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ESL Podcast 668 – Having Cash Flow Problems
GLOSSARY
to crunch the numbers
– to make a calculation, especially in accounting or
finance; to perform a mathematical operation, such as adding, subtracting,
multiplying, or dividing to get an result or answer
* I wonder whether these students would be able to crunch the numbers without
a calculator.
to meet payroll
– to be able to pay the salaries of one’s employees; to be able to
pay people the money they are owed for the work they have done
* If the company isn’t able to meet payroll, why is anyone still working there?
cash flow
– liquidity; the amount of money a company has available to pay its
bills and other expenses, without considering how much money a company has
invested in assets
* Many companies struggle with cash flow for the first two years, because all of
the money they make from sales has to be used to pay off loans and invest in
growth.
projection
– forecast; an educated guess about what will happen in the future
based on what has happened in the past
* Our projections show that the firm will double in size by 2014.
to anticipate
– to foresee; to believe that something will happen in the future and
prepare for it
* I didn’t anticipate it would rain today. If I had, I would have brought an
umbrella.
shortfall
– a shortage; a lack; a situation in which one does not have enough of
something
* When the government collects fewer taxes, schools have to find creative ways
to cover their funding shortfall.
income
– revenue; the amount of money that is received; the amount of money
coming into an organization or business during a certain period of time
* It’s often easier to reduce expenses than to increase income.
to set aside
– to reserve; to determine that one will not use part or all of
something right now, instead saving it for later or for someone else
* It’s a good idea to set aside a little money each month, just in case we need it in
a future emergency.
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ESL Podcast 668 – Having Cash Flow Problems
to hedge
– to protect oneself against certain risks, especially financial risks; to
do something that will reduce the problems created by some future event,
especially related to finance
* They’re investing in gold to hedge against fluctuation in the housing market.
stopgap
– a temporary fix or solution; something that will temporarily fix a
problem, although it will not last forever
* They hired temporary workers as a stopgap for the heavy workload they had
last month.
line of credit
– a loan; an amount of money that one takes from a bank, although
one must pay it back later with interest
* Which bank gave you a line of credit to make repairs on your house?
to overextend
– to have too much debt or too many commitments; to not be able
to keep one’s promises, especially related to one’s time or the money one owes
to another person
* Annie already works two jobs and takes care of her three children, so she really
overextended herself by agreeing to lead the parent-teacher association.
to push (one’s) luck
– to try to get too much of a good thing, so that one fails
and ends up in a worse position; to try to continue one’s history of having very
good luck or having unexpected successes, even though there are no
guarantees that one will continue to be that lucky
* It didn’t snow at all last week while we repaired our home, so we decided to
push our luck and replace the roof, even though we know it normally snows a lot
this time of year.
to hold off on
– to delay or postpone something; to decide to not to do
something now, instead doing it at some future time
* They’ve decided to hold off on the wedding until they’ve saved enough money
for a house.
supplier
– a company that sells goods or products to another company
* Trey really likes shopping at this grocery store, because most of the suppliers
are local farmers.
as predicted
– as expected; as one had believed would happen; a phrase used
when one’s prediction comes true
* As predicted, the cost of health care increased again last year.
2
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ESL Podcast 668 – Having Cash Flow Problems
to give (someone) assurances
– to give someone a feeling of confidence that
something will happen; to tell someone that everything is okay; to help someone
stop worrying about something
* If you want people to vote for you, you need to give them assurances that their
lives will become easier once you are president.
______________
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What did Kylie do when she crunched the numbers?
a) She made an error in her calculations.
b) She performed some calculations.
c) She copied her calculations from someone else.
2. According to Kylie, what might be the consequence of the company’s cash
flow problems?
a) The company won’t be able to hire any new employees.
b) The company won’t be able to apply for a new line of credit.
c) The company won’t be able to pay employees’ salaries and wages.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to hedge
The verb “to hedge,” in this podcast, means to protect oneself against certain
risks, especially financial risks, or to do something that will reduce the problems
created by some future event: “How can we hedge against foreign exchange
risk?” The phrase “to hedge (one’s) bets” means to reduce the likelihood that
something bad will happen by doing many different things: “We know most
goldfish die within a few days, so we’re hedging our bets by buying lots of them.”
The phrase “to be hedged in” means to not have enough space, or to be
surrounded by something: “Their backyard is hedged in by the railroad tracks.”
Finally, a “hedge” is a small group of plants that are planted in a row very close to
each other, usually to separate two parts of a property: “They trim the hedge
along their walkway each spring.”
to hold off
In this podcast, the phrase “to hold off on (something)” means to delay or
postpone something, or to decide to not to do something now, instead doing it at
some future time: “Reyna is going to hold off on going to college until she can
save up a little more money.” The phrase “hold on” is used to ask someone to
wait a short period of time: “Hold on! I want to go with you, but I need to put on
3
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ESL Podcast 668 – Having Cash Flow Problems
my jacket first.” The phrase “to hold onto (something)” means to keep something
and not sell it or throw it away: “Why did you hold onto these comic books for so
many years?” Finally, the phrase “to be held up” means to be delayed by
something: “I’m sorry I came to the meeting a few minutes late, but I was held up
in traffic.”
______________
CULTURE NOTE
Many Americans “mistakenly” (incorrectly) believe that the U.S. government
“awards” (gives to the winner of a competition) “grants” (money that is given to a
person or organization for a particular purpose and does not need to be paid
back) to open or “expand” (grow) small businesses, but this simply is not true.
“Entrepreneurs” (people who start their own business) are often “sorely” (very)
disappointed when they learn that “federal” (national) grants are available only to
nonprofit organizations and local and state government agencies.
For example, the federal government often awards grants to nonprofit
organizations involved in medical research or the development of more “efficient”
(producing more with less) sources of energy. These activities benefit all
members of “society” (the people living together in a particular country, region
and/or culture), so it makes sense for the federal government to support those
activities financially. In most cases, it does not make sense for the federal
government to award grants to an entrepreneur opening a new restaurant or a
retail store, because those businesses benefit only the owner and a “handful” (a
small number) of employees.
Some state and local government agencies award grants to entrepreneurs, but
the entrepreneurs usually have to “match” (provide an equal amount) those
grants with bank loans or personal funds. These grants are usually awarded to
“stimulate” (improve; make something grow) the local economy – not just to help
someone start a new business. However, entrepreneurs can benefit from many
programs that are designed to help them apply for low-interest loans and receive
inexpensive or free business advice.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c
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ESL Podcast 668 – Having Cash Flow Problems
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 668: Having Cash
Flow Problems.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 668. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful – a little rainy, but otherwise beautiful Los Angeles, California.
This episode, like all of our episodes, has a Learning Guide. Go to our website
at eslpod.com and download it. You’ll improve your English much faster by
having a transcript, vocabulary, and additional cultural and vocabulary
information included in the Guide.
This episode is about business. It’s about something called “cash flow.” Let’s
get started.
[start of dialogue]
Kylie: I’ve just crunched the numbers and we’re not going to be able to meet
payroll next month because of cash flow problems.
Miguel: That can’t be. The cash flow projections from last month showed that
we’d be fine.
Kylie: We didn’t anticipate a shortfall in income this month and didn’t set aside
enough cash to hedge against a cash flow problem.
Miguel: What can we do? We need a stopgap solution now.
Kylie: Well, we could try to extend our line of credit at the bank.
Miguel: We’re already overextended at the bank. I don’t want to push our luck.
Kylie: The other option is to hold off on paying our suppliers and hope that our
income goes up next month, as predicted.
Miguel: Do you really think we can hold them off for that long?
Kylie: I’ll have a talk with our biggest suppliers and give them assurances that
they’ll get paid. Let’s just hope they’re not having cash flow problems of their
own!
5
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
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