Full forms: office and business

34 full forms, each with a line on what it means.

Job advertisements, offer letters, salary slips and office emails take these short forms for granted. A new employee who does not know them can misread an offer: CTC, the cost to company, is not the same as the salary that reaches the bank account. This page covers job titles, the parts of a salary, kinds of leave, kinds of company, and the common words of management and trade. Many began in large companies and are now used in offices of every size. Where a short form has a second meaning elsewhere, as SOP and MD do, the entry says so.

Explained in full: CEO

• CEO

  Chief Executive Officer

  The most senior manager of a company.

  CEO explained Copy

• CFO

  Chief Financial Officer

  The senior manager in charge of a company's finances.

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• COO

  Chief Operating Officer

  The senior manager in charge of day-to-day operations.

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• CTO

  Chief Technology Officer

  The senior manager in charge of technology.

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• MD

  Managing Director

  The director who runs a company day to day.

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• HR

  Human Resources

  The department that deals with hiring, pay and staff matters.

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• CV

  Curriculum Vitae

  A document that sets out a person's education and work history. Latin for "course of life".

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• JD

  Job Description

  A written statement of the duties of a job.

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• CTC

  Cost to Company

  The total yearly amount an employer spends on an employee, including benefits.

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• PF

  Provident Fund

  The retirement savings to which employee and employer contribute.

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• ESI

  Employees' State Insurance

  The social security scheme that gives medical and cash benefits to workers.

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• WFH

  Work From Home

  Doing one's job from home.

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• KPI

  Key Performance Indicator

  A measure used to judge how well a person or business is doing.

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• KRA

  Key Result Area

  A main area of responsibility on which an employee is assessed.

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• SOP

  Standard Operating Procedure

  A written set of steps for doing a routine task. In admissions, SOP means statement of purpose.

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• MoU

  Memorandum of Understanding

  A written record of an agreement between parties, usually less formal than a contract.

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• NOC

  No Objection Certificate

  A letter stating that the issuer has no objection to what the holder plans to do.

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• B2B

  Business to Business

  Trade between businesses.

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• B2C

  Business to Consumer

  Sales from a business to the public.

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• R&D

  Research and Development

  The work of creating new products and knowledge.

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• QA

  Quality Assurance

  The process of making sure a product meets its standards.

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• ROI

  Return on Investment

  The gain from an investment compared with its cost.

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• BPO

  Business Process Outsourcing

  Contracting business tasks, such as customer support, to another company.

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• Pvt Ltd

  Private Limited

  A company whose shares are privately held and whose owners have limited liability.

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• LLP

  Limited Liability Partnership

  A form of partnership in which partners have limited liability.

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• Inc

  Incorporated

  A word after a company name showing that it is a registered corporation.

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• AGM

  Annual General Meeting

  The yearly meeting of a company's shareholders.

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• CSR

  Corporate Social Responsibility

  A company's spending and work for the good of society.

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• TA

  Travelling Allowance

  Money paid to an employee for travel on duty.

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• DA

  Dearness Allowance

  An allowance paid to offset rising prices.

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• HRA

  House Rent Allowance

  The part of a salary meant for house rent.

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• LTA

  Leave Travel Allowance

  An allowance for travel while on leave.

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• CL

  Casual Leave

  Short leave for personal reasons.

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• EL

  Earned Leave

  Leave earned by days worked.

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How to read an entry

The letters in bold are the short form as it is normally written. Under it is the full form, and then a line of meaning in plain words. Where the same letters mean something else in another field, the entry mentions it. "Copy" puts the short form, the full form and the meaning on your clipboard, ready to paste into notes or a message.

Check what matters. These pages explain names and terms in general. Rules, dates, fees and limits change: take them from the official body. Read on 12 November 2026.

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