le magazine du groupe EDF

financial glossary

A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W Z

Actuarial gains or losses

Actuarial gains or losses are defined by IAS 19 related to employee benefits. In calculating their employee obligations, companies take into consideration actuarial assumptions such as salary trends, life expectancy, interest rates. Actuarial gains or losses thus correspond to changes arising between two calculations. They include experience adjustments (the effects of differences between the previous actuarial assumptions and what has actually occurred) and the effects of changes in actuarial assumptions.

AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers)

The French commission responsible for regulating financial markets. Established by the French Financial Security Act of August 1, 2003, the AMF was formed from the merger of the Commission des Opérations de Bourse (COB), the Conseil des Marchés Financiers (CMF) and the Conseil de Discipline de la Gestion Financière (CDGF).
The AMF is an independent public body with legal personality and financial autonomy. Its mission is to:
- safeguard investments in financial instruments and in all other savings and investment vehicles;
- ensure that investors receive necessary information;
- maintain orderly financial markets.
It also provides its support to financial market regulation at the European and international levels.

Assets

Assets and recurring free cash flow constitute the company's resources which have a positive financial value. They consist of physical goods or intangible, monetary or financial rights. Current assets are held short term, throughout the normal course of a company's annual operating cycle. Fixed assets are of a more enduring nature and are expected to have a useful life of more than one year.