and who is being a bit too nice to everyone.

Whatever kind of relationships you’re talking about, there are hundreds of English idioms you can use. If you listened to our 925 English lesson on describing people, then you learned some useful basic expressions. In this lesson, we’ll take that to the next level with some great idioms for describing relationships.

In the dialog, we’ll hear a conversation between three colleagues: Brooke, Mark, and Ivan. They work for an insurance company that has just put together a new team to work on a new product. The three colleagues are keen to talk about the complex web of relationships among the people on this team.

Listening Questions

1. What is the relationship between Chuck and Dave?
2. What does Brooke think will change between Dave and Anna?
3. What’s the relationship between Becky and Dave?

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