ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES Claire Hart

in company 3.0
CORPORATE FINANCE Teacher’s NOTES
B1–B2
 Contents
Contents02
Student’s Book contents 03
Introduction04
Teacher’s Notes with answers

01 Forecasting 06
02 Budgeting 11
Video 01–02 16
Review 01–02 17
03 Managing payments 18
04 Reporting financial information 23
Video 03–04 28
Review 03–04 29
05 Interim results 30
06 Business development 35
Video 05–06 40
Review 05–06 41
07 Financial services and advice 42
08 Auditing 47
Video 07–08 52
Review 07–08 53

2 CONTENTS In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Student’s
Contents Book contents
Unit Finance Reading Listening Language
communication skills

01 Making a forecast
Projecting revenue
Forecasting
Discussing cash-flow issues
Making predictions
A blog post about
forecasting
A presentation of a
financial forecast
Common financial terms
Forecasting verbs
An email talking about A phone call about cash- Cash-flow expressions
cash-flow issues flow issues Adverbs of certainty
Predicting with will/won’t

02 Discussing a budget
Explaining budget changes
A blog post about fixed
and flexible budgets
A meeting to approve a
budget
Budget terminology
Verbs to discuss budget reductions
Budgeting
Discussing how to reduce Emails about budget A meeting about Question tags
spending changes reviewing budgets

Video Interviews with Finance professionals talking about Forecasting and Budgeting with exercises
Review Revision exercises for Units 01 and 02

03 Following up outstanding
payments
Payment reminder
emails
Telephone calls following
up late payers
Accounting terminology
Payment terminology
Managing
Negotiating payment Internal emails A telephone call Negotiating expressions
payments
extensions discussing cash-flow renegotiating payment Modal verbs for possibility and
issues terms requests

04 Talking about changes to

the financial position of a
Financial statements A presentation of the
general company finances
Financial statements
Describing change
Reporting
company A presentation of Presentation language
financial
information Presenting slides inventory problems Contrasting expressions

Video Interviews with Finance professionals talking about Managing payments and Reporting financial information with
exercises

Review Revision exercises for Units 03 and 04

05 Describing differences/
variances
An email about a
budget variance
A presentation of the
causes of a budget
Words to describe differences/
variances
Interim results
Explaining causes and A blog post about variance Formal and informal email
results corrective action A meeting about expressions
Controlling a meeting corrective action Linking words – cause and effect
Meetings phrases
Conditionals for likely and less
likely situations

06 Discussing company
performance
A blog post about the
balanced scorecard
Discussions of a strategy
map
Strategy and planning expressions
Active listening expressions
Business
Discussing strategy An investment An investment decision Modal verbs for necessity;
development
Discussing how to raise company brochure recommend
finance
Decision-making

Video Interviews with Finance professionals talking about Interim results and Business development with exercises
Review Revision exercises for Units 05 and 06

07 Negotiating letters of
credit
A commercial banking
website page
Telephone calls about
letters of credit
Banking and tax expressions
Phrases for negotiating
Financial
Giving and receiving tax An executive summary A meeting about tax Phrases for making
services and
advice advice advice recommendations and suggestions

08 Making small talk and

building relationships
Auditing
Opening a meeting
Asking sensitive questions
A blog post on
relationship-building
A social conversation
An opening meeting
Auditing expressions
Meetings expressions
skills A difficult conversation Indirect questions
An audit policy

Video Interviews with Finance professionals talking about Financial services and advice and Auditing with exercises
Review Revision exercises for Units 07 and 08

Additional material p46 Answer key p52 Listening scripts p58

CONTENTS 5
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017 STUDENT’S BOOK CONTENTS 3
 Introduction
About the course
In Company 3.0: English for Specific Purposes is a series of titles created to support the main In Company 3.0
coursebooks. This title, Corporate Finance, is aimed at in-work corporate finance professionals who are experienced
in their jobs, but who need support in using English in their jobs. The assumption is that they are already effective
at dealing with budgets, forecasts and accounts, so they don’t need to learn about how to set a budget or compile
their company’s actuals – what they need is to be able to do their job effectively in English.
The level of the book is B1 to B2. Note that some of the job-specific lexis that we expect your students to already
know is likely to be B2 or higher, due to its low frequency.
There are many pairwork activities in the book and ideally it would be used in classes of two to eight students.
However, it is highly adaptable to one-to-one tuition, and the Teacher’s Notes make suggestions for how you can
use the scenarios and roleplays effectively with just you and your student.

Student’s Book Structure

The coursebooks in this series consist of eight four-page
units, so they are shorter than most standard business
English courses. This is partly due to the fact that
they are subject specific, which means that a group of
corporate finance professionals would not need to skip
over any units because they are all relevant. It is also
because we want to offer a realistic target for students.
It’s certainly feasible to work through the entire course
during a standard 20-week block of lessons. This would
offer a real opportunity for your students to make
tangible progress in their language learning, and this
should be evident in the acquired language they take with
them and actively apply in their jobs.
Approach
The Corporate Finance title in this series offers an in-
depth look at the English used in the industry. Students
are presented with contextualized language (in both
audio and texts) that they can immediately use in their
own jobs. For example, they will learn phrases to use
when discussing cash-flow issues, when following up
outstanding payments and when presenting financial
information. They are then given the opportunity to
practise using this language in controlled exercises,
before they move on to freer tasks where they can
activate what they have learned in realistic scenarios.
Students are encouraged to personalize the language at
every opportunity, through framework exercises, such
as mind maps and flow charts, as well as through simple
discussion questions.
They are also exposed to authentic input through videos
of interviews with real corporate finance professionals.
Through watching these videos, they have the chance to
focus on the natural speech patterns of native speakers,
and they have the opportunity to personalize the topics
that arose in the video by discussing them in relation to
their own professional lives.
Each unit introduces key activities and issues within
the corporate finance profession, and presents useful
language in realistic input tasks. These tasks could
involve listening to a negotiation of payment extensions
between a finance department and a customer.
Alternatively they could be presented through the kind
of reading texts students are likely to encounter in
their jobs, such as financial statements, or an executive
summary of a company. On some occasions, other forms
of reading input are used, such as blog posts or articles.
This keeps the tasks varied and keeps interest levels high
by allowing more general discussion of topical issues.
Once students have practised using the target lexis
in controlled exercises, there is an opportunity for
personalization. Students are encouraged to use the
language they have learned to talk about their own jobs,
companies and experiences.
The final output task in each section either extends
this personalization task, or offers a scenario in which
students replicate a real-life situation where they may
need to use the target lexis.
Target language
The focus of the target lexis is largely on useful phrases
and collocations. If students can learn these chunks of
language and feel comfortable when using them, this will
greatly enhance their fluency and will enable them to
perform numerous activities within their job in English.
There is no overt grammar syllabus, however there are
useful grammar tips when a functional area lends itself
to a specific grammatical area. For example, will for
making financial predictions and forecasts, or modals for
requesting or offering payment extensions.

4 INTRODUCTION In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
   Video
After every two units, there is a page of video content.
The video clips are available online on both the Student’s
Resource Centre and the Teacher’s Resource Centre.
You will also find video scripts online. During this
activity, they watch and listen to people who work in
corporate finance talking about the topic. They focus on
comprehension and on features of natural speech (e.g.
weak forms or elision) that arose during the video. After
watching, they have a chance to discuss and reflect on the
topics that the interviewees talked about.
Review
After each video page, there is a review page where
students can complete exercises practising the target
lexis of the previous two units. This can be used as
homework or catch-up outside of the lesson, or as a quick
check in class.
Additional material
At the end of the book, you will find a section with
information needed for some of the roleplays and
pairwork tasks. This usually consists of a specific role for
a student, with details on who they are, the situation
and the desired outcome. Students are directed to
the applicable pages from the Student’s Book units
themselves.
Answer key
There is also an answer key at the back of the book. This
is to help students who may need to catch up on missed
lessons or who need to do some independent work on
the course outside of class. Given that your students are
adults, it shouldn’t be seen as an opportunity to cheat!
Note that full answer keys are also provided in these
Teacher’s Notes, where they are embedded within the
procedural notes in the relevant position.
Listening scripts
The listening scripts are also available at the end of
the Student’s Book. Students can refer to them if they
experience difficulties with a listening, or if you would
like them to focus on specific expressions or words that
came up in the activity. You can also use these scripts as
controlled speaking practice, by having students practise
the exact conversations either with a partner or in small
groups. This can help if you want them to work on their
pronunciation or if they need to improve their fluency
and confidence.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
In Company Online
Students and teachers have access to extra resource
material in the Student’s and Teacher’s Resource Centres.
Class audio
This includes all audio tracks from the Student’s Book,
along with full listening scripts. Students and teachers
can download all the material to a mobile device for
listening on the move.
Video
The video clips are also available to both students and
teachers, along with complete video scripts that you can
print off.
Photocopiables
In the Teacher’s Resource Centre, you will also find eight
photocopiable activities with accompanying teacher’s
notes. There is one activity for every unit and one of the
activities is a case study.
Tests
In the Teacher’s Resource Centre, you will also find two
progress tests, the first covering Units 01–04 and the
second covering Units 05–08. These come complete with
audio (for the listening sections) and answer keys. There is
also an exit test that covers all eight Student’s Book units.
Additional student support
Students also have access to a unit-by-unit glossary, as well
as an A–Z glossary that covers lexis from all eight units.
Teacher’s Notes
These notes aim to offer you plenty of support in the
topic area, so you don’t need to be an expert to teach the
material. Each unit begins with background information
on the unit topic and suggestions of where you can find
other useful and interesting information on the topic
before you teach the lesson. If there are any recurrent
lexical items specific to corporate finance that may
be unknown to a teacher, these are glossed after the
Background information section.
The procedural notes offer suggestions on how to
manage the activities and tips for giving feedback. All
of the answers keys and listening scripts are embedded
within the procedural notes, so it is easy for you to give
appropriate feedback during the lessons.
The notes also include suggestions for extra activities in
case you have run out of activities during a lesson, or if
you and your students would like to expand on a certain
exercise. There are also suggestions of how group and
pairwork activities can be adapted for the one-to-one
classroom.
INTRODUCTION 5
01 Learning objectives
Forecasting
In this unit, students will practise making a
forecast, projecting revenue, discussing cash-flow
issues and making predictions. They will read a blog
post about forecasting and an email about cash-flow
issues. Students will also listen to a presentation
of a financial forecast and a phone call about cash-
flow issues. The language focus is on using common
financial terms, forecasting verbs, cash-flow
expressions, adverbs of certainty and predicting
with will/won’t.
Digital resources: Unit 01
Audio; Video; Photocopiable worksheet;
Glossary; Answer key; Listening script; Teacher’s
Presentation Kit
Background information
In order to be able to organize and manage
corporate finance, companies need to make
predictions about their future income and
outgoings. They do this by creating financial
forecasts, and their accuracy can determine the
future financial success or failure of a company.
There is a wide range of things that companies can
forecast when it comes to finance, but some of the
most important are: sales volume, cash flow, profit
and loss, and running costs or overheads.
There are many resources online that have been
created to provide information about forecasting.
Here are some links to get you started:
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial
-theory/11/basics-business-forcasting.asp
http://www.flexstudy.com/catalog/schpdf.cfm?
coursenum=9522a
https://www.theguardian.com/small-business
-network/2014/nov/10/financial-forecasting
-predict-future-business-growth
Key terms glossary
asset (noun [countable]) something such as money or
property that a person or company owns
cash flow (noun [uncountable]) the rate at which a
business takes in money through sales and pays it out for
the things it needs to continue operating
equity (noun [uncountable]) ownership of a company
factoring (noun [countable]) a transaction in which a
company sells unpaid debts to another organization for
less than they are worth in order to gain access to cash
fluctuation (noun [countable/uncountable]) frequent
changes in the amount, value, or level of something
6 01 Forecasting In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
forecast (verb [transitive]) to make a statement about
what is likely to happen, usually relating to the weather,
business, or the economy
forecast (noun [countable]) a statement about what
is likely to happen, based on available information and
usually relating to the weather, business, or the economy
gross profit (noun [countable/uncountable]) the
difference between the price that someone sells goods for
and what it costs to produce them
net (adjective) a net amount of money is the total
amount after taxes or costs have been removed
operating expense (noun [countable]) the money that a
company spends as part of its daily activities other than
the costs of production
operating profit (noun [countable/uncountable]) the
profit that a company makes from its normal activities
of selling goods or services; another term for operating
income
overdraft (noun [countable]) an agreement with your
bank that allows you to spend money when you have no
money left in your account
overheads (noun plural) the costs, such as rent,
insurance, administration, etc, that a company has to pay
which don’t relate to a specific product
profit margin (noun [countable]) the difference between
how much money you get when you sell something and
how much it costs you to buy or make it
project (verb [transitive]) to calculate how big
something will become in the future using information
that is available now
revenue (noun [countable/uncountable]) income from
business activities or taxes
sales ledger (noun [countable]) a record of a company’s
sales which they’ve received the money for and which
they are still waiting for payment for
volatility (noun [uncountable]) the state of changing
suddenly or becoming more dangerous
Warm up
Start by drawing students’ attention to the quote from
Lao Tzu. Ask them to discuss the question in the Warm
up. Confirm that Lao Tzu thought that it isn’t possible
to make accurate predictions because predictions aren’t
based on knowledge, but on pure speculation. To help
to link predictions with the topic of forecasting, ask
students to discuss these questions:
●
  C an you think of any examples of predictions made
by your company, industry or government that were
accurate or inaccurate? Do you know why they were
accurate or inaccurate?
●
  W hen you make predictions at work, what do you
base them on – hard data, advice from colleagues or
partners, media reports, etc?

Forecasting revenue
1 Put students into pairs to discuss the questions before
conducting whole-class feedback. Remind students that
here the focus is on forecasting revenue, i.e. all of the
money that comes into a company, and encourage them
to think of specific examples of ways in which forecasting
revenue can help companies. Possible answers could be: it
helps them to plan how many people they can employ, how
much investment they can make and whether they need
to reduce budgets and make cuts. Students will normally
have some personal experience with revenue forecasting,
so ask them to describe the processes and tools that their
company uses to do this.
2 Check the meaning of anticipate (to expect or predict).
Ask students to read the blog post with the aim of
understanding the most important things to do when
preparing the three different types of forecast, according
to the blogger. Divide students into pairs to discuss any
similarities and differences between the advice given in
the blog post and their own opinions about how to create
forecasts. Encourage students to explain any differences,
e.g. any specific features of their line of business or company
context which makes parts of the advice less relevant.
3 Tell students that they’re now going to focus on the
meaning of specific items of vocabulary in the blog post by
matching the meanings to the words in the blog that they
describe. Students can do this in pairs before you check
answers as a class.
ANSWERS
a revenue, income
b trends
c fluctuations
d cost of goods sold
e operating expenses
f gross profit
g operating profit
h profit margin
4 Ask students to use their answers from 3 to complete
the sentences. Encourage students to use the context to
help them identify the appropriate words and expressions.
Ask students to compare their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class. You may then want to draw
students’ attention to the use of raise in the second and
third sentences. Elicit or explain the difference between
rise (to go up) and raise (to make something, e.g. prices, go
up) as these are often confused.
ANSWERS
a revenue/income, fluctuations
b cost of goods sold
c operating expenses, operating profit
d profit margin
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
wExtra activityw
Give students the following verbs from the blog post:
identify, project, prepare, anticipate, receive, pay. Ask them
to remember or find the nouns which are used after those
verbs in the blog post, which are: identify issues/trends,
project revenue, prepare a forecast, anticipate gross profit/
operating profit/profit margins, receive income/revenue, pay
costs incurred. Then ask students to add other nouns which
could follow these verbs to make collocations connected
with financial forecasting or corporate finance more
generally. Possible answers could include: identify economic
risks, project outcomes, prepare a spreadsheet, anticipate
increased sales, receive invoices, pay salaries, etc. Encourage
students to record collocations which are new to them.
Projecting revenue
1  01  Tell students that they’re going to listen to a
presentation of the market conditions affecting a takeaway
pizza company’s profit and loss forecast. Engage students
with the content of the listening task by asking: What do
you think the market conditions for takeaway pizza companies
in your area are? How successful would a new takeaway pizza
company be? What would affect its profits and losses? Ask
students to read the sentences and then play the recording
so that they can decide if they are true or false. Play the
recording again if necessary. Encourage students to give
reasons for the false answers. After checking students’
answers, you could ask them how similar this presentation
was to the forecast presentations they listen to at work.
ANSWERS
1 F – Some people feel it’s too pessimistic.
2 F – There is significant volatility in the commodity market.
3 T
4 F – Sales are expected to increase, but profit margins are
expected to fall slightly.
5 T
 01 
Hi, everyone. Thanks for coming. So you’ve all had
a look at the forecast and now I’ll try to add some
context to the raw data.
I’ve already received comments from several
people that the forecast seems a bit pessimistic. I
understand your concerns but we’re anticipating
some major cost issues over the next six months.
First, we’re seeing significant volatility in the commodity
market at the moment. This will almost certainly cause
price increases in chicken, beef and vegetables. Although
our purchasing team are doing a great job at keeping
costs down, we expect rises in our direct costs soon. This
means we’ve forecasted a considerable rise in the cost of
goods sold in the foreseeable future.
Although we project a sizeable increase in sales of
15% this year, we feel these rises in direct costs
will cause profit margins to fall slightly. We intend
to limit the impact of these cost rises but we’re
restricted as to what we can do.
01 Forecasting 7
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
Secondly, many of our cheese and meat suppliers will
also suffer from the increased cost of animal feed so
we expect significant rises in operating costs. We’re
planning to introduce cost reductions across all
departments to compensate for this.
So, as we’re experiencing a number of problems, we
need to think about ways to reduce departmental
budgets. I’ll contact you individually soon to discuss
budget changes for your department.
Thanks.
2  01  Ask students to read the sentences that
Katerina says and predict the missing verbs based on what
they can remember. Draw students’ attention to the fact
that the word in front of the gap tells them what form
(Present Simple, Present Continuous or Present Perfect)
of the verb they need in the gap. Play the recording so that
students can either write in the missing verbs or check
their predictions. If necessary, play the recording again or
refer students to the listening script on page 58.
ANSWERS
a anticipating
b seeing
c expect
d forecasted
e project
f intend
g planning
h experiencing
3 Check students’ understanding of the meaning of
related to in this context (connected to, including). Then
ask students to use the key content words in the sentences
in 2, especially the verbs, to help them categorize them
according to their function. Check answers in class.
ANSWERS
1 d, e
2 a, c
3 b, h
4 f, g
4 Check the meaning of foreseeable (as far ahead as we
can see) and major (big and important) with students. Ask
them to match the expressions and then compare answers
in pairs before you check answers in class. Ask students to
note down any words or expressions that are new for them.
They can then activate this vocabulary by using it in 5.
ANSWERS
1 c
2 e
3 b
4 a
5 d
8 01 Forecasting In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
5 Ask students to think about their own company’s
finances and use their knowledge of it to complete the
predictions. Be aware of the fact that some students may
see this information as sensitive or confidential and,
therefore, feel reluctant to share it. If this is the case,
tell students that the main focus here is on getting them
to activate and use some of the vocabulary for financial
forecasting that they’ve learned so far, and they should
make up details about their company (or to talk about a
different company that they know well) if they feel more
comfortable doing that. Encourage students to first write
their sentences down and then share them in pairs or in
class. Students can then say whether they agree with each
other’s predictions, giving reasons.
wExtra activityw
Model and ask students to practise how to say some of
the amounts of money in the profit and loss figures from
the Over to you activity before they do it. Draw students’
attention to the fact that 180,000 is usually spoken as
one hundred and eighty thousand in British English and one
hundred eighty thousand in American English. We usually
use the plural forms of words for currencies, e.g. dollars.
Common exceptions are the Japanese yen, where we always
use the singular yen, and the euro, where we can use euro or
euros. Students could then ask and answer questions about
the profit and loss figures in the Over to you activity to give
them more practice saying bigger amounts of money, e.g.
How much did the company make in sales? – $180,000; What
was the cost of goods sold? – $70,000, etc.
Over to you
Ask students to work with a partner and decide who
will be Student A and Student B. Ask them to read the
information and follow the instructions. Refer students
to their respective pages at the back of the book, and give
them time to prepare for and roleplay the scenario. You
may need to confirm that both students run the same
company – Café Cream – but they have different objectives
and problems that they’ve identified and want to talk
about during their discussions. Monitor the roleplay and
give feedback when they’ve finished.
Ask your student to tell you about the profit
1:1 and loss figures for Café Cream. Ask your
student to take the role of Student A and you
take the role of Student B. Roleplay the scenario
and give feedback when you have finished. Alternatively,
using all the objectives and problems, your student could
take on the role of the sole owner of the business and you
could take on the role of either their financial advisor or
bank manager who is giving them advice on how to meet
their objectives and deal with their problems.

The cash-flow forecast
1 Put students into pairs to discuss the questions
with reference to their company’s cash flow. Encourage
students to draw on and recount their own experiences of
forecasting cash flows where appropriate. Conduct whole-
class feedback.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Cash is the ‘blood’ of the business. It’s important to identify when
you can realistically expect to receive payments and when you
have to make payments, to ensure that you have enough cash at
any one time to finance your liabilities.
b When forecasting cash flow, it’s a good idea to look at whether
customers are regularly paying on time and the credit periods
you give. This is to ensure you have regular payments coming
into the business. It’s also sensible to look at when you have
to make payments to ensure you have sufficient money. Other
things to pay attention to are changes to sales revenue that
affect cash inflows and outflows, debt repayment and possible
extraordinary payments, such as repair costs.
2 If you don’t think that this will be a sensitive subject,
you could ask students to think about situations in which
companies they’ve worked for or they know of have
experienced cash-flow crises and what the companies did
to deal with them. Divide students into pairs and ask them
to brainstorm ideas for things organizations do to deal
with a cash-flow crisis. You could then conduct whole-
class feedback by asking students to present their mind
maps to the rest of the class and ask other students to
comment on how feasible or useful they think these ideas
are, giving reasons for their opinions. Students may need
some support with vocabulary, e.g. overdraft, sales ledger,
factoring, assets, equity.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
organize an overdraft or short-term loan, release some cash in their
sales ledger using factoring, sell assets to release cash on their
balance sheet, increase owners’ equity, organize directors’ loans
3 Check the meaning of words in the email which
students may be unfamiliar with, e.g. deteriorate (to
become worse). Ask students to read the email, paying
attention to the information which would be relevant to a
company’s future cash flow. Then ask students to complete
the cash-flow forecast. They can do this in pairs. Check
answers in class.
ANSWERS
a Inflows
b Outflows
c Overheads
d Net
e Closing
4 Put students into pairs. Ask them to use the
information in the cash-flow forecast to discuss how
serious the company’s situation is, giving reasons for
their ideas. Conduct whole-class feedback and encourage
students to give specific suggestions.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
SUGGESTED ANSWER
On face value, Pizza To Go’s cash-flow situation is quite bad. The
net cash flow has deteriorated considerably in one month and there
is now much less cash in the business. If this situation continues
next month, the company could go bankrupt. The major increase
has been in overheads and credit purchases. These could be one-
off costs, meaning the cash-flow position will improve but, if they
represent a permanent change, the company needs more cash to
secure its position. The first step would be to investigate the rea-
sons for the increased expenses and find out if they will continue
next month.
5  02  Tell students that they’re now going to listen
to a follow-up call between Paolo and Katerina. Ask
them to read the questions, decide and say which of the
changes mentioned in question a they think are the most
serious and why. Tell students that they should formulate
their answers to question a in the following terms: very
concerned, a little concerned, not very concerned. Then play
the recording and ask students to make notes on their
answers. Play the recording again if necessary.
ANSWERS
a
1  Not very, they think it’s temporary.
2 A little. Some of the increase reflects higher costs, but it’s
mainly a result of business expansion.
3 Very. Overhead increases are caused by higher rents and
energy costs and are likely to permanently affect cash flow.
b Ask the energy company if they can delay payment.
 02
Katerina:  Good morning, Finance.
Paolo:  Hi, Katerina. It’s Paolo.
Katerina:  Hello, Paolo. How are you?
Paolo:  I’m good. What about you?
Katerina:  Good, thanks. How can I help?
Paolo:  Well, thanks for sending the forecast through. I’m
a bit concerned about the numbers.
Katerina:  I know what you mean, but the downturn
in sales is probably temporary; it happens every
summer.
Paolo:  That’s true, but what about our outflows? Those
numbers are quite shocking.
Katerina:  Yes, they are and they’ll definitely have an
impact on cash planning.
Paolo:  Yes, I was a bit surprised that our purchases
are 200,000 higher than last month. How did that
happen?
Katerina:  Well, costs are rising in general, particularly of
cheese, but we certainly won’t have such high costs
next month. We had to spend a lot this month to
supply some new stores. Costs will most likely be
closer to the average next month.
Paolo:  That’s good to hear. What about overheads?
01 Forecasting 9
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
Katerina:  Well, that’s not going to change much. Some
of the increase reflects higher rents, and we’re locked
into new contracts for six months. Our research
suggests rents will possibly rise even further next
year.
Paolo:  Oh, that doesn’t sound good. We might need to
look into cost reductions. And we’re being hit by
energy prices, too.
Katerina:  Yes, these have risen a lot. We could talk to the
energy company and maybe delay payment on this
until the winter, when sales should start rising. What
do you think?
Paolo:  That would probably help. Have you got any
numbers on that?
Katerina:  Yes, I’ll send them over to you.
Paolo:  Great, I’ll have a look at the numbers and get back
to you.
6  02 You could ask students to predict the missing
words based on what they can remember, and then play
the recording so that they can check their predictions.
Once you’ve checked students’ answers, you may want
to elicit or draw their attention to the fact that all of the
words they’ve used to complete the sentences are words
which speakers use to show how certain they feel that
something will or won’t happen.
ANSWERS
a probably
b definitely
c certainly
d most likely
e possibly
f maybe
7 Ask students to read the sentences in 6 and decide how
sure the speaker feels that the thing they’re describing will
happen. Encourage students to focus on the words they
used to complete the sentences to help them decide this.
Look at an example with the class and elicit that sentence
a goes in category 2 because the word probably is used to
show that there’s a strong or good chance that something
will happen. Then ask students to complete the other
checkboxes before checking their answers.
ANSWERS
1 b, c
2 a, d
3 e, f
Grammar tip
Ask students to read the information about making
predictions with will/won’t. Make sure students are
aware that we often add adverbs to will/won’t to show
how likely we think it is that our predictions will become
reality. Draw students’ attention to the word order that is
used in the example sentences.
10 01 Forecasting In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
8 This activity gives students an opportunity to
consolidate their understanding of words for expressing
degrees of certainty by creating personalized sentences
which incorporate them. Encourage students to write
sentences which accurately describe their company’s
financial situation as far as possible. If students need
more support, they could complete the sentences in pairs.
Alternatively, they can complete the sentences on their
own and then share them in pairs or in class. Monitor
students as they’re completing the sentences.
ANSWERS
a Costs will certainly increase.
b Sales will probably fall next month.
c Rents definitely won’t rise this quarter.
d Maybe sales will rise soon.
e We certainly won’t cut prices.
f Overheads will most likely remain the same in June.
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs. Ask them to write five or six
sentences which make predictions about their company’s
finances with the words will or won’t and an adverb for
degrees of certainty missing. Give students an example
gapped sentence, e.g. We _____ _____ have such high
running costs next year. When students have finished
writing the gapped sentences, they exchange them with
their partner and fill in the gaps with the words they
think are missing. Each student then reads the sentences
their partner has completed and tells them whether they
agree with their predictions. Monitor students to make
sure that they’re using will/won’t and adverbs for degrees
of certainty correctly in the sentences they complete.
Over to you
1 Ask students to read the information and follow the
instructions. Students think about how they could solve
short-term cash-flow problems at their company, using the
ideas given and their own ideas.
2 Put students into pairs and ask them to use their notes
to discuss possible solutions to the problems. You can
also encourage students to use will/won’t with adverbs for
degrees of certainty to say how likely/unlikely they think
their or their partner’s ideas are to be successful. Monitor
students’ conversations and give feedback when they have
finished.
1 Ask your student to make a list of possible
1:1 solutions to short-term cash-flow problems
at their company.
2  Get your student to present their ideas
to you, explaining why they think they would be
successful. Ask the student questions to encourage them
to elaborate on their ideas or to clarify anything that’s
unclear. Give feedback when you have finished.
02Learning objectives
Budgeting
In this unit, students will practise discussing a
budget, explaining budget changes and discussing
how to reduce spending. They will read a blog
post about fixed and flexible budgets, and emails
about budget changes. Students will also listen
to a meeting to approve a budget and a meeting
about reviewing budgets. The language focus is on
using budget terminology, verbs to discuss budget
reductions and question tags.
Digital resources: Unit 02
Audio; Video; Photocopiable worksheet;
Glossary; Answer key; Listening script; Teacher’s
Presentation Kit
Background information
Budgeting involves the creation of budgets. These
budgets present the planned cash flows in and
out of a company over a given period of time in
the future. This is an important activity because
monitoring cash flow makes it possible to identify
any potential crisis points where cash-flow
problems could arise and to take action to deal with
them. Companies can also create budgets for their
income and expenditure and a capital budget which
shows major spending by the company, e.g. on
premises, equipment, etc.
There are many resources online that have been
created to provide information about budgeting.
Here are some links to get you started:
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/07/budgeting
forcompanies.asp
http://accounting-financial-tax.com/2009/02
/essential-five-steps-on-budgeting-process/
Key terms glossary
accounting period (noun [countable]) the period
of time which a company’s financial statements are
prepared for
approval (noun [uncountable]) official agreement or
permission, given by someone in authority
budget (noun [countable]) the amount of money a
person or organization has to spend on something
draft (verb) to write something such as a legal
document, speech, or letter that may have changes made
to it before it is finished
draw up (phrasal verb) to prepare and write something
such as a document or plan
expenditure (noun [countable/uncountable]) money
spent by a government, organization, or person
tighten the budget (phrase) to reduce the amount of
money available to spend on something
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Warm up
Start by drawing students’ attention to the quote from
Jacob Lew. Elicit or explain that Lew thinks that a
company’s budget can tell us what they believe in (its
values) and what they want to achieve in the future (its
aspirations). Ask students to answer the question in the
Warm up and then discuss these questions:
  D
●
 o you agree with Jacob Lew’s opinion that budgets
express a company’s values and aspirations?
  If you agree, what values and aspirations do you think
●
that your company’s budget expresses?
  If you disagree, in what ways do you think your
●
company’s budget is disconnected from its values and
aspirations?
The right budget
1 Tell students that they’re going to read a blog post
about different types of budget and elicit the types they
already know of. Ask students to read the blog post and
answer the questions. Put students into pairs to discuss
the questions before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a fixed (static) and flexible
b flexible – they give greater control and enable better
decision-making
2 Encourage students to look back at or read the blog
post again before they discuss these questions. In order to
answer question a, students need to differentiate between
the facts and opinions in the blog post. You may want to
look at an example of this difference with the class – for
example, the second paragraph gives factual information
about fixed budgets, such as the information that it is
drafted at the beginning of the accounting period, whereas
the comment that fixed budgets are relatively easy to produce
in the third paragraph is an opinion, which students may
agree or disagree with. Put students into pairs to discuss
the questions and encourage them to bring in examples
of creating and using budgets from their own experience.
Conduct whole-class feedback on students’ answers and
check that they’re using appropriate vocabulary.
ANSWER
b A fixed budget is simple and easy to create. It’s suitable for
companies that don’t experience big changes in costs or output
over the year. A flexible budget better reflects the cost position
of companies whose output changes regularly. They’re more
complicated to create but can provide better control.
02 Budgeting 11
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
3 Ask students to read the verb-noun combinations –
manage costs, etc. – and to predict the possible missing
verbs in the equivalent expressions. Then get them to look
for the nouns – expenditure, etc. – in the blog post and find
the verbs that are actually used with them. Ask students to
compare their answers in pairs, before checking answers in
class. Elicit or explain that the verbs in the second set are
generally more formal and they’re also examples of more
advanced vocabulary.
ANSWERS
a control
b draft, draw up, produce
c adjust
d reflect
e fluctuate
f enable
4 Make sure students know that they may have to change
the form of the verbs they use so that they fit into the
sentence. Students then complete the sentences, using
the context to help them. Ask students to compare their
answers in pairs, before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a fluctuated
b draft / draw up / produce
c enable
d adjust, reflect
e draw up / draft; control
wExtra activityw
Ask students to use the verbs from 3 to write four or
five personalized sentences about budgeting at their
company, or budgeting more generally if they prefer. If
students aren’t sure what to write, you could give them
some questions as writing prompts, e.g. What do budgets
enable to you to do? What do you consider when you’re
drawing up a budget? What changes do you usually have to
make and why?
Budget approval
1  03  Tell students that they’re going to listen to a
meeting of senior managers to agree a budget. You could
ask if they’ve ever been to such a meeting. If they have,
you could ask them what the atmosphere was like, what
the agenda was and what the outcome was. If they haven’t,
you could ask them to speculate about these three points.
Ask students to read the sentences and then play the
recording so they can decide if they are true or false. Play
the recording again if necessary. After checking students’
answers, you could ask students how similar this meeting
was to budget meetings that they’ve been to or to their
expectations of such a meeting.
ANSWERS
a T
b F
c F
d T
12 02 Budgeting In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
 03
Derek:  So, thanks for coming, everyone. We’ve
consolidated the departmental budgets and come
up with a first draft of the budget for this year. Has
everyone had a chance to look at the draft? Okay, so
does anyone have any comments?
Rachel:  It seems quite aggressive, Derek. I mean, we’ve
allocated a lot of money to marketing activities. Is
there a reason for that?
Maria:  If I could come in here, Rachel? We’re launching
two new products this year so we need a large budget
to be able to give them a push. We don’t want our
campaign to fail because we don’t allocate enough
money to it.
Rachel:  Yes, I guess you’re right, but I’m still worried
about the total spend. Is there anywhere else we can
save money?
Derek:  Well, we’re forecasting spending much more on
machine maintenance. Can we do anything to reduce
these costs?
Pierre:  It’s difficult, to be honest, Derek. We’ve got
another year to run on the contract. I’m not sure we’d
save any money if we cancelled it. We’d have to pay a
big penalty.
Derek:  Okay, thanks, Pierre, but I’m not sure we need
to cut anything at the moment. I think the budget
reflects the sales forecast and will allow us to meet all
our main objectives.
Rachel:  I understand what you mean, but I don’t want us
to overexpose ourselves.
Derek:  That’s a good point, but we can keep track of
spending and always amend the budget later.
Rachel:  Okay, that’s good enough. So I’m happy to sign
off on this.
Derek:  Great, does anyone else have any comments?
2  03  Tell students that they’re going to listen again
and focus on the specific language used in the meeting.
Play the recording and ask students to complete the
sentences. Ask students to compare their answers in
pairs before playing the recording a second time so that
students can check their answers.
ANSWERS
a seems
b right
c anywhere
d anything
e we’d
f think
g mean
h point
3 Ask students to reread the sentences in 2 and
categorize them according to their function. Encourage
students to focus on the form of each sentence, e.g.
whether it is a question or whether it starts with hedging
language (e.g. I guess, Can we do) to show politeness. Check
answers in class. You may want to point out that using

expressions to politely disagree is usually important for
native speakers of English even though it may not be
important in students’ own language or culture.
ANSWERS
1 a, e, f
2 b, g, h
3 c, d
4 Tell students that they’re going to complete a
conversation involving asking for suggestions, giving
opinions and disagreeing politely. Make sure that students
use words from the expressions in 2 to do this. Ask students
to compare their answers in pairs before checking answers in
class. You could then ask students to read the conversation
out loud in pairs, focusing on using sentence stress and
intonation, and polite disagreement appropriately.
ANSWERS
a anything
b think
c understand
d anywhere
e sure
Over to you
Ask students to work in groups of three and decide who
will be Student A, Student B and Student C. Ask them to
read the instructions and look at the annual budget on this
page. Then refer them to their respective pages at the back
of the book. Give them time to prepare for and roleplay
the meeting. Monitor the roleplay and give feedback when
they have finished. If appropriate and there is enough time
available, ask students to roleplay the meeting again so
different students can be the head of finance.
Get your student to take the role of Student A
1:1 and you take the role of Student B and/or C.
Give feedback when you have finished and then
do the roleplay again with you as Student A and
your student as B or C, and then give further feedback.
Cutting the budget
1 Put students into pairs to discuss the questions. Be
aware that the issue of budget changes and budget cuts
at the company where students work may be a sensitive
one and they may prefer to discuss the questions in
more general terms instead, i.e. How often do companies
usually have to change their budgets? Which departments
are generally the most commonly affected by budget cuts? If
students are happy to talk about their experiences at the
company where they work, encourage them to draw on
and recount these experiences where appropriate. Conduct
whole-class feedback on students’ answers.
2 Check the meaning of words in the email which
students are likely to be unfamiliar with, e.g. tighten the
budget (to reduce or cut the budget) and downturn (a
decline in business activity). Ask students to read the
email from Melissa and answer the questions. Check
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
answers in class. You could then ask students what they
think about the style Melissa uses in the email, i.e. is it
(too) friendly, (too) firm, (too) direct, etc? Do they think
she could have communicated the need to tighten budgets
more effectively?
ANSWERS
a They have to find budget savings of 10%.
b Market volatility means they need to tighten their budget.
c To bring down spending and so ensure continued operations
even if sales fall.
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs or small groups and ask them
to make a list of areas where their own company, or
companies, could cut costs, e.g. travel on business trips,
training courses, energy consumption, office supplies,
recruitment, etc. Students then work together in their
pairs or groups to rank the items in terms of how much
money the company could save by making spending cuts
in those areas, and then make a more specific suggestion
for each one, e.g. for travel on business trips, a specific
suggestion could be: stop all first-class air travel. When
students have finished, they could present their ideas and
suggestions for cost-cutting to the rest of the class.
3 Ask students to do the matching task and compare
their answers in pairs before you check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a updated
b volatility
c tighten the budget
d find savings
e bring down spending
f core
g go over
4 Tell students that they’re going to read a reply to
Melissa’s email. Make sure they are aware that they can
only fill the gaps with words and phrases from 2 and 3 and
they may need to change the form of any verbs they use.
Encourage students to pay attention to the words that
come before and after the gap to help them complete the
email correctly. Students can compare their answers in
pairs before you check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a gone
b savings
c bring down
d cut
e core
f tighten
5 Put students into pairs. Tell them to imagine they are
Melissa, the finance director, and have just read Simon’s
email. Ask students to consider the following questions:
How would you feel if you were Melissa? What would be
the best approach to take towards Simon? What action or
options should she suggest? After students have spent a few
minutes thinking about and discussing how Melissa should
02 Budgeting 13
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
respond, ask them to write Melissa’s reply to Simon. Tell
them to use the same email style that Simon used, i.e.
friendly and less formal, and write an email of similar
length. Students could write their emails individually or
work with a partner to write one email together. Monitor
students as they’re writing and give them feedback
when they’ve finished. It’s important that students
maintain a friendly tone in their emails, that they show
understanding for Simon’s concerns and that they suggest
some kind of meeting or further discussion between
Melissa and Simon or all of the heads of departments.
SUGGESTED ANSWER
Hi Simon,
Thanks for your email.
I understand it can be difficult to find additional savings and we
don’t want to damage our core business.
I’m in my office all day today so we can look at your budget
together anytime you’re available. I’m sure we can find some extra
savings together.
Best regards,
Melissa
6  04  Tell students that they’re now going to listen
to the meeting between Melissa and the heads of other
departments in which she tries to convince them that
the budget needs to be cut. Ask them to look at the three
options and predict which one is likely to be the best
summary for the meeting. You could also ask students
which option would be the most likely outcome in a
meeting like this at the company where they work. Then
play the recording so students can listen for the gist of the
conversation and check their answer.
ANSWER
b again, you could ask students to predict the missing words
 04
Melissa:  Thanks for coming, everyone. I know people are
a little upset with my request to cut 10% from your
existing budgets and I thought it might be a good
idea to talk about it.
Simon:  Yes, you’re asking a lot, Melissa. I mean our
initial budgets were down on last year anyway, and
now you want us to cut them again. It’s impossible.
Melissa:  I understand how you feel, Simon, but I’m afraid
it’s necessary. We’re in an extremely unpredictable
business environment and we just don’t know what
will happen. Keeping money back is better than
having to find savings later, isn’t it?
Simon:  I guess.
Melissa:  Does anyone else have any concerns?
Anya:  Yes. I’ve gone over the numbers again and again
but I just can’t find 10%. I might have to look at
staffing costs.
Melissa:  I wouldn’t do that just yet, Anya. That’s not
something we’re considering. Come and see me later
and we can have a look at your budget. We definitely
don’t want to start cutting people, do we?
14 02 Budgeting In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Anton:  But Melissa, what if we can’t find the extra money
without cutting people? When are we going to have
that conversation?
Melissa:  Well, the market is incredibly volatile at
the moment and we might have to consider staff
reductions, but I want to avoid that. I know it’s tough
but this action now could save jobs later. So, we can
all go over our budgets again and find those little
extra savings, can’t we?
7  04  Ask students to read the questions and make
notes on their answers based on what they can remember
from the first time they listened. Play the recording
again so that students can listen and check or add to
their answers. Ask students to compare their answers in
pairs. Monitor students’ conversations and encourage
them to use the structure could/should/would + have +
past participle in their answers to questions a and b when
they’re saying what Melissa could or should have done
differently or better, or what they would have done if they
were Melissa. Conduct whole-class feedback.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Melissa handles the meeting fairly well. She acknowledges
people are unhappy, gives everyone an opportunity to speak and
provides advice.
b Maybe she could have given more background to convince
everybody that her request is necessary.
c She says that finding savings now could help avoid making staff
cuts.
8   05  Tell students that they’re going to listen
to extracts from the meeting and focus on the specific
language that Melissa uses. Before you play the recording
based on what they can remember and what they already
know about the type of language used in these situations.
Then play the recording so that students can check or
complete their answers. Check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a understand, I’m afraid
b extremely unpredictable, just don’t know
c incredibly volatile
d might have to, I want to
e tough, save
 05
a I understand how you feel, Simon, but I’m afraid it’s
necessary.
b We’re in an extremely unpredictable business
environment and we just don’t know what
will happen.
c Well, the market is incredibly volatile at the moment
and …
d … we might have to consider staff reductions, but I
want to avoid that.
e I know it’s tough but this action now could save jobs
later.

9 Check the meaning of empathy (an understanding of
how other people feel). You may also want to clarify that
here wider reasons refers to what is happening outside
of the company in the wider world. Ask students to look
out for language which shows understanding of other
people’s feelings, refers to the wider world or refers to the
future as they reread the sentences from 8 and categorize
them according to their functions. Students can compare
answers in pairs before you check answers in class.
ANSWERS
1 a, e
2 b, c
3 d
10 Elicit or explain that question tags are short
questions that we add on to the end of statements. They’re
usually used in spoken rather than written English to
invite participation in the conversation from listeners,
or to encourage listeners to affirm or agree with the
statement that the speaker has just made. Ask students to
read the example sentences with question tags from the
meeting and then use them to choose the correct options
in the rules. Students can do this in pairs. Check answers
in class and answer any further questions students have
about how to use question tags.
ANSWERS
1 negative
2 More persuasive. When you make a statement and ask people
if they agree, they naturally want to say yes. This is a common
rhetorical device.
11   06  Elicit or explain that intonation is the
rhythm of someone’s voice when they speak. Intonation
can go up or down – sometimes several times – while
someone is saying a sentence. Ask students to read the
sentences in 10 again and then play the recording and ask
students to use arrows to show whether the intonation
rises or falls at the end. Check answers in class and model
and drill the sentences with the correct intonation if
necessary. Elicit or explain that we usually use falling
intonation if we expect agreement and rising intonation if
it’s a more genuine question.
ANSWERS
a intonation falls
b intonation falls
c intonation falls
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
 06
a Keeping money back is better than having to find
savings later, isn’t it?
b We definitely don’t want to start cutting people,
do we?
c So, we can all go over our budgets again and find those
little extra savings, can’t we?
12 As they’re adding tag questions, remind students
of what they’ve learned about combining a positive
statement with a negative question tag and a negative
statement with a positive question tag. Students also
need to ensure that the question tag they add uses the
same tense or the same modal as the statement. Make
sure students know that a form of the verb do is used in
question tags that follow the Present Simple statements
using a main verb. Check answers in class when students
have added all of the question tags.
ANSWERS
a isn’t it?
b don’t we?
c can we?
d don’t you?
e won’t it?
Over to you
Divide the class into A/B pairs. Ask students to turn to
their instructions in the Additional material and read
them carefully. Ask them to make notes on possible
reasons they could give to explain the situation and what
strategies and language they can use to persuade their
partner to agree with their position. Encourage students
to plan to use question tags to make their points more
persuasive. They then take it in turns to present their case
and try to convince their partner to agree with it. Students
should aim to reach a consensus or a compromise about
the action they should take.
Proceed with your student taking the role of
1:1 Student A and you taking the role of Student B.
Give feedback when you have finished.
wExtra activityw
Ask students to write a follow-up email to the partner
they worked with in the Over to you activity. If students
failed to reach an agreement during the roleplay, they
can write a follow-up email in which they show their
understanding of their partner’s position and suggest a
possible compromise or a further meeting to discuss the
issues again. If students did reach an agreement, they
can summarize the points they agreed on and suggest
or outline the steps to be taken next in the process of
dealing with the budget issues.
02 Budgeting 15

01–02 Video
Before you watch
1 Tell students that they’re going to watch a video
about forecasting and budgeting, but first they’re going
to discuss some questions which will help to make
their listening more focused while they’re watching.
Ask students to read the questions and make notes on
their answers to them. There may be a large number of
factors which drive some of the issues mentioned in the
questions, e.g. sales figures and cash flow, but encourage
students to focus on the most significant or influential
ones. Then ask students to use their notes to discuss the
key drivers at their company in pairs. If both students
in a pair work at the same company, they can compare
their ideas and say whether they agree with each other.
If the two students in a pair work at different companies,
encourage them to ask each other questions about the
drivers they mention after they’ve listened to each other
present them.
2 In the same pairs, students discuss the importance
of business drivers for companies when they’re planning
their budgets, giving reasons for their answers. Students
can also think about what the most significant business
drivers are when it comes to budgeting – do some have a
greater influence than others? If so, why is that?
While you watch
1   Tell students that they’re going to watch two
interviews – one with Andy and one with Sumeer – in
which they talk about the factors their companies take
into account when they’re forecasting for the next quarter.
Andy works for an insurance brokers and Sumeer works in
publishing. Play the section on Forecasting and budgeting
and ask students to watch and make notes on their
answers to the questions. Students can then compare
their answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
You could then ask students how similar the factors Andy
and Sumeer mention are to the factors that influence
forecasting at their company which they discussed in the
previous exercise.
ANSWERS
a Lump sum figures like capital gains tax payments and personal
tax payments because they have a big effect on your cash flow.
b The business drivers, because focusing on business drivers
leads to accurate results.
16 VIDEO UNITS 01–02 In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
2   Tell students they’re now going to watch the
section on The importance of cash flow, with Alex, who
works for a recruitment company, and Sumeer. Ask
students to read the list of statements before they watch.
You could also ask them to predict who has which opinions.
Then play this section and ask students to write A or S next
to each statement. Play the section again if necessary.
ANSWERS
a A  b 
S  c A  d 
A  e S  f 
S
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs. Ask them to read the statements
in 2 again and decide which statements they agree
with most. Students can then tell each other which
statements best reflect their opinions, giving reasons
for their opinions and bringing in examples from their
own experiences where appropriate. Conduct whole-class
feedback on which statements students most agree with
and why.
3   Tell students that in the section on The budget
process, Alex talks about the process of putting a budget
together. Check the meaning of mindful (being aware of
something or keeping it in mind). Ask students to read the
gapped summary before they watch and predict what the
missing words could be, paying attention to which words
come before and after the gaps. Then play this section
and ask students to complete the summary. This is quite a
short section, so you may need to play the recording more
than once.
ANSWERS
a mindful
b liabilities
c year
d take into account
e tax to pay
4   Tell students that they’re going to watch the
section on Making cuts in which Alex and Sumeer discuss
how they think companies should deal with spending cuts.
Before students watch the video, ask them to read the
statements, and check the meaning of discretionary spend
(the amount of money that companies spend on things
which are not essential for the running of the business),
which students will hear in this section. Play this section
all the way through and ask students to mark the
statements true or false and then write correct versions of
the false statements. Ask students to check their answers
in pairs before checking answers in class. Make sure
students are aware that admin is a common abbreviation
for administration.

ANSWERS
a F – He thinks it’s better to look at admin costs.
b T
c T
d F – There are always impacts – cutting marketing may affect
revenue, cutting travel and entertainment may affect the morale
of the staff (which could also have an effect on revenue).
5   Check the meaning of initial (first, original)
with students. Ask students to read the questions and
then play the last section in which Alex talks about what
he learned about budgeting when he first started his
company. Students make notes on their answers. Check
answers in class. You could then ask students whether they
or a company they’ve worked for have ever experienced
anything similar to what Alex experienced during his first
year of trading and, if so, whether the same action was
taken to deal with it.
ANSWERS
a He was being very optimistic.
b He learned to manage his expectations. It can be good because
your targets may be too big for your business to handle.
Finance speak
Students are now going to review and check their
understanding of some of the specific items of financial
vocabulary they heard in the video. If students aren’t sure
about the meaning of all of the items in the box, encourage
them to start with the items they do know and then use
the context of the remaining sentences to deduce what the
missing words could be. Students can also work in pairs
to complete the sentences. Check answers and encourage
students to note down any vocabulary that they want to
remember for future reference.
ANSWERS
a lump
b damage
c lending
d overtrading
e discretionary
f manage
After you watch
Students could discuss the questions either with a partner
or in small groups. Encourage students to give and explain
their own opinions when responding to question a,
giving examples from their experiences and working lives
when responding to question b. Give students about five
minutes to discuss the questions and then conduct whole-
class feedback.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
01–02
Review
This review section gives students an opportunity to
consolidate what they’ve learned and do some further
practice with the language and content of Units 01 and
02. You could use these sections in class after completing
these units or later in the course as a review activity.
Alternatively, you could assign them as homework or use
them to help students who’ve missed a lesson to catch up
with the rest of the group. After students have completed
the exercises, ask them to go through the checklist as a
reminder of what they have covered in these two units.
01 Forecasting
ANSWERS
1
a margin, income c operating, gross, profit
b cost of goods sold, revenue d fluctuations
2
a anticipate  b predict  c intend to  d experiencing  e plan to
3
Across  5  opening balance
Down  1  closing balance  2  cash inflows  3  net cash-flow
4 cash outflows  5 overheads
4
a It seems that the shortfall probably won’t be big.
b We definitely need to increase cash receipts.
c Maybe we will have a problem with operating cash flow.
d Our cash disbursements are certainly too high.
e The opening balance is possibly wrong.
02 Budgeting
ANSWERS
1
a drafting  b adjust  c reflect  d control  e enables
2
a It seems like a good idea.
b Can we do anything to reduce costs?
c I’m not sure it will / would save money.
d They think the budget reflects the sales forecast.
e That’s a good point but we can change it later.
3
a We need to tighten the budget.
b How can we bring down / reduce costs?
c We need to focus on our core business.
d There’s a lot of market volatility at the moment.
e The savings will enable greater investment.
4
a It’s a good idea, isn’t it?
b You agree with me, don’t you?
c We can save a lot of money, can’t we?
d It’ll work, won’t it?
e You’re very confident about the sales forecast, aren’t you?
f We can do it next week, can’t we?
REVIEW UNITS 01–02 17
03
Learning objectives
Managing payments
In this unit, students will practise following up
outstanding payments and negotiating payment
extensions. They will read payment reminder emails
and internal emails discussing cash-flow issues.
Students will also listen to telephone calls following
up late payers and a telephone call renegotiating
payment terms. The language focus is on using
accounting terminology, payment terminology,
negotiating expressions, and modal verbs for
possibility and requests.
Digital resources: Unit 03
Audio; Video; Photocopiable worksheet;
Glossary; Answer key; Listening script; Teacher’s
Presentation Kit
Background information
In this unit, students will look at what people working
in finance can do to obtain payments from customers
and how they can renegotiate payment terms with
their suppliers when their company is having cash-
flow problems. In accounting, accounts receivable
refers to the money that customers owe a company,
i.e. the money a company should be receiving,
whereas payments that a company is obliged to make
to others are referred to as accounts payable.
There are many resources online that have been
created to provide information about accounts
receivable and accounts payable. Here are some
links to get you started:
http://blog.fundinggates.com/2012/01/receivables
-management-5-reasons-why-customers-pay-late
-and-the-solution-to-each-case-2/
https://www.suntrust.com/resourcecenter/article
/four-steps-to-better-manage-customer-and-supplier
-payment#.V7r4A_l97IU
Key terms glossary
in arrears (phrase) late in making a regular payment
in default (phrase) the position of someone who has not
done something that they were officially ordered to do
penalty (noun [countable]) a punishment for breaking a
rule or law
reinstate (verb) to start using or having something such
as a law or benefit again
settle (verb) to pay all the money that you owe to a
particular person or company
shortfall (noun [countable]) a lack of something that
you need or want, or the amount that you lack
suspend (verb) to officially remove the authority or
effectiveness of something for a time
18 03 Managing payments In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Warm up
Start by drawing students’ attention to the quote. Ask
students to discuss the questions in the Warm up. Elicit
or explain that Shakespeare thinks that both borrowing
and lending money are activities that people should avoid.
Check students are aware of the difference in meaning
between the verbs borrow (to take something from
someone for a short time before giving it back to them)
and lend (to give someone something which you expect
them to give back to you after a short time). Then ask
students these questions:
●
  H ave you or has your company ever experienced
problems as a result of borrowing or lending money?
●
  Has borrowing or lending money ever brought you or
your company any benefits and advantages?
Accounts receivable
1 Ask students if they’ve ever had the experience that a
customer hasn’t paid their company – the answer is likely
to be a universal yes. Ask students to note down their ideas
for what companies should do in this situation. Encourage
them to draw on their own experiences of what they or
their company tends to do in such a situation and come up
with some specific examples of actions taken.
2 Put students into pairs and ask them to compare and
discuss their ideas. Students could then put their ideas
together to create a ranking list of the three or four best
options that companies have if a customer hasn’t paid.
Conduct whole-class feedback on what students think
companies should do and which ideas or strategies they
think are the most effective and why.
3 If appropriate, look at an example with the class and
elicit or explain that in sentence a, the correct option is
follow up on, which means to take action in response to
something that has or hasn’t happened. Check the meaning
of suspend and reinstate. Students then decide which the
correct options in the remaining sentences are. They can do
this in pairs. Check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a follow up on c suspend e review
b Charge d reinstate
4 In the same pairs, students say whether they agree with
each sentence in 3 or not. Tell them to give reasons, bringing
in examples from their own experiences of dealing with late
paying customers where appropriate. Students may feel that
the advice needs some slight modification before it would be
relevant to their context or before they could agree with it,
for example: You should follow up on unpaid invoices on the day
after they are due. If this is the case, you could ask them to
modify the sentences from 3 accordingly.

5  07 
Tell students that they’re going to listen to
three different phone conversations between an accounts-
receivable manager and customers. Before playing the
recording, ask students to read the three summaries and
check the meaning of in default (the state of having failed
to pay money that you owe). Then play the recording for
students to match the summaries to the conversations.
If necessary, play the recording again before checking
answers in class.
ANSWERS
a 3  b 2  c 1
 07  anything. I was just calling to check if you’d paid it.
1
Customer:  Good morning, AP Turner, how can I help you?
Linda:  Could I speak to Mike Hampton, please?
Customer: Speaking.
Linda:  Good morning, Mike. This is Linda Martin at
Greenwich Design. I’m calling about invoice number
WK66754. The payment is now two months overdue.
We called you on the 15th and arranged an instalment
plan but we haven’t received any payments.
Customer:  Ah, yes, I’m really sorry. We’ve had some
cash-flow issues. We should be able to make the first
payment really soon.
Linda:  I understand you have some problems, Mr
Hampton, and we have tried to be flexible with you
but I’m afraid we must insist on payment of the
outstanding amount.
Customer:  Yeah, I know. We’re trying to find some cash
for you. If we could just have a few more weeks?
Linda:  I’m afraid that’s not possible, Mr Hampton. As
stated in our credit policy, we have suspended your
account, and this call will be followed by an email
requesting payment. I’m sorry to tell you that if that
email is ignored, we will have to consider selling your
debt to a repossession company.
Customer:  Okay, I understand. We’ll try to come up with
some money.
2 the situations, how the customer responds to her and the
Customer:  Good morning, Global Solutions. How can I
help you?
Linda:  Could I speak to Mark Morris, please?
Customer: Speaking.
Linda:  Good morning, Mark, this is Linda Martin at
Greenwich Design. I’m calling about your invoice
number WK43567. I’m afraid the invoice is now two
weeks overdue.
Customer:  Really? Is it?
Linda:  Yes, I’m afraid it is. We contacted you on the 12th
to remind you but we still haven’t received payment. I
was just calling to check if there was a problem.
Customer:  No, there’s no problem. I’ll add it to our
payment run this week. Probably just a mistake.
Linda:  Well, I’m happy to hear that. I’m afraid I do need
to remind you that according to our credit policy, we
do charge 2.5% interest on overdue payments.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
Customer:  Okay, then we’d better pay as soon as possible.
I’m sorry about the mix-up. I’ll sort it out immediately.
Linda:  I’m happy to hear that. Thanks, bye.
Customer: Bye.
3
Customer:  Good morning, Blake’s Ltd. How can I help
you?
Linda:  Could I speak to Karen White, please?
Customer: Speaking.
Linda:  Good morning, Karen, this is Linda Martin at
Greenwich Design. Your invoice number WK23467 was
due for payment last Friday but we haven’t received
Customer:  I’ll need to check on our system, just a minute.
Linda: Okay.
…
Customer: Hello?
Linda: Hello?
Customer:  Yes, I’ve had a check and that invoice is
scheduled for this Friday’s payment run. I can see the
due date was last Friday. I’m not sure what happened
there.
Linda:  Okay, but you can confirm it’ll be paid this week?
Customer:  Yes, you’ll receive payment this Friday.
Linda:  Okay. That should be fine. I’ll just make a note of
that on our system.
Customer:  Great. I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what
happened.
Linda:  No, that’s fine. As long as it’ll be paid this week.
Customer:  Yes, absolutely.
Linda:  Okay, thanks, bye.
Customer:  Thanks, bye.
6 You may want to play the recording for students again
or refer them to the listening script on page 59 so that
they can focus and make notes on how well Linda manages
each call. If students are unsure about how to assess this,
you could suggest that they consider Linda’s politeness,
assertiveness, how clearly she communicates the facts of
outcome of each conversation. Put students into pairs to
discuss how well Linda manages each call, giving reasons
for their opinions, and then conduct whole-class feedback.
SUGGESTED ANSWER
Linda manages the calls well. She is polite but assertive and gives
the facts of the situation. She tells the customer clearly what the
situation is in each case and the consequences of non-payment but
remains reasonable in each case.
7  08  Tell students that they will need to use all of
the words in the prompts to write the sentences Linda
uses and also add words and change the form of some of
the verbs. Ask them to write the sentences, some of which
they might remember from the recording in 5. They could
check answers in pairs before you play the recording for
them to check. Give positive feedback for correct sentences
that don’t match exactly what Linda said.
03 Managing payments 19
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
ANSWERS
a I’m calling about invoice number WK66754.
b I’m afraid we must insist on payment of the outstanding amount.
c As stated in our credit policy, we have suspended your account.
d This call will be followed by an email requesting payment.
e I’m afraid the invoice is now two weeks overdue.
f We contacted you on the 12th to remind you but we still haven’t
received payment.
g I was just calling to check if there was a problem.
h Your invoice number WK23467 was due for payment last Friday.
 08 
a I’m calling about invoice number WK66754.
b I’m afraid we must insist on payment of the
outstanding amount.
c As stated in our credit policy, we have suspended
your account.
d This call will be followed by an email requesting
payment.
e I’m afraid the invoice is now two weeks overdue.
f We contacted you on the 12th to remind you but we
still haven’t received payment.
g I was just calling to check if there was a problem.
h Your invoice number WK23467 was due for payment
last Friday.
8 Here, students focus on how people convey the urgency
of the need to pay and the differences between making
neutral, routine calls regarding accounts receivable, calls
to late payers and calls to very late payers. Ask students
to match the sentences in 7 to the appropriate situations.
Check answers in class and ask students to give reasons
for their choices, e.g. the sentence I’m calling about invoice
number WK66754 simply states the reason for the call – to
discuss an invoice – and could, therefore, be used in any
call from accounts receivable.
ANSWERS
1  a, g   2  e, f, h   3  b, c, d
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs and ask them to read the listening
script on page 59 for phone call 1 in 5 on page 16. Linda
says the call will be followed by an email requesting
payment. Ask students to work together to write the
email to Mike Hampton at AP Turner, stating what has
happened with the payment so far and what is going to
happen. When they have finished, ask them to compare
emails with another pair.
Put it in writing
1 Put students into pairs to discuss the questions. Be
aware that some students will be able to draw more on
their experiences and have more fully formed opinions
than others. If students are happy to talk about their
experiences at the company where they work, encourage
them to do this. Conduct whole-class feedback.
20 03 Managing payments In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a As late payment can become a legal issue, it’s a good idea to
provide a written record of the delay. Therefore, writing to late
payers is essential.
b It’s a good idea to send at least two reminders to demonstrate
that you have been fair and given the customer time to pay. It’s
standard in many companies to send three reminders.
c As a debt becomes more overdue, it’s common to introduce
penalties, such as suspension of credit or interest charges.
2 Tell students that all three emails were written to a
late payer (Mr Walker) by someone who works in accounts
receivable (Judy). Over the three emails, we see the progres­
sion from the first contact to let the customer know that the
payment is overdue to two later emails, where she gradually
puts more pressure on him to pay and introduces more severe
consequences if he doesn’t. Ask students to read the emails
and identify the order in which the emails were written.
ANSWERS
First email: B  Second email: A  Third email: C
3 Ask students to reread the emails from 2 and identify
the language which helped them to decide in which order
the emails were sent. They should focus on the specific
words or phrases the writer uses to show either that this
is a routine email or that the payment still hasn’t been
made. They can also focus on the content of the emails and
the more serious consequences Judy mentions. Students
discuss their ideas in pairs. Conduct whole-class feedback.
SUGGESTED ANSWER
Email A says ‘We’re writing again’, implying they have already been
contacted about this. Also, as the debt becomes more overdue, the
writer starts setting deadlines and talking about harsher penalties.
4 These sentences are based on the emails in 2, so ask
students to cover these as they’re writing the sentences.
Students can then check their answers by looking at the
emails in 2 before you check answers as a class. You may want
to draw students’ attention to the use of the passive with
will in sentence e (will be added). Elicit or explain that passive
forms are often used in emails concerning sensitive or
difficult requests as they help to create a more neutral tone.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Our records show (that) your invoice is overdue.
b The balance for your invoice is overdue.
c Could you please make payment as soon as possible?
d If you have paid the balance, please disregard this email.
e If we haven’t received / don’t receive payment within seven days,
a charge of 2% will be added to your account.
Over to you
1 Ask your student to tell you what their
1:1 company does in the two situations given.
Listen and ask questions.
2  Get your student to take the role of Student
A and you take the role of Student B. Give feedback when
you have finished. Ask your student to write a follow-up
email for Scenario 1.

Accounts payable
1 Ask students to read the statements about companies
making payments to their suppliers. Then put them into
pairs to discuss which statements they agree with and
why. Make sure they know that there are no right or wrong
answers and they should feel free to express whatever
opinion they have as long as they can justify it. Conduct
whole-class feedback on students’ opinions and the
reasons for them.
2 Tell students that they’re going to read an email
conversation between two colleagues – Colin and Sarah – in
which they discuss renegotiating payment terms with a
supplier. Ask students to read the emails and use the context
to help them fill in the gaps. Ask students to compare their
answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a vendor   c  delay   e  track      
g authorize
b purchase   d run      f terms     h payment
3 Ask students to reread the email chain and make
brief notes on their answers to the questions. Ask them
to compare and discuss their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class. You could then ask students
whether they’ve ever had similar conversations – by email
or verbally – with their colleagues about renegotiating
payment terms with suppliers and whether they would do
anything differently to Colin and Sarah, giving reasons for
their answers.
ANSWERS
a short-term cash-flow issues
b identify payments over £10,000
c renegotiate payment terms with one of the companies and, if
necessary, offer a partial payment of 10%
4 Ask students to read the information about the two
companies. They may find it helpful to underline or
highlight key pieces of information to help them when
they’re deciding which supplier to choose, e.g. for AJ
Thompson: key partner, net 90-day terms, never missed
a payment, one of the largest logistics companies in the
country. Put students into pairs to discuss which company
would be the best one to try to renegotiate payments
terms with, giving reasons for their answers. Conduct
whole-class feedback.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
It would probably be easier to get AJ Thompson to agree to extend
payment terms.
They are a larger company so have less pressure on their cash flow
as they have regular inflows.
You have a strong relationship with them and they would want to
protect that.
On 90-day terms, a short delay will not have a major effect on their
cash flow.
Energis is a smaller company so has fewer inflows, meaning any
delay will probably put greater pressure on their cash flow.
You have not done business with them for very long and only do
business by contract. These are weak reasons to preserve the
relationship with you.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
wExtra activityw
Ask students to think of two suppliers that their
company buys from and decide which one they could
most successfully renegotiate payment terms with.
Students can do this in pairs or small groups. They can
start by making notes on the key pieces of information
about each supplier which would be relevant for
renegotiating payment terms, e.g. how long the company
has been buying from them, the existing payment terms
that they have, how much the company buys from them,
etc. In their pairs or small groups, students then use
this information to discuss which company they should
choose and reach a consensus on this. The pairs or groups
can then give feedback to the rest of the class on which
company they chose and why.
5 Put students into pairs to discuss the questions. You
may want to help students by breaking the two questions
down a little more. For example, when they’re considering
their answer to question a, students can think about why or
in which situations companies would want to renegotiate
payment terms with suppliers and what advantages
this would/could bring. When they’re considering their
answer to question b, they can think about the best way
to renegotiate payment terms with a supplier and what
steps people working in finance should take when they do
this. During the discussion, students can bring in examples
from their own experiences of dealing with suppliers where
appropriate. Conduct whole-class feedback.
6  09  Tell students that they’re going to listen to a
telephone conversation between Louise (AJ Thompson)
and Colin (Bentons) in which he asks for an extension on
the payment his company has to make. Play the recording
and ask students to listen and make notes on their answers
to the questions. Ask students to compare answers in pairs
before checking answers in class. Elicit or explain that in
this context the word outstanding, as in outstanding invoice
or outstanding balance, means not yet paid.
ANSWERS
a a week
b three days
c To make a partial payment of 10% this Friday and pay the
outstanding balance next Friday.
d To confirm the offer in writing.
 09 
Louise:  Good morning, Finance, Louise Clark speaking.
Colin:  Hello. This is Colin Barker from Bentons. I’m
calling about an outstanding invoice.
Louise:  Okay, do you have the reference number?
Colin:  Yes, it’s AT56432 K.
Louise:  Thanks, I’ll just get it up on the system.
Colin: Okay.
Louise:  So the invoice is for delivery services over the
last three months and the payment date is this
Friday. Is that right?
Colin:  Yes, that’s right.
03 Managing payments 21
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
Louise:  So how can I help you?
Colin:  Well, we’re having a short-term cash-flow issue
and we were wondering if you could extend the
payment terms just a little.
Louise:  Okay, is this just a one-off or do you want to
renegotiate terms on a more permanent basis?
Colin:  I think we’ll just need to move this payment date
on a few days. If we could extend it by a week, it
would be a big help.
Louise:  I’ll just see if that’s possible. Could you hold on?
Colin:  No problem.
…
Louise: Hello?
Colin: Hello?
Louise:  I just spoke to my boss and it would be difficult
to extend terms by a whole week. We could extend
them by three days but no more. Sorry.
Colin:  Okay, what if we offered a partial payment of 10%
this Friday and paid the outstanding balance next
Friday?
Louise:  That might be possible. Let me check.
Colin:  No problem.
…
Louise: Hello?
Colin: Hello?
Louise:  Okay, if you can confirm the 10% partial
payment in writing, we can accept that. We’ll send
you a statement of the outstanding balance, which
you’ll pay next Friday. Is that right?
Colin:  That’s great. I’ll send the confirmation now.
Thanks for your help. Bye.
Louise: Bye.
7 You may want to play the recording again for students
to make notes on how effectively Colin and Louise
negotiate. Conduct whole-class feedback and ask students
to give reasons for their answers. Encourage students
to use the structure could/should/would + have + past
participle to say what Colin and Louise could or should
have done differently or better in this situation, or what
they would have done if they were Colin or Louise.
SUGGESTED ANSWER
Colin negotiates fairly well. He explains the situation fully. He
pushes for what he wants and offers a compromise to resolve
the situation. He could have pushed Louise when she refuses his
request and he might have asked for the reason for the refusal.
Louise also negotiates fairly well. She finds out the scope of the
extension and explains her limits reasonably. She asks for confirma-
tion before agreeing to an extension, which means that if there are
problems later, she is not solely responsible.
8  09  Tell students that they’re going to listen again
and focus on the specific language used in the negotiation.
Before you play the recording again, you could ask students
to predict the missing words based on what they can
remember and what they already know about the type of
language used in these situations. Then play the recording
so that students can check or complete their answers. You
22 03 Managing payments In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
could check answers in class by asking students to read the
sentences aloud using the correct pronunciation, sentence
stress and intonation.
ANSWERS
a wondering, a little e could
b one-off, basis f What if, offered
c we could, would be g might
d would be h can confirm, in writing
9 Check the meaning of weak agreement (agreement
which isn’t very enthusiastic or strong). Then ask students
to reread the sentences in 8 and categorize them according
to their function. Check answers in class. You may then
want to draw students’ attention to the use of indirect
language in the sentences for making a request or offer,
e.g. We were wondering if …; If we could …, that would …;
What if …? Elicit or explain that this indirect style of
communication is widely used by native speakers of
English, especially in situations where the speaker or
writer sees themselves as making a big demand or where
they have less power than the person they’re addressing.
ANSWERS
1 a, c, e, f, h  2  d  3  b  4 g
Grammar tip
Ask students to read the information in the box about
modals for possibility and how we use could to make
requests. Translating modals into students’ first language
usually isn’t helpful and may even cause confusion as
direct equivalents may well not exist, so discourage
students from doing this.
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs. Students write five or six sentences
or questions which a supplier or their customer could use
in a payment negotiation, with the modal verbs missing.
You could give students this sentence as an example: If
you ____ put that in writing, that would be great. (answer =
could). Then students exchange their gapped sentences with
each other and fill in the gaps with the modal verbs they
think are missing. Students can then check their answers in
pairs and give each other feedback on how many they got
right. Monitor students to make they are using the modals
correctly while they’re checking each other’s answers.
Over to you
Ask students to work with a partner and decide who will
be Student A and Student B. Ask Student A to look at
their information on page 19 and refer Student B to their
information on page 49. Give students time to prepare
for and roleplay the phone calls. If time is short, students
could just make one of the phone calls. Monitor the
roleplays and give feedback when they have finished.
Get your student to take the role of Student A
1:1 and you take the role of Student B. Give
feedback when you have finished.
04Learning objectives
Reporting financial
information
In this unit, students will practise talking about
changes to the financial position of a company and
presenting slides. They will read financial statements
and listen to a presentation of the general company
finances and a presentation of inventory problems.
The language focus is on language for financial
statements, describing change, presentation
language and contrasting expressions.
Digital resources: Unit 04
Audio; Video; Photocopiable worksheet;
Glossary; Answer key; Listening script; Teacher’s
Presentation Kit
Background information
Reporting involves the recording of information
about a company’s finances in the form of financial
statements. The two most commonly used financial
statements are the profit and loss account (also
known as the P&L account) and the balance sheet.
It’s important for all companies and businesses
to report on their finances so that they’re able to
keep track of how much money is going in and out
of the business and plan for the future. However,
if a company is a public limited company or the
equivalent thereof, or a private limited company of
a certain size or the equivalent thereof, it is usually
legally obliged to compile and publish the results of
its financial reporting.
There are many resources online that have been
created to provide information about reporting
financial information. Here are some links to get
you started:
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-financial
-reporting-purpose-statement-examples-analysis.html
http://accounting-simplified.com/financial
/statements/types.html
Key terms glossary
balance sheet (noun [countable]) a written statement
showing the value of a company at a particular time
days sales inventory (noun [countable]) a ratio that is
calculated by dividing the number of days in the year by the
number of times that a company sells all of its inventory
depreciation (noun [countable]) the value an asset loses
over time
EBIT (noun [uncountable]) earnings before interest and
taxation
fixed asset (noun [countable]) something a company
owns and uses but does not sell, for example machines,
buildings, or land
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
inventory (noun [uncountable]) the stock of goods in a
warehouse or storeroom
liabilities (noun [plural]) the amounts of money that a
company owes
P&L (noun [countable]) profit and loss statement: a
summary of the amount of money that comes into and
goes out of a company in a period of time
utilities (noun [plural]) public services such as gas,
water, or electricity that are used by everyone
Warm up
Start by drawing students’ attention to the quote from
Benjamin Franklin. If necessary, clarify that a leak is a
hole in a container, ship or boat through which water
can flow. Ask students to discuss the questions in the
Warm up. Then ask them these questions:
●
  D o you agree that little expenses can be dangerous?
Have you ever experienced this in business or in your
personal life?
●
  Are some little expenses more dangerous than others?
●
  W hat is the greatest threat to the financial stability of
companies in your industry is at the moment?
Financial statements
1 Tell students that they’re going to start by looking
at financial statements and, specifically, the two most
commonly used types of financial statement: a profit and
loss account, which gives information about a company’s
income and its losses and debts with the resulting net
profit; and a balance sheet, which summarizes the value
of a company’s assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity
at a given point in time. Put students into pairs to discuss
the questions. If students’ answer to the first question is it
depends, ask them to explain what it depends on. Encourage
students to share examples of their own experiences of
working with financial statements and how they are used,
where appropriate. Conduct whole-class feedback.
ANSWER
a Financial statements are used internally to review and control
costs and expenditure and to provide an overview of the financial
position of the company. They’re also widely used by investors to
consider the financial position of the company and whether it is
worth investing in.
wExtra activityw
If possible (and appropriate), ask students to show
you financial documents that they work with, either in
English or in their own language. Alternatively, you could
download and print examples of financial documents
from the Internet and bring them to class. Ask students
to say what type of document each one is and then
summarize the information that the document contains
and say what this information tells us about the state of
the company’s finances.
04 Reporting financial information 23
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
2 Students are now going to look at an example of a
balance sheet and a profit and loss account in more detail.
Although students will most likely already be very familiar
with these documents in their first language, some of the
English terminology may be new to them. As students are
completing the financial statements, encourage them to
look for words in the statements which could be combined
with the words in the box (e.g. operating expenses is a
possible word combination) and to use the figures they
see and the position of the gapped expressions in the
statements to help them deduce what the missing words
are. Ask students to compare their answers in pairs, before
checking answers in class. Answer any questions students
have about the meaning of other vocabulary items in the
two documents.
ANSWERS
a Current e Equity
b Fixed f   Operating
c Liabilities g Earnings
d Long-term h Retained
Describing financial changes
1 Ask students to look at the three line graphs and write
the appropriate words under each one. Check answers in
class and confirm that the words under each graph are
synonyms for each other. Tell students that when you’re
describing trends found in graphs, for example during a
presentation, it’s a good idea to know different words and
phrases that you can use to describe the same trend. T his
will make your description more interesting to listen to
and show that you have a better command of the English
language.
ANSWERS
a grow, increase, rise
b remain the same, stabilize
c decline, decrease, fall
2 Tell students that several of the words used to describe
graphs are both verbs and nouns. Ask students to decide
whether the words in 1 can be verbs, nouns or both and
then check answers. Then ask students to write down the
Past Simple forms of the verbs from 1. You may want to
draw their attention to the fact that some of these are
regular and some are irregular verbs. Check that students
have the correct past forms.
ANSWERS
All are verbs; all except for grow, remain and stabilize can also be
nouns.
Past forms: declined, decreased, fell, grew, increased, remained,
rose, stabilized
3 Tell students that in order to add more detail to our
description of a trend, we use either adjective + noun
or verb + adverb combinations to say how much or how
quickly something went up or down. Ask students to
write the adjectives under the correct headings and also to
write in the adverb form of each adjective. Ask students to
24 04 Reporting financial information In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
compare answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
Draw students’ attention to the fact that we usually form
an adverb by adding -ly to the end of the adjective, but
when an adjective ends in -y, like steady, we remove the -y
and add -ily.
ANSWERS
(adverb forms in brackets)
Big Change: massive (massively), significant (significantly)
Small Change: slight (slightly), marginal (marginally)
Fast Change: rapid (rapidly), quick (quickly)
Slow Change: gradual (gradually), steady (steadily)
4 Students are now going to practise using language
for describing trends by writing sentences about the
profit and loss account they looked at on page 20. Advise
students to start by identifying the trend for each item,
i.e. big change, small change, fast change or slow change,
and then use either an adjective + noun or a verb + adverb
combination to write sentences describing the trends.
Remind students that they will need to use the Past Simple
forms of any verbs they include because they’re describing
things that happened in the past. Students can compare
their sentences in pairs, before you check in class.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1 Sales increased massively this year. / There was a massive
increase in sales this year.
2 The cost of goods sold increased significantly. / There was a
significant increase in the cost of goods sold.
3 Depreciation stabilized / remained steady / remained the same
this year.
4 EBIT increased slightly. / There was a slight increase in EBIT.
5 Retained profit fell significantly. / There was a significant fall in
retained profit.
5 Ask students to look back at the balance sheet on page
20 and identify five changes from last year to this year.
Students then prepare their own sentences to describe
these changes. If students feel confident using language for
describing trends, they could spontaneously say sentences
about the changes they identified to their partner. If they
don’t feel confident, they could write down their sentences
and then read them out loud to their partner instead.
Conduct whole-class feedback and ask students to share
their sentences. Provide feedback on them.
6  10  Tell students that they’re going to listen to a
presentation by the CFO of Woodfords, in which he talks
about his company’s financial performance. Ask students
to read the questions and then play the recording for them
to make notes on their answers. Ask students to compare
their answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a Quite well – profits grew but not as much as forecasted.
b Because there were increased salaries due to increased
production.
c The asset position is strong, debt levels have increased, but the
company is well financed.

 10  describing the trend and which contrasting expression
So, we’ve had a look at the numbers and we’ve got
some interesting results. I think we’ve performed
well this year and we’re happy to see profits growing,
although they didn’t grow as much as forecasted.
So let’s look at those profits in more detail. Although
our gross profit increased significantly, we also
experienced higher costs so we didn’t see significant
increases in operating profits. Despite a gross income
of 100,000 more than last year, our EBIT only
increased by 48,000.
This difference was largely caused by salary increases
due to increased production capacity and I’m happy
to report that even though wages impacted our
profits, all other costs stabilized this year.
Moving on to the balance sheet, we can see that
although cash didn’t change significantly, our accounts
receivable has risen massively, meaning the overall
position of our assets is very healthy. However, as you
can see, we have increased our debt significantly this
year. This is to fund essential maintenance. Despite
increasing our debt, we remain well financed and I
hope we can reduce these levels next year.
7  10  Tell students that they’re going to listen to the
presentation again and focus on the specific language that
Geoff uses to describe changes in the company’s finances.
Play the recording again and ask students to complete
the sentences. Ask students to compare their answers in
pairs before playing the recording a second time so that
students can check their answers. Elicit or explain that the
four words they’ve used to complete the sentences are all
used to show contrast.
ANSWERS
a Although c However
b Despite d Despite
Grammar tip
Ask students to read the information in the box about
three of the most commonly used contrasting expressions
and how we can use them. Draw students’ attention to
the examples showing the position of these contrasting
expressions in sentences. Students need to know that
despite is used either in front of a noun or a verb in
the -ing form, or the phrase the fact that + verb phrase.
Make sure students are aware that these contrasting
expressions are usually used in written English or more
formal spoken English, e.g. a formal presentation. Tell
them that it’s a good idea to use a range of contrasting
expressions instead of always using the same one(s) as
this will make their language more interesting to listen to
and show that they have a wider range of vocabulary.
8 Students are now going to combine the expressions for
describing trends that they’ve learned with the contrasting
expressions they’ve just looked at to make sentences
that contrast two trends that are happening at the same
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
time. Students are free to decide which verb or noun for
they use. They don’t need to use adjectives or adverbs to
describe the size or speed of the change. If students need
more support, they could work on their sentences in pairs.
Alternatively, they can write them on their own and then
compare them in pairs. Monitor students as they’re writing
and focus on whether they’re using contrasting expressions
correctly. Give students feedback when they’ve finished.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Although sales increased, net profit fell. / Sales grew; however,
net profits declined.
b Despite a fall in current liabilities, total liabilities remained the
same. / Despite current liabilities decreasing, total liabilities
remained the same.
c Despite a rise in depreciation, operating profit increased/rose.
d Cash remained the same. However, accounts receivable grew. /
Although cash remained the same, accounts receivable rose.
e Despite the increase in operating profit, gross profit fell. /
Despite operating profit rising, gross profit declined.
Over to you
Put students into pairs. Ask them to decide which company
they’re going to talk about and make notes on this company’s
performance in the different areas given. Students then
take it in turns to talk about the performance of the
company they’ve chosen. Monitor students’ conversations
and encourage them to interact with each other by asking
questions to clarify or get more information. Give students
feedback when they’ve finished.
Give your student some time to prepare to talk
1:1 about the performance of a company of their
choice. Ask the student to tell you about the
company’s performance. Listen and ask
questions. Give feedback when your student has finished.
Presenting slides
1 Ask students to look at the two graphs. Elicit or
explain that the graph in slide 1 is called a bar chart or bar
graph and the graph in slide 2 is called a line graph. Ask
students to study the graphs carefully and make notes on
the changes that have taken place over the three years,
comparing the results in slide 1 with those in slide 2.
Remind students to use past forms to describe the trends
and suggest that their presentation lasts 1–2 minutes.
2 After students have had 10–15 minutes to prepare
their presentations, put them into pairs and have them
take it in turns to present the slides to each other. Monitor
students’ presentations and give them feedback when
they’ve finished. You can focus on how effectively students
used language for describing graphs (verbs, nouns,
adjectives and adverbs) and contrasting expressions and
how clearly and confidently they communicated this
information. It isn’t necessary to go into too much detail
here as students are about to do more on this in 3 and 4.
04 Reporting financial information 25
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
wExtra activityw
If students have access to similar slides showing financial
results in graphs, you could ask them to use one of them
to give a short (one to two minutes long) presentation
in which they describe and explain what happened over
the time period given. Alternatively, you could download
and print examples of financial documents from the
Internet and bring them to class. Give students time to
prepare their presentations before they take it in turns
to present in pairs. Monitor students’ presentations and
give feedback when they’ve finished.
3  11  Ask students to read the three possible
summaries. They could also decide which of them is likely
to be the best summary of a presentation of the slides
they’ve just studied and presented. Then play the recording
so students can listen for the gist of the presentation and
select the best summary. Check answers in class.
ANSWER
c
 11  b trend
Okay, so let’s move on to inventory management. As
you can see on the next slide, although our sales and
profits have declined over the last three years, the
level of inventory has actually increased.
What this means is that we’re currently
overproducing, so that we’re holding more inventory
on our books.
Moving on to the next slide, you can get some
perspective on why this is worrying. This slide shows
the days sales inventory, which records the length of
time it takes to sell our entire inventory.
The slides show that this rate has increased over the
last three years and is now nearly three times the rate
it was three years ago.
Finally, I’d just like to point out that the longer we
hold inventory on our books, the greater pressure we
place on our cash flow. If this trend continues, I’m
convinced we’ll have significant cash-flow problems
in the future.
So now, let’s look at some possible solutions …
4 You could play the recording again for students to
focus on the differences between this presentation and
their own. When they’re thinking about the differences
between the presentation in the recording and their
own, you could ask students to consider the following
question: Were there any differences in terms of: content,
presentation techniques used, voice variety, confidence,
fluency, clarity? Discourage students from focusing solely
on language points, such as grammar and vocabulary use,
and the fact that their language use was, most likely, not as
good as the presenter’s. Put students into pairs to discuss
the questions and then conduct whole-class feedback on
students’ reflections on what they would do differently if
they were doing their presentation again.
26 04 Reporting financial information In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
5  11  Tell students that they’re going to listen
again and focus on the specific language used in the
presentation. Before you play the recording again, you
could ask students to predict the correct options based
on what they can remember. Then play the recording so
that students can check or complete their answers. Ask
students to compare their answers in pairs before checking
answers in class.
ANSWERS
a inventory
b overproducing
c records
d hold
e trend
6 Ask students to do the matching task. They can
compare answers in pairs before you check answers in
class. Clarify that the words inventory and stock can usually
be used interchangeably to refer to the goods or materials
that a company has in storage.
ANSWERS
a overproducing
c on our books
d inventory/stock
e entire
7 Students are going to focus on some expressions
they can use to signpost a presentation, i.e. indicate to
the audience what the structure of the presentation is
and refer them to visual aids. Ask students to match the
expressions to their functions in the table below. They can
compare their answers in pairs before you check answers
in class. Point out that in the last expression, the word just
isn’t essential – it can be used as a softener, but can also be
left out.
ANSWERS
Introducing the slide: This slide shows …
Changing topic: Let’s move on to ...
Showing a sequence: Finally, I’d like to …
Talking about consequences: What this means is …
Focusing on key information: I’d just like to point out …
8 Ask students to categorize these additional signposting
expressions according to their function and write them in
the table. Again, you can point out that the use of the word
just in expression d isn’t essential. You may then want to
model and drill the pronunciation of I’ll and I’d and the
expressions from exercises 7 and 8 which include them
because students often find it challenging to pronounce
these contractions correctly.
ANSWERS
Introducing the slide: As you can see on the next slide …
Changing topic: Let’s turn to …
Showing a sequence: Firstly, I’ll …
Talking about consequences: As a result of this …
Focusing on key information: If I could just highlight …

9 Ask students to add at least one more expression to
each category in the table. Tell them to ensure that these
expressions aren’t too similar to the expressions they’ve
already categorized. Students can do this in pairs. Conduct
whole-class feedback on the new phrases students have
added.
10 Tell students that they’re going to complete some
sentences from presentations about financial results which
include signposting expressions. Encourage students to pay
attention to the words that come before and after the gaps
to help them complete the sentences correctly. Students can
compare answers in pairs before you check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a see, next
b turn to
c What, means
d just, point
11 Encourage students to choose one, two or three
specific areas where they can improve the presentation of
the slides they gave earlier, e.g. fluency and voice variety, and
tell their partner what these are. Give students some time
to prepare their presentations again and to think about how
they can include some of the signposting expressions they’ve
learned. Then ask students to give their presentations
again. Students can give their partners feedback on whether
they’ve improved in the area(s) they wanted to improve in.
Monitor these presentations and give students feedback
when they’ve finished. Alternatively, if students are in
agreement, you could use a mobile device with a camera or
a video camera to record students’ presentations and then
use the recordings for self-reflection and feedback, peer-
feedback or to help you give students feedback.
12  12  Students are now going to focus on how they
can present with greater impact by using pauses. Elicit
or explain that presenters usually pause when they want
to emphasize the word or phrase that came before the
pause. In light of this, you could ask students to read the
sentences before they listen to the extracts and predict
where they expect the pauses to be – reading the sentences
aloud in pairs may help them to do this. Then play the
recording and ask students to mark the pauses. Stop the
recording after each sentence to give students more time
to do this. You may also need to play the recording again.
Ask students to compare their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a As you can see on the next slide, / although our sales and profits
have declined over the last three years, / the level of inventory /
has actually increased.
b What this means / is that we’re currently overproducing, / so
that we’re holding more inventory on our books.
c The slides show that this rate / has increased over the last
three years / and is now nearly three times the rate it was
three years ago.
d Finally, / I’d just like to point out / that the longer we hold
inventory on our books, / the greater pressure we place on
our cash flow.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
 12 
a As you can see on the next slide, although our sales
and profits have declined over the last three years,
the level of inventory has actually increased.
b What this means is that we’re currently
overproducing, so that we’re holding more inventory
on our books.
c The slides show that this rate has increased over the
last three years and is now nearly three times the rate
it was three years ago.
d Finally, I’d just like to point out that the longer we
hold inventory on our books, the greater pressure we
place on our cash flow.
wExtra activityw
Students may find it useful to watch videos, either in
class or in their own time, of presenters who are able to
present with impact. For example, over 2,000 videos of
presentations are available on the TED Talks website:
http://www.ted.com/. All effective presenters will make
use of pauses, so this will expose students to more
examples of how to do this. You can also ask students to
focus on and try to identify what other techniques these
speakers use to make an impact, e.g. using a hook to get
the audience’s attention at the start of a presentation,
using sentence stress to emphasize key words, using
differing volume levels, etc.
13 Put students into pairs. Ask them to take it in turns
to read the sentences from 12 aloud, pausing in the places
they marked. Students may find it helpful to do this
in a more exaggerated way to really get a feel for using
pauses. Monitor students and give them feedback on how
effectively they used pauses when they’ve finished.
Over to you
Ask students to work with a partner and decide who
will be Student A and Student B and refer students to
the slides they’re going to base their presentations on.
Give them time to prepare a short presentation which
describes and explains what they can see in their slide.
Student A presents first and Student B listens and then
asks questions to clarify some of the details mentioned
or to find out more information. Then Student B presents
and Student A listens and then asks questions. Encourage
students to give each other feedback on how effective
their presentations were. You can also monitor their
presentations and give feedback when they have finished.
Get your student to take the role of Student A
1:1 and you take the role of Student B. Listen to
your student’s presentation and ask questions.
Encourage your student to ask questions about
your presentation. Give feedback at the end.
04 Reporting financial information 27

03–04 Video
Before you watch
1 Students have encountered all of the items listed, but
if you think they may be unsure about some of them, you
could elicit or check their meanings first. Ask students
to rank the items according to how important they are in
financial statements. Tell students that there are no right
or wrong answers here, and they should just ensure that
they can give reasons for their ranking.
2 Put students into pairs and ask them to compare
and explain their rankings. Encourage students to ask
questions to find out more about each other’s opinions and
to say whether and to what extent they agree with each
other’s choices. Conduct whole-class feedback on which
items students think are the most important and why.
While you watch
1   Tell students that they’re going to watch the
first section of the video, in which Alex and Sumeer, who
they also saw in Video 01–02, talk about how they deal
with late payments. Ask students to read the questions.
You may want to draw students’ attention to the fact
that the first question includes the question form of used
to do something, and elicit or explain that this structure
describes a long-term situation or habit in the past which
no longer happens. Note Alex’s use of would, which here
has the same meaning as used to. (The Past Simple is used
in the second and third questions because they refer to
single events that happened in the past.) Play the section
on Dealing with late payments and ask students to make
notes on their answers. Play the section again if necessary.
Check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a He would send statements out to the clients at the end of each
quarter and then call them up to ask them when they could pay.
b Outstanding payments became an extremely high percentage of
turnover.
c They decided to send out statements to their customers every
month.
d The finance department and the business.
e They encourage the business teams to talk to customers in
advance of payment deadlines.
2   Tell students that they’re going to watch the
section on The P&L account and balance sheet, in which Alex
discusses what he thinks the most important information
in these documents is. Before students watch the video,
make sure that they’ve read the statements. You could also
ask students to predict whether the sentences will be true
or false based on what they know about P&L accounts and
balance sheets. Play the section all the way through and
ask students to decide if the statements are true or false
and then write correct versions of the false statements.
28 VIDEO UNITS 03–04 In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Ask students to check their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class. You could then ask students
to what extent they agree or disagree with Alex’s views,
giving reasons for their answers.
ANSWERS
a T
b T
c F – It tells you how profitable the work you’re doing is – and this
is very important.
d F – He looks at shareholders’ funds first.
e T
3   Students are now going to listen to Andy (also
from Video 01–02) and Alex talking about how often they
prepare financial statements for their business and why.
You could engage students with this topic by asking them
how often their company prepares financial statements
and how often they look at or use them. Then ask students
to read the four questions before playing the section on
Preparing financial statements. Ask students to write Andy
or Alex next to each statement. Students can compare
their answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
You could then ask students how similar Andy and Alex’s
experiences with financial statements are to their own.
ANSWERS
a Andy
b Alex
c Alex
d Andy
wExtra activityw
Ask students to discuss the ways in which their own
company makes use of its financial statements.
Encourage them to focus on the benefits of financial
statements and bring in examples from their own
experience, where appropriate. Conduct whole-class
feedback on students’ ideas.
4   Ask students to briefly discuss what they think
the two ways in which Sumeer’s company makes use of
its financial statements could be. Then play the section on
Using information in financial statements and ask students
to note down the two things Sumeer mentions. Ask
students to compare their answers in pairs before checking
answers in class. Students should already be familiar with
the terms creditworthy and creditworthiness, but review
their meanings if necessary.
ANSWERS
To show their creditors they are creditworthy and as a marketing
tool.
Natural speech
1   You may need to clarify that the term natural
speech refers to the features of English that native or
proficient speakers use when they’re speaking. Students
may already be using these features themselves or they
may not be familiar with them yet, especially if they have

little or no contact with native or proficient speakers of
English. The aim of this section is not to suggest that
students must use these features when they’re speaking,
but rather to raise their awareness of them in order to help
them understand these speakers more effectively in future.
The feature that students are going to focus on here is the
use of sentence stress for emphasis. Check the meaning of
emphasize (here: to say more strongly). Tell them that the
words in bold are the words that Sumeer emphasizes in
these three sentences. Ask students to read the sentences.
They can also read them aloud in pairs and practise
emphasizing the words in bold as they do so. Then play
the clip from the recording (3:19 – 3:33) and ask students
to think about why Sumeer emphasizes the words in bold.
Students can discuss what they think in pairs. Conduct
whole-class feedback and establish that when we’re
speaking, we emphasize the key content words to ensure
that listeners understand the most important points in
our message. Students will most likely do the same thing
when they’re using their own first language.
ANSWER
Because these are the key words that communicate his message.
They’re mostly nouns, verbs or adjectives – the words which carry
information. We don’t tend to stress other types of words, such
as articles, prepositions, pronouns, as they don’t carry as much
information.
2   Play the clip from the recording (3:33 – 3:42)
for students to listen and underline the words Sumeer
emphasizes. Alternatively, students could read the
sentences and decide which words they think Sumeer
emphasizes when he says them, i.e. which are the key
content words, and then watch the clip from the recording
to check their answers. Whichever option you choose, check
that students have selected the correct words and then ask
them to take it in turns to practise saying the sentences
aloud in pairs with the emphasis that Sumeer used.
ANSWERS
The second way is a marketing tool. The financial statements of a
company say a lot about the company. There’s a lot of information
in there that’s non-financial.
After you watch
Students could discuss the questions either with a partner
or in small groups. Encourage students to give examples
from their experiences and working lives when responding
to questions a and b and to give and explain their own
opinions when responding to question c. Give students
about ten minutes to discuss the questions and then
conduct whole-class feedback.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
Review 03–04
This review section gives students an opportunity to
consolidate what they’ve learned and do some further
practice with the language and content of Units 03 and 04.
You could use these sections in class after completing
these units or later in the course as a review activity.
Alternatively, you could assign them as homework or use
them to help students who’ve missed a lesson to catch up
with the rest of the group. After students have completed
the exercises, ask them to go through the checklist as a
reminder of what they have covered in these two units.
03 Managing payments
ANSWERS
1
a follow up on  b charge  c suspend  d reinstate  e review
2
a I’m calling about invoice number AD44567.
b I’m afraid we must insist on payment of the outstanding amount.
c I’m afraid the invoice is now three days overdue.
d We contacted you on the 15th to remind you but we still haven’t
received payment.
e I was just calling to check if there was a problem.
3
a purchase  b payment  c renegotiate  d partial  e authorize
4
a I was wondering if we could extend the payment terms.
b If we could/can extend terms by a week, it would be a big help.
c It would be difficult to extend terms by a whole week.
d What if we offer a partial payment?
e If you confirm a partial payment in writing, we can/will accept that.
04 Reporting financial information
ANSWERS
1
a EBIT grew significantly last year.
b There was a slight decrease in expenses last quarter.
c Operating profit fell marginally last year.
d correct
e Long-term liabilities grew slightly last month.
2
a Despite being solvent, the company has a lot of debt.
b Although the company made large profits, the return on equity
was low.
c The company is losing money, but it still has good liquidity.
d Despite having high costs, / Despite their high costs, they make
a lot of profit.
e Although they had a good solvency ratio, they still went bankrupt.
3
a Let’s move on to the next topic.
b The next slide shows the profitability of the company.
c What this means is the company is losing money.
d Finally, I’d like to give some recommendations for cost saving.
e Can I just point out the worst debtors?
REVIEW UNITS 03–04 29
05
Learning objectives
Interim results
In this unit, students will practise describing
differences/variances, explaining causes and
results and controlling a meeting. They will read
an email about a budget variance and a blog post
about corrective action. Students will also listen to
a presentation of the causes of a budget variance
and a meeting about corrective action. The language
focus is on words to describe differences/variances,
formal and informal email expressions, linking
words of cause and effect, meetings phrases and
conditionals for likely and less likely situations.
Digital resources: Unit 05
Audio; Video; Photocopiable worksheet;
Glossary; Answer key; Listening script; Teacher’s
Presentation Kit
Background information
After making forecasts about future financial
results and putting together a budget for the
next quarter or financial year, companies need to
compare what they expected their expenses and
income to be and what they actually are. This process
of investigating and comparing forecast and actual
results (or actuals) is called variance analysis –
it analyzes the differences that arise. Knowing
about these differences enables companies to take
corrective action and avoid cash-flow problems.
There are many resources online that have been
created to provide information about budget
variance and corrective action. Here are some links
to get you started:
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/budget-variance
-analysis-60250.html
http://articles.bplans.com/plan-vs-actual-part-3
-understanding-variance-analysis/
Key terms glossary
actuals (noun [plural]) real financial data from a specific
period
breakdown (noun [countable]) information that has
been separated into different groups
corrective action (phrase) corrective action is intended
to make a bad situation better
surplus (noun [countable/uncountable]) an amount of
money or goods that is left over because a country or
business has more than it needs
variance (noun [countable]) a difference
30 05 Interim results In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Warm up
Start by drawing students’ attention to the quote from
Randy Thurman. Elicit or explain that Thurman thinks
it’s more important for a company to save money than to
earn money. Ask students to discuss the question in the
Warm up. Then ask these questions:
●
  D o you agree that how much you save is more
important than how much you earn?
●
  W hat does your company or a company you know
well do to save money? Where or how could the
company save even more money?
Variance analysis
1 Ask students to read the sentences and match the
words and phrases in bold to their definitions, using the
context to help them. Ask students to compare their
answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a budget variance
b shortfall
c actuals
d surplus
e variance analysis
f breakdowns
2 Elicit or check the meaning of management accountant
(an accountant who provides managers with the financial
information they need to make day-to-day and short-term
decisions) and grocery store (a store that sells food, drinks
and household items). Ask students to read the email from
Colin to Gordon about a variance analysis to get a feel for
the situation that it was written in. Tell them to ignore for
now the fact that some words are in bold. They can discuss
their answers to the questions in pairs before you check
answers in class.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Colin has completed the comparison of the actual data and the
budget (variance analysis), and wants to send the information to
Gordon.
b Colin has noticed a difference between budgeted and actual
costs.
c They know each other well. Colin uses very informal, personal
language, which suggests a close working relationship.
3 Make sure students are aware that in English, as
in most other languages, we use either more formal
or more informal language depending on who we’re
communicating with, how well we know them and the
purpose of our communication. Ask students to read the
more formal expressions in this exercise and match them
to the more informal expressions in bold in Colin’s email.

They can do this in pairs. Check answers in class and ask
students which expressions they more often write or read
in their emails and which they feel more comfortable
using.
ANSWERS
a See the attached
b It looks like
c to have a chat about any of this.
d Just to let you know
e Let me know if
f we’re looking at
g Cheers
wExtra activityw
If students write or receive emails in English at work, ask
them to print out some examples or to access them on
their smartphones or laptops, if possible. Students can
then read each other’s emails in pairs and decide which
ones are formal and informal and identify the features of
each email style.
4 Elicit or explain that because of the relationship
between Gordon and the group CEO (whose position
gives him a lot more power at the company), Gordon
will use a more formal style to write to him. However,
it’s worth pointing out that even in more formal emails,
native speakers of English tend to use first names in the
salutation, so students should address the CEO as John in
the emails they write. Students then write the email from
Gordon to John, using the more formal phrases. If students
need more support, they could work on the email together
in pairs. Give students a few minutes to write their emails
and then ask them to read their partner’s email, if they’ve
worked on them individually, or read another pair’s email,
if they’ve worked on the emails in pairs. They can then
give each other feedback on how successfully they’ve
communicated the information they needed to provide,
and on their use of more formal phrases.
Presenting the actuals
1  13  Students are now going to look at an example
of financial results from one quarter in more detail. Ask
students to study the variance analysis carefully before
they listen. Then play the recording and ask students to
write the missing numbers in the gaps. Play the recording
again if necessary and then check answers in class. Draw
students’ attention to the use of the decimal point in the
numbers, which is spoken as point. Numbers that come
after the decimal point are spoken one after the other, so
4.64 is spoken as four point six four.
ANSWERS
a 8.7
b 3.9
c 5.5
d 48
e 3.9
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
 13 
Gordon:  Okay, thanks for coming everyone. Did you all
get a copy of the budget breakdown and the actuals?
Great. Well, as you can see, our first-quarter trading
results were actually quite positive and our sales are
ahead of forecast by £200,000. We achieved sales of
£8.7M this quarter. Yes, that’s great but I’m afraid it’s
not all good news. We had forecasted a gross income
of £5.5M, but our actual figure was down on that by
700,000 at £4.8M. This was caused by the increased
cost of goods sold which, at £3.9M, is up on the
forecasted figure of 3M by quite some way. Although
these figures aren’t massively out of line with our
forecast, they will drive down first-quarter results.
Moving on to operating expenses, these are generally
in line with our forecasts. The only thing to note is
that sales and marketing expenses were slightly over
budget at 48,000, but this isn’t very significant. So,
if you look at the bottom line, our operating profit is
slightly behind our forecast at £3.9M. Now, let’s look
at the drivers of this variance …
2  13  Tell students that they’re going to listen again
and focus on some of the specific language Gordon uses in
his presentation. Before you play the recording again, you
could ask students to predict the missing words based on
what they can remember and on expressions they know.
Then play the recording so that students can check or
complete their answers. Check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a ahead of / up on (also possible = over)
b down on / behind
c in line with
d out of line with
3  14  Tell students that they’re now going to
listen to the next part of the meeting where Colin talks
about the reasons for, or the drivers of, the results he’s
just described. Ask students to read the questions and
check the meaning of sustain (to continue or maintain
something). You could ask students to speculate about
what the answers to the questions could be, e.g. by asking
what reasons there could be for an increase in a company’s
costs. Then play the recording and ask students to make
notes on their answers. Check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a Because of increased supplier prices.
b Because of strong competition.
c He expects them to miss their forecasted income unless they
reorganize the budget.
05 Interim results 31
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
 14  before and/or after them as they answer the questions. The
Gordon:  So, if you look at the bottom line, our operating
profit is slightly behind our forecast at £3.9M. Now,
let’s look at the drivers of this variance. Colin, would
you like to come in here?
Colin:  Thanks, Gordon. So, in our analysis, we’ve seen
some worrying trends in many of our direct costs.
Now, obviously, part of our increased cost of goods
sold was because of increased sales but this does not
account for the full figure. Many of our suppliers
have experienced energy price rises and have been
forced to pass cost increases on to us. As a result,
we’re experiencing considerably higher costs than
anticipated. Now, we haven’t passed these costs on
to our customers because we’re concerned about
strong competition and don’t want to reduce our
competitiveness. So, what about the long term?
Due to continued competition and sustained cost
increases, we feel it’s unlikely that we’ll meet our
forecasted income applying the current budget. As
a result of these factors, we strongly recommend
reorganizing the budget.
4 Put students into pairs and ask them to think about
their answers to the two questions. Students then discuss
their answers, giving reasons. Encourage students to bring
examples from their own experiences of dealing with
budget variance into their discussions where appropriate.
Conduct whole-class feedback.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1 The company still forecasts considerable profits so the budget
variance may not be a major problem. However, Colin tells us
that the variance is caused by long-term changes in the com-
pany’s cost base. As this is unlikely to change, it will probably
impact profits in the future and, if the variance is unaddressed,
may see a long-term decline in profitability.
2 As the variance is caused by changes in suppliers’ energy prices,
it cannot be solved directly. Therefore, Westway should try to
identify cost savings it can make in other areas of the business
to improve profitability.
5 Students are going to focus on some of the expressions
for cause and effect that Colin uses in the second recording
from the meeting. Tell students to use what they already
know about how to use cause and effect expressions (e.g.
because of is followed by a noun or noun phrase) and
what they can remember from the recording to match
the sentence beginnings to the endings. Do not check
students’ answers at this stage.
6  14 Play the recording and ask students to listen
out for the sentences they matched in 5 so that they can
check their answers. If necessary, play the recording again.
ANSWERS
a 5  b 4  c 1  d 3  e 2
7 Tell students that they’re now going to focus on how we
use the cause and effect expressions in bold in the sentences
from 5. Ask students to refer back to these expressions
32 05 Interim results In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
and look at their function in the sentences and what comes
first and second questions are about the function of the
expressions and the third and fourth questions are about
the sentence structures that you use with them. Make
sure students are aware that they can give more than one
expression in answer to each question. Ask students to
compare answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a because, due to, because of
b as a result, as a result of
8 Look at the first sentence and the example with the
class. Then ask students to use the prompts to write the
remaining sentences. Ask students to compare their
answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Sales are up on the forecast due to increased demand.
b Expenses are in line with last year because wage increases were
delayed.
c Marketing expenses are down on the forecast because of
spending reductions.
d Operating income is ahead of last year as a result of lower costs.
e Our analysis was bad. As a result, general expenses were out of
line with the budget.
wExtra activityw
Ask students to use the Internet to find the latest
business news stories in English and choose two or three
stories that they’re interested in. They then scan-read
the articles to get a general feel for what has happened
and why, e.g. food prices have fallen due to increased
competition between supermarkets. When they’ve done
this, ask students to use the cause and effect expressions
they’ve learned to write a sentence about each story which
summarizes what has happened and why. Students could
either write their sentences in pairs or write them on their
own and then compare and discuss them in pairs. Monitor
students and give them feedback when they’ve finished.
Focus on their use of cause and effect expressions.
Over to you
1 Divide the class into small groups of three or four
students to discuss the most recent actual results from their
company or a company they know well. If students have
access to the actuals they want to talk about in paper or
digital form, they can use this to present the exact results.
2 Refer students to page 46 at the back of the book.
When they have read the information, they should
choose one person to chair the meeting. Students should
summarize what the results show, what the causes of them
could be and then decide what action they should take.
Give students time to prepare and then allow five minutes
for them to roleplay the meeting. Monitor the roleplay and
give feedback when they have finished. If appropriate and
there is enough time available, ask students to roleplay the
meeting again so different students can chair it.

1 Ask your student to tell you about the most
1:1 recent actual results from their company or a
company they know well. Listen and ask
questions.
2 Get your student to chair the meeting while you give
ideas and opinions. Give feedback when you have
finished.
Corrective action
1 Tell students that they’re going to read a blog post
about dealing with budget variances. Ask them to predict
what strategies they think the blog post will recommend
and what the link with the title of this page – Corrective
action – could be. Then tell students to read the blog
post and find the answers to the questions. Put students
into pairs to discuss the questions before checking answers
in class.
2 Make sure students are aware that they have to
complete the summary with verbs from the blog post,
but they may have to change the form of those verbs.
Ask students to read through the blog post again and
match the different parts of the summary to the different
parts of the blog post. Also encourage students to use the
words that come before and after the gap to help them.
Ask students to compare their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a throws
b represent
c see
d find
e prepare
f respond
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs. Ask them to discuss what specific
pieces of advice they would give to employees at their
company or a company they know well to help them
deal with budget variances there. Students can use the
advice in the blog post they’ve just read to help them
come up with ideas and then personalize it to the specific
situation that their chosen company is in. Make sure that
they don’t just copy blog post text. Then ask students to
make a list of what they think are the five most helpful
pieces of advice.
3  15  Tell students that they’re going to listen to
a meeting where a team discusses what action to take in
response to a large budget variance. Ask students to read
the three options. Then play the recording and ask students
to choose the correct option. Check answers in class.
ANSWER
c
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
 15 
Colin:  So, what about the long term? Due to continued
competition and sustained cost increases, we feel
it’s unlikely that we’ll meet our forecasted income
applying the current budget. As a result of these
factors, we strongly recommend reorganizing the
budget.
Sandra:  So, thanks for that, Colin. Just to summarize,
we’ve got an operating income variance of £740,000.
That’s quite a lot. So, I’ve got to ask the question.
Were our cost calculations just unrealistic?
Anna:  No, I don’t think so. When we prepared the
budget, oil and energy prices were very low, and
that changed more quickly than anyone could have
anticipated.
Sandra:  So you all feel that we couldn’t have predicted
this shortfall?
Sandra:  Okay, but be that as it may, I don’t think we can
ignore this situation. Is that your view too, Colin?
Colin:  Yes, I’m sure that if we don’t do anything, the
variance will widen.
Sandra:  Okay, so what can we do about it? Anna?
Anna:  Well, as Colin said, we can’t really raise our prices
to absorb the cost increases. If we raised our prices,
customers would switch to our competitors. It’s just
too competitive at the moment.
Sandra:  Yes, I agree with you. What’s your take on this,
Gordon?
Gordon:  Well, it’s really tough, Sandra. We’re being pushed
from both sides. And remember we actually increased
sales this quarter so I think the price is right.
Sandra:  I agree with you, Gordon, but that doesn’t solve
the cost issue.
Gordon:  No, I think there we have to look for internal
cost savings.
Sandra:  So you’re proposing a process review?
Gordon:  That’s right. If our costs are going up, we’ll need
to economize.
Colin:  I agree. If we saved 3% on costs in each store, we
could earn back the variance.
Sandra:  That’s great, but how do we go about it?
Anna:  Well, if we look at each of the stores in turn, we
can identify areas where we can save money.
Sandra:  Right, can I leave that to you two?
Anna & Colin: Sure.
Sandra:  So, can you go away and report back next week?
Anna:  No problem.
Sandra:  Okay, I think we’ll stop there. Gordon could
you … ?
05 Interim results 33
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
4 Put students into pairs to discuss the questions. Make
sure they give reasons for their answers. They can also
bring examples from their own experiences of dealing with
situations like this into their discussions. Conduct whole-
class feedback.
5  15  Tell students that they’re going to listen again
and focus on the specific language that Sandra uses to
chair the meeting. Before you play the recording again,
you could ask students to predict the missing words based
on what they can remember. Then play the recording so
that students can check or complete their answers. Ask
students to compare answers in pairs before checking
answers in class.
ANSWERS
a summarize e proposing
b view f about
c can g leave
d take h back
6 Students focus on some expressions they can use in
meetings to ask for opinions and suggestions, summarize
and give instructions. Ask students to match the sentences
in 5 to their functions in 6. Students can compare their
answers in pairs before you check answers in class.
ANSWERS
1 b, d
2 a, e
3 c, f
4 g, h
7  16  Students are going to listen again to the
conditional sentences they heard in the meeting. You could
ask students to predict the missing words based on what
they can remember from the recording and what they
already know about the structure of conditional sentences.
Play the recording so that students can listen and check
or complete their sentences. Pause the recording after
each extract to make it easier for them if necessary. Ask
students to compare answers in pairs before checking
answers in class.
ANSWERS
a will
b would
c ’ll
d could
e can
 16 
a If we don’t do anything, the variance will widen.
b If we raised our prices, customers would switch to
our competitors.
c If our costs are going up, we’ll need to economize.
d If we saved 3% on costs in each store, we could earn
back the variance.
e If we look at each of the stores in turn, we can
identify areas where we can save money.
34 05 Interim results In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Grammar tip
Start by eliciting or checking that a conditional sentence
is a sentence that usually contains the word if and a
condition. Students will normally have encountered
conditional sentences in some form before. Ask students
to read the information and examples in the box and
make sure they understand that the type of conditional
sentence we choose may depend on how likely we think it
is that something will happen.
8 Ask students to categorize the sentences in 7 according
to how likely the speaker thinks the results are. Make sure
students are aware that which type of conditional sentence
we choose to use is often subjective: one speaker may
think that certain results are likely and use one type of
conditional sentence to talk about them, whereas another
speaker may think that the same results are less likely and,
therefore, use another type of conditional sentence. Check
answers in class.
ANSWERS
a a, c, e
b b, d
9 Ask students to reread the sentences in 7 and identify
the verbs in them which tell us whether a conditional
sentence refers to a likely or less likely outcome. Ask
students to compare answers in pairs before checking
answers in class.
ANSWERS
a will, can
b would, could
Over to you
1 Ask students to read the information and follow the
instructions.
2 Refer students to their respective pages at the back of
the book, and give them time to prepare for and roleplay
the scenario. Point out to students that they have already
seen the figures as they were also used in the previous
Over to you section in this unit. Monitor the roleplay and
give feedback when they have finished.
1 Ask your student to make a list of four issues
1:1 and a corrective action for each one and then
present them to you.
2 Get your student to take the role of Student A and you
take the role of Student B. Give feedback when you
have finished and then swap roles and do the roleplay
again. Then give further feedback.
06Learning objectives
Business development
In this unit, students will practise discussing company
performance, discussing strategy, discussing how
to raise finance, and decision-making. They will
read a blog post about the balanced scorecard and
an investment company brochure. Students will
also listen to discussions of a strategy map and an
investment decision. The language focus is on strategy
and planning expressions, active listening expressions,
and modal verbs for necessity and recommend.
Digital resources: Unit 06
Audio; Video; Photocopiable worksheet;
Glossary; Answer key; Listening script; Teacher’s
Presentation Kit
Background information
In order to develop and thrive in the business world,
companies have to expand. To do this successfully,
they need to have a strategy which will enable them
to achieve expansion. Essentially, companies have
two options when it comes to expansion: organic
growth, using profits, other assets or money
they’ve raised to finance new business activities or
ventures; or inter-firm cooperation – mainly mergers
and acquisitions – through which they can merge
with or buy competitors or companies producing
complementary products. In both cases, raising
finance may be necessary and companies will have
to decide on the best way of doing that, e.g. making
a public offering, using debt finance or equity
finance, or exploiting existing assets. There are many
resources online that have been created to provide
information about business strategy and raising
finance. Here are some links to get you started:
http://balancedscorecard.org/Resources/About-the
-Balanced-Scorecard
http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory
/strategy/business-strategy.html#axzz4IHD1Z66e
http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032515
/what-are-different-ways-corporations-can-raise
-capital.asp
Key terms glossary
acquisition (noun [countable]) a company that is bought
by another company
balanced scorecard (noun [countable]) a way of
measuring and tracking the performance of a company in
relation to strategic objectives
debt finance (noun [uncountable]) a way of getting
money in which the person or organization that borrows
the money will have to pay it back, usually with interest
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
equity finance (noun [uncountable]) the selling of shares
(ownership in the business) by a company to raise money
float (verb) to start to sell a company’s shares on the stock
market
merger and acquisition (noun [countable]) the
combining of two or more companies
organic (adjective) happening or developing in a natural
and continuous process
reserve(s) (noun [countable] [usually plural]) a supply
of something that a country or an organization can use
when they need to
strategy map (noun [countable]) a diagram which shows
the goals and priorities that a company intends to pursue
sustainability (noun [uncountable]) the extent to which
something is capable of continuing for a long time at the
same level
Warm up
Start by drawing students’ attention to the quote from
Mark Zuckerberg. Elicit or explain that Zuckerberg
thinks companies must take risks in order to increase
profits and grow. Ask students to discuss the question in
the Warm up. Then ask these questions:
●
  W hat problems can be caused by taking risks?
●
  In what ways might companies take risks in order to
grow?
●
  W hat approach to risk-taking does your company
take? How successful has this approach been?
Business strategy
1 Put students into pairs and ask them to read the
statements. Then ask them to choose the statement
which most closely reflects their opinion of what makes
a successful business strategy. Students then tell their
partners which statement they’ve chosen, giving reasons.
Encourage students to bring in examples of their own
experiences of business strategy where appropriate.
Conduct whole-class feedback.
2 Tell students that they’re going to read a blog post
about balanced scorecards. Find out what, if anything,
students already know about these. Then ask them to
read the blog post and find the answers to the questions.
Put students into pairs to discuss the questions before
checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a The balanced scorecard gives an overview of a company’s
performance.
b To collect and present data on an organization’s current
performance, and any areas of concern.
c A strategy map is a plan to help implement improvements
identified by the balanced scorecard.
06 Business development 35
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
3 Ask students to discuss whether their company uses
balanced scorecards and why they do or don’t. If students
don’t know, you could ask them to find out as a self-study
task before the next lesson.
4 Tell students that they’re going to focus on some of the
verb-noun collocations used in the blog post. Check the
meaning of insights (knowledge of something which gives
you a deep understanding of it). You could ask students to
predict the missing verbs without looking at the blog post
and then reread the blog post to check their answers. Then
check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a give(s) d develop(ing)
b provide e identify
c highlight f devise
5 Encourage students to use the context of the sentences
in 5 to help them establish the meaning of the collocations
in bold. Then ask them to find the equivalent collocations
in 4. Ask students to compare their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a develop, measures
b highlight, issues
c provide, insights
d identify, improvements
e devise plans
f give, an overview
6  17  Tell students that they’re going to listen to
three discussions about strategic objectives at a coffee
manufacturer and retailer. Engage students with this
situation by asking them to cover up the information
in this exercise and speculate about what the strategic
objectives might be. Then ask students to study the
incomplete strategy map. Check the meaning of staff
turnover rate (the number of employees leaving a company
divided by the total number of employees at a company).
Play the recording and ask students to listen and complete
the strategy map. Ask students to compare their answers
in pairs before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a Improve retail experience
b Reduce waste
c Develop career opportunities
 17  new people up to speed.
1
Marcus:  So what did the customer data tell us, Kim?
Kim:  We did quite well overall and customers are
generally satisfied.
Marcus:  That’s great news, but are there any
improvements we can make?
Kim:  Well, many customers think we don’t provide the
best cup of coffee out there, but they are generally
happy with the quality against price.
Marcus:  Are you saying we’re seen as a bit of a budget brand?
36 06 Business development In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Kim:  I think so, yeah. And improving the quality would
allow us to charge more, which would help our
operating profit.
Marcus:  Do you mean our customers are prepared to pay
higher prices?
Kim:  Yeah, the research suggests they would but it’d have
to be a new product range.
Marcus:  That’s very interesting – was there anything else?
Kim:  Yes, actually. To support a premium price, it would
be good to improve the retail experience. You know,
modernize some of the coffee shops. We’re getting a lot
of feedback suggesting the interiors are a bit tired. If we
improve that, we improve the general retail experience
and that will make it easier to charge higher prices.
Marcus:  Okay, that’s really interesting. Thanks, Kim.
2
Marcus:  Hi, Greg. I was talking to Kim and she thinks
the data from the scorecard supports introducing a
higher-quality premium product. What do you think
about that?
Greg:  I agree, I think it’s a really good idea. There’s lots
we can do to improve quality throughout the supply
chain. We could source the coffee from higher-end
suppliers and there are lots of different things we
could do with the roasting process.
Marcus:  So you mean we wouldn’t have to change any
machines?
Greg:  Not at all, we can just modify the process. At the
moment, we’re producing to a price. We can change
that quite quickly.
Marcus:  That’s great to hear. Did your analysis show up
anything else?
Greg:  Actually, it did. Our levels of waste are extremely
high. I think, if we reviewed our production process,
we could cut waste by up to 10%.
Marcus:  Really? Why do you think we have such a waste
problem?
Greg:  Well, I think it’s partly some poor processes but I
also think we need to look at our people strategy. I
mean, we’ve got really high staff turnover and newer
staff make a lot of mistakes.
3
Marcus:  Hi, Antonio. I was just talking to Greg and he
mentioned we have some skills gaps. How do you feel
about that?
Antonio:  Well, I agree. People don’t stay long enough to
get the skills and we’re having to work hard to bring
Marcus:  So, in other words, our turnover’s too high. We
really need to hold on to people. Why do you think
we have such a problem?
Antonio:  Well, I think people don’t believe they can
go anywhere here. I mean, the last three senior
appointments have been from outside. People just don’t
think there are any opportunities here. That’s supported
by exit interviews. If we can change that and improve
career opportunities for the staff, people will stay longer,
quality will go up and that’ll see sales rise a lot.
Marcus:  Okay. Thanks, Antonio.
 CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES

7  17 Tell students that they’re going to listen again
and focus on the specific language that the speakers use
to summarize, to check understanding and to support
and encourage. You could ask students to predict what
the missing words or phrases are, based on what they can
remember and what they already know about language
that’s used for these purposes. Play the recording again
and ask students to complete the sentences. Ask students
to compare their answers in pairs before playing the
recording a second time so they can check answers.
ANSWERS
a Are you saying
b Do you mean
c very interesting
d you mean
e Really
f in other words
2 Refer students to their respective pages at the back
of the book and give them time to prepare. They then
roleplay the scenario, completing the strategy map
together. Monitor the discussions and give feedback when
they have finished. Students could also present and explain
the strategy map to the rest of the class.
1 Ask your student to complete the strategy
1:1 map with areas for improvement in their
company. Ask them to present and explain
their strategy map to you. Listen and ask
questions.
2 Ask your student to take the role of Student B and
you take the role of Student A. Ask your student to
complete the strategy map based on your discussion.
Check the strategy map and give feedback when you
have finished.

8 Elicit or check the meaning of encourage (to give

someone the feeling that it would be a good idea to do
something). Ask students to do the matching task, using
the completed sentences in 7 to help them deduce the
functions of the expressions. Check answers in class.
ANSWERS
1 f
2 a, b, d
3 c, e
9 More confident students can spontaneously say the
exchanges in A/B pairs, using the relevant expressions
from 7. Remind students to use appropriate intonation.
Less confident students can read the exchanges, complete
them with expressions that have the functions given
in brackets and then read them aloud in pairs. Monitor
students’ exchanges to make sure that they’re using the
correct expressions.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
2 Do you mean our processes are not efficient?
3 So, in other words, nearly a quarter of our deliveries are late.
4 Are you saying we need to use new ordering software?
Raising finance
1 Put students into pairs and ask them to read the
statements. Check the meaning of the collocation float on
the stock exchange (to make stock in a company available
for the public to buy for the first time). Then ask students
to choose the statement which most closely reflects their
opinion. Students then tell their partners which statement
they’ve chosen, giving reasons. Encourage students to
bring in examples of their own experiences of raising
finance where appropriate. Conduct whole-class feedback.
2 Put students into pairs and ask them to discuss what
the company could do to expand. Conduct feedback
on students’ answers and establish what the two main
options are (organic growth or inter-firm cooperation).
ANSWER
Pellini’s has two main ways of expansion. It can either pursue an
organic growth strategy, where it develops new premises and busi-
ness opportunities itself, or it can attempt to grow through merger
and acquisition.

Over to you
1 Put students into pairs and ask each student to think
of four problems or possibilities for improvement at their
company and write a short sentence describing each one.
Students then take it in turns to read their sentences
aloud for their partner to react to them, either with an
expression for summarizing, checking understanding,
or supporting and encouraging, as in 9. They can then
continue the conversation by responding to their partner’s
question, or the response to the original sentence they
said, e.g. clarifying how savings could be made.

In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017 06 Business development 37
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES

wExtra activityw 4 Tell students they’re going to read an article about

corporate finance options and match the headings to the
Ask students to brainstorm the advantages and
correct paragraphs. Encourage students to focus on the
disadvantages of using a) organic growth and b) inter-
key content words in each paragraph to help them. Ask
firm cooperation and then to expand and write down
students to compare their answers in pairs before checking
their ideas. Encourage students to think of three or
answers in class.
more advantages and three or more disadvantages for
each. Conduct whole-class feedback on students’ ideas. ANSWERS
Students can do this in pairs or on their own. Possible a Using Existing Assets
answers could be: b Equity Finance
c Operating Profits
Organic growth: d Debt Finance
Advantages Disadvantages
5 Ask students to start by reading the definitions and
Low-risk strategy Tends to be slow guessing what the verb-noun collocations with these
Company maintains Harder to achieve in difficult definitions could be. Students can then reread the article
control economic circumstances and find the matching collocations. Check students’
No threat to jobs or Doesn’t remove competitors answers as a class.
company culture ANSWERS
a raise money
Inter-firm cooperation: b issue shares
Advantages Disadvantages c retain profits
Enables companies to Redundancies may be d borrow money
move into new markets necessary e fund projects
f service debt
Helps companies to Problems caused by language
neutralize competitors / cultural barriers 6 Ask students to think about the sources of finance that
Tends to produce rapid Company may lose some their company uses and then discuss their ideas in pairs.
expansion control Monitor students’ discussions and offer them assistance
with any specific vocabulary they need. Conduct whole-
class feedback.
3 Put students into pairs. Ask them to brainstorm and
discuss possible ways in which Pellini’s could raise enough 7  18  Tell students that they’re going to listen to
money – probably a few million dollars – to buy the smaller Pellini’s management team discussing several of the
competitor. If students are unsure about what the options options that they’ve just read about and identify which
could be, give them an example, e.g. using their own one they choose. You could ask students to predict which
profits and equity reserves, to start them off. Conduct option they think the management team are most likely
whole-class feedback on the ideas students have come up to choose based on what they already know about Pellini’s,
with and assist with any vocabulary that students would and about corporate finance in general. Then play the
like to use to describe them, but are unsure about, e.g. recording and ask students to identify the option they
lender or interest charge. choose.
SUGGESTED ANSWER ANSWER
All companies have three basic options when looking to raise They choose debt finance.
money. (1) They can fund the venture through their own profits,
assets or equity reserves. (2) They can raise money by selling
equity (ownership) in the business in return for a portion of the
profits. (3) They can try to borrow money from a bank or other
lender. This will incur an interest charge and must be repaid.

38 06 Business development In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017

 18 
Marcus:  Okay, I know there are a lot of options but we
have to make a decision.
Paul:  Well, we can’t raise equity. We’re too small to float
on the exchange and I don’t want to seek investment
from outside.
Laura:  No, I agree. We shouldn’t increase the number of
directors. Personally, I think we can raise the money
ourselves. We’ve got quite a big reserve and we’re
making regular profits.
Marcus:  Yes, we could do that, but I think it would leave
us exposed. We should protect our cash carefully.
Paul:  Yes, I agree with Marcus, and it would take quite a
while to raise the money.
Laura:  I guess that’s true. Well, we can approach a bank.
You know, get a loan.
Paul:  Yeah, I think that’s the best option. That would
give us enough cash pretty quickly.
Marcus:  But we might struggle to service the debt if the
repayments are too high.
Paul:  Yes, but we don’t have to repay the loan
immediately. We can delay payments until the new
venture is online and service the debt from the
operating profit.
Laura:  Can we do that?
Marcus:  Yes, I think so.
Laura:  Then that reduces the risk. I think that’s the most
attractive option.
Paul:  Yes. It has its own risks but it doesn’t put the same
pressure on our operations as the other forms of
finance do.
8  18  Ask students to listen and make notes on what
the management team say about each option – whether
they accept or reject it – and the reasons for this. You could
give students more time by pausing the recording when
the speakers have finished talking about each option. Ask
students to compare their notes in pairs at the end and
then conduct whole-class feedback.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
Equity Finance: They reject it. The company’s too small to issue
shares on the stock market and they don’t want to increase the
number of directors.
Retained Profits: They reject it. Although the company has large
cash reserves and makes regular profits, they’re worried about
being exposed (in case the company has future cash-flow issues).
They’re also concerned about the length of time it would take to
raise money through retained profits.
Debt Finance: They choose this method. Despite worrying about
being able to service the debt if repayments are high, they feel
that the ability to raise large amounts of finance quickly is very
attractive and doesn’t put so much pressure on their operations.
Furthermore, they believe they can delay repayments, making the
debt easier to manage.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs to discuss these questions: Do
you agree with the team’s decision and the reasons they gave
for it? Do you think you/your company would make the same
decision in that situation? You may want to introduce or
review the expression If I were you/them, I’d … or In their
position, I’d … so that students can use it to say which
option they would choose.
Grammar tip
Ask students to read the information and examples in
the box and make sure they understand the words and
structures we use after modal verbs for obligation and
the verb recommend.
9 Students are now going to look at how to use modal
verbs in the context of a decision-making meeting to make
recommendations, say what’s necessary and not necessary
and say what’s possible. This is likely to be revision for
students at this level. Ask students to read the sentences
(which are all extracts from the Pellini meeting) and identify
the function of the modal verbs in each one. Encourage
them to use the context of the rest of the sentence and
what they can remember about how the sentence was used
during the meeting to help them. Ask students to compare
their answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
1 have to
2 should
3 shouldn’t
4 don’t have to
5 could, might
10 Ask students to rewrite the sentences, referring to
the Grammar tip as necessary. They can check answers in
pairs before you check in class.
ANSWERS
a We have to keep a cash reserve.
b We could borrow the money. / We might borrow the money.
c We should issue equity.
d We don’t have to repay the debt immediately.
e We shouldn’t look for private investors.
Over to you
Ask students to work with a partner and decide who
will be Student A and Student B. Ask Student A to read
the information on page 33 and Student B to read the
information on page 51 at the back of the book. Give them
time to prepare for and roleplay the scenarios. For Scenario
1, check the meaning of plot of land (a specific piece of
land which can be purchased) and semi-detached house (a
house which is connected to one other house). Monitor the
roleplays and give feedback when they have finished.
Get your student to take the role of Student A for
1:1 both Scenarios 1 and 2, and you take the role of
Student B. Give feedback when you have finished.
06 Business development 39

05–06 Video
Before you watch
Put students into pairs to discuss the questions. Encourage
them to be as specific as they can when they’re talking
about the financial results they look at, the form that these
take, i.e. how they are presented and how students access
them, what they learn from looking at them and how they
use this information. Conduct whole-class feedback.
While you watch
1   Tell students that they’re going to watch the
first section of the video, in which Alex, George (who
they haven’t met before) and Andy talk about how their
companies use interim results. Ask students to read the
statements and predict whether the sentences will be
true or false based on what they know about interim
results and how companies use them. Play the section on
Interim results and ask students to mark the statements
true or false and then write correct versions of the false
statements. Ask students to check their answers in pairs
before checking answers in class. You could then ask
students which of the three speaker’s opinions is closest to
their own, giving reasons.
ANSWERS
a F – He assesses performance every quarter.
b T
c F – No, he also has goals for the next few years, quarterly goals
and monthly goals.
d T
e F – He looks at them very regularly.
f T
2   In the next section on Variances between forecasts
and results, students are going to look in more detail at
how companies deal with discrepancies between forecast
figures and actuals. Play this section and ask students to
make notes on their answers. Students can then compare
their answers in pairs before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a turnover forecasts
b Turnover was lower than the forecast but they recruited staff
based on the forecast. It lowered profitability.
c They reduced staff levels – one person had to go.
d They try to produce more realistic forecasts.
40 VIDEO UNITS 05–06 In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs and ask them to interview
each other about an incident of a discrepancy between
forecasts and results at their company or a company
they know well. They should ask each other about the
following: 1) what the discrepancy was, 2) possible
reasons why it happened, 3) how the company dealt
with it, and 4) what the company learned from the
experience. Give students time to prepare their questions
and answers and then have them interview each other.
Students could also record these interviews with a
mobile device or video camera and focus not only on
what they’re saying, but also on their body language. If
students make recordings, they can then watch them
back and reflect on how effective their performance and
that of their partner was, both in terms of their use of
English and their body language and self-presentation.
3   Tell students that they’re going to watch an
interview with Alex in which he talks about how his
company uses balanced scorecards. Ask students to read
all the sentences in the incomplete summary and predict
what the missing words could be. Play the section on
Balanced scorecards and ask students to complete the
summary. Alternatively, students may prefer to make
notes on what Alex says while they’re listening and then
use them to complete the summary afterwards. You can
then ask students to compare their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a their own responsibilities
b growth, business, marketing
c new business, service
d admin, staffing
e weekly meetings
4   Elicit or check the meaning of management
consultant (a person who advises companies on how
they can improve their performance). Tell students
they’re going to watch the next section on Management
consultants, in which Sumeer talks about how his company
has used them. Play this section and ask students to
make notes on their answers. Play the section again if
necessary so that students can check their answers. Check
answers in class.
ANSWERS
a To help identify acquisition targets.
b They research targets and then work with the management to
choose a target.
 CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES

Finance speak
Students are now going to review and check their
understanding of some useful terms for talking about
finance which they heard in the video. If students aren’t
Review 05–06
sure about the meaning of all of the items in the box,
This review section gives students an opportunity to
encourage them to start with the items they do know
consolidate what they’ve learned and do some further
and then use the context to deduce what the remaining
practice with the language and content of Units 05 and
missing words could be. Students can work in pairs to
06. You could use these sections in class after completing
complete the sentences. Check answers as a class.
these units or later in the course as a review activity.
ANSWERS Alternatively, you could assign them as homework or use
a break down them to help students who’ve missed a lesson to catch up
b capacity with the rest of the group. After students have completed
c according to the exercises, ask them to go through the checklist as a
d on course reminder of what they have covered in these two units.
e impact
f going forward 05 Interim results
g narrow
h explore ANSWERS
1
1 d  2 a  3 b  4 f  5 e  6 c
After you watch 2
a in line with
Students could discuss the questions either with a partner b due to
or in small groups. Encourage students to give examples c because
from their experiences and working lives when responding d down on / behind
to all three questions. They may have interesting anecdotes e behind / down on
to share, in which case encourage them to do so, but 3
ensure that students don’t feel under pressure to share a Just to summarize
private or confidential information. Give students about b What’s your view
ten minutes to discuss the questions and then conduct c So you’re proposing
whole-class feedback. d how do we go about it
e go away and report back
4
a If we don’t cut costs, profits are going to fall.
b If we raised prices, (our) customers would leave.
c If costs go up, we will need to save money.
d If we saved 3%, we would cut costs.
e If we review/reviewed our processes, we will/would save money.

06 Business development
ANSWERS
1
a highlights  b devise  c provide  d identify  e give
2
a words  b interesting  c saying  d saying  e mean
3
a retain  b service  c issue  d raise  e fund

In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017 REVIEW UNITS 05–06 41
07
Learning objectives
Financial services
and advice
In this unit, students will practise negotiating
hedging (noun [uncountable]) an action taken to reduce
the risk of a financial transaction
letter of credit (noun [countable]) a document sent
from one bank to another that guarantees payment as
letters of credit, and giving and receiving tax
long as certain conditions are met
advice. They will read a commercial banking
options contract (noun [countable]) a contract that
website page and an executive summary. Students
gives the holder the right to buy or sell an asset at today’s
will also listen to telephone calls about letters
price at a future time
of credit and a meeting about tax advice. The
port of discharge (noun [countable]) a place where the
language focus is on banking and tax expressions,
items in a shipment are unloaded before being sent on to
phrases for negotiating, and phrases for making
the recipients
recommendations and suggestions.
purchase order (noun [countable]) document issued by
Digital resources: Unit 07 the buyer’s company authorizing the transaction
tax relief (noun [uncountable]) a reduction in tax that
Audio; Video; Photocopiable worksheet;
you are allowed for a particular reason
Glossary; Answer key; Listening script; Teacher’s
Presentation Kit

Background information Warm up

This unit focuses on the services that banks, Start by drawing students’ attention to the quote from
accountants and tax advisors provide to companies. Benjamin Franklin. Ask students to discuss the questions
The main purpose of these services is to help in the Warm up. Check they understand that Franklin
companies process payments, both domestic and thinks that having to pay taxes is as unavoidable as
international, to provide them with credit when death. Then ask these questions:
necessary and to advise them on how to reduce ●
 Do you think that dealing with taxation is the most
their tax bill. Students will also look at some of the important aspect of financial services?
documents which are used during this process, such ●
 Which other financial services do you know of, e.g.
as bills of exchange and lading, and letters of credit. providing credit, insurance services, etc?
There are many resources online that have been
created to provide information about financial Banking services
services and tax advice. Here are some links to get
you started: 1 Tell students that they’re going to start by looking
at the services that banks offer businesses. Put students
https://www.crfonline.org/orc/cro/cro-9-1.html into pairs to discuss the questions. Remind students that
http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers the focus here is on companies’ relationships with banks
/042315/what-difference-between-bill-exchange rather than their own personal experiences with banks,
-and-bill-lading.asp so they don’t have to mention the latter if they don’t feel
comfortable doing that. Conduct whole-class feedback.
ANSWERS
Key terms glossary a current accounts, lines of credit such as loans and overdrafts, help
collecting payments, foreign exchange services, letters of credit
bill of exchange (noun [countable]) the seller’s order b In terms of banking, a good relationship is defined by regularly
for payment by the buyer (usually the buyer’s bank) on or servicing debt and keeping your account in credit. The bank is a
after receiving the goods key stakeholder in any business. The better your relationship with
bill of lading (noun [countable]) a shipping company’s
Warm
receipt for upgoods transported the bank, the more likely they are to extend credit lines when you
Start by allowance
drawing students’ attention tothe theright
quote from need them.
capital (noun [countable])
Benjamin Franklin. Ask students to discuss the questions
to deduct spending on equipment or other capital 2 Ask students to read the names of the documents and
in the Warm up. Check they understand
investments from the company’s tax bill that Franklin
match them to their definitions. Students may not be
thinks
declarable income (noun [uncountable]) moneyasthat
that having to pay taxes is as unavoidable
familiar with all of these English terms for documents, but
death.
a person Then ask theseearns
or company questions:
that they have to let the tax encourage them to use the words that they do know in the
office
●
  Doknow aboutthat
you think so that theywith
dealing can be charged
taxation is tax
the on it
most document names, e.g. debit and purchase, to deduce their
deposit (verb)aspect
important to pay of
money intoservices?
financial a bank account definitions. Ask students to compare their answers in pairs
forward
●
  Whichcontract (noun services
other financial [countable]) an know
do you agreement
of, e.g. before checking answers in class.
between two people
providing credit,or organizations
insurance to buy
services, etc. or sell an
asset at a set date in the future ANSWERS
1 b  2 c  3 d  4 a

42 07 Financial services and advice In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017

3 Tell students they’re going to read an article about
banking services and match the services to the documents
from 2. The aim is for students to read for gist and get a
general overview of the information about each type of
service, so discourage them from worrying about unknown
vocabulary items at this point. Encourage students to
focus on the key content words in each paragraph that
they do know to help them identify the correct documents.
Ask students to compare their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a Direct Debits & IBANS
b Invoices & Purchase Orders
c Forward & Options Contracts
d Bills of Exchange & Lading
4 Ask students to first use their existing vocabulary
knowledge and what they can remember from the text
in 3 to match the words and then refer to the text to
check or complete their answers. Students can compare
their answers in pairs before you check them in class.
Students may be unsure about the meaning of some
words, e.g. mitigate (to reduce or avoid the negative effects
of something) and reassurance (something which makes
someone feel less nervous, scared or doubtful).
ANSWERS
1 d 3 b 5 a 7 f  9 g
2 c 4 e 6 j 8 i 10 h
5 Elicit or check the meaning of creditworthiness and then
ask students to complete the sentences. Encourage them
to use the context to help them. Students can compare
their answers in pairs before you check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a do business, get reassurance, cash-flow issues
b streamline, processes, deposit cash
c hedging strategies, mitigate, risks
d working capital, sales ledger
6 Put students into pairs to discuss their answers to the
questions. If students have experience of working with
letters of credit, encourage them to bring these experiences
into their discussions. If they don’t, they can use their
knowledge of letters of credit and working in finance in
general to speculate about what the common problems with
letters of credit could be. Conduct whole-class feedback.
7  19  Refer students to the information about Cain
Daniels on the left. Check the meaning of metal refiner (a
company that refines natural materials to produce metals)
and ore (natural material that we take out of the Earth
and refine to produce metals or minerals). Ask students to
read the information and instructions. Check the meaning
of port of discharge (see Key terms) and waive (release
someone from an obligation to do something) and then
ask students to read the six questions and make sure they
understand them. Play the recording and ask students to
listen and write either 1 (for phone call 1) or 2 (for phone
call 2) next to each question. Play the recording again if
necessary and then check answers.
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
ANSWERS
a  phone call 1 d  phone call 1
b  phone call 1 e  phone call 2
c  phone call 2 f   phone call 2
 19 
1
Chris:  Good morning, Cain Daniels. Chris Perry
speaking. How can I help you?
Ryan:  Good morning. This is Ryan Simpson from New
Capital Bank. I’m calling about a letter of credit, our
reference BK 4536 FJ.
Chris:  Let me just check our system. Yes, I’ve found that.
How can I help you?
Ryan:  Well, we’ve just received the bill of lading and I’m
afraid we’ve noticed a discrepancy between the bill of
lading and the original letter of credit.
Chris:  Oh no. Could I ask what the discrepancy is?
Ryan:  Well, the letter of credit specifies the port of
discharge as Harwich, but the bill of lading states the
port of discharge as Southampton.
Chris:  Okay ... I’ve checked our copy of the bill of lading
and I can see Southampton is specified. I’ll just check
the purchase order.
… No, the port specified on the purchase order is
Southampton. So I’m happy to waive the discrepancy.
I’m sure it’s just a mistake. We’ve done business with
this supplier several times.
Ryan:  Okay, I’m able to authorize that but I will need
to receive confirmation of the waiver in writing and
authorization to amend the letter of credit. We’ll also
need to confirm the amendment with the beneficiary.
Chris:  Okay, how long will that take?
Ryan:  I can’t say precisely, but it could take up to three
working days.
Chris:  Okay, but once this amendment is confirmed,
you’ll release the funds?
Ryan:  Yes, I’d expect us to release the funds shortly after
confirmation.
Chris:  Okay, thanks for contacting us.
Ryan:  No problem. Thanks, bye.
2
Chris:  Good afternoon, Cain Daniels. Chris Perry
speaking. How can I help you?
Samantha:  Good afternoon, this is Samantha White from
New Capital Bank. I’m calling about a letter of credit,
our reference BK 2347 AD.
Chris:  Another one? I was just speaking to your colleague
this morning.
Samantha: Really?
Chris:  Yes, but we do have a lot of outstanding
purchases. Anyway, how can I help?
Samantha:  Well, we’ve just received the bill of lading and
I’m afraid we’ve noticed a discrepancy between the
bill of lading and the original letter of credit.
Chris:  Okay, I thought so. Could I ask what the
discrepancy is?
07 Financial services and advice 43
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
Samantha:  Well, the letter of credit specifies 500 tonnes
of copper ore, but I’m afraid the bill of lading
specifies 700 tonnes.
Chris:  Okay, let me just check our records.
  … So I’ve checked our records and we haven’t
received a bill of lading, but our purchase order
specifies 500 tonnes.
Samantha: Okay.
Chris:  I don’t want to waive this until I’ve checked it out.
Could I contact our purchasing department and get
back to you?
Samantha:  No problem.
Chris:  What’s your number, please?
Samantha:  It’s 020 7 889 5676.
Chris:  Okay, I’ll look into this and get back to you.
8  19  Tell students that they’re going to listen again
and focus on the specific language used in the two phone
calls. Before you play the recording again, you could ask
students to predict the correct words based on what they
can remember. Then play the recording so that students
can check or complete their answers. Ask students to
compare their answers in pairs before checking answers
in class. You may want to draw students’ attention to
the use of language to soften and add politeness in these
sentences, e.g. the use of just in front of verbs (a and c),
the use of Could I …? (b and h) to make polite requests and
the phrase I’m happy to + verb (d) to show willingness to
help. Tell students that this kind of language is often used
by native speakers of English.
ANSWERS
a just, system
b Could, discrepancy
c purchase
d waive
e amendment, release
f records, specifies
g checked, out
h contact, get
9 Encourage students to try to complete the conversation
without looking back at the phrases from 8. They can then
look back at 8 to check their answers. Students can also
use the words that come before and after the gap to help
them deduce what type of word should go in the gap, e.g.
a verb must follow the word to in gap c. Check answers
in class by asking two students to read the conversation
aloud.
ANSWERS
a just, check, system
b what, discrepancy
c waive, discrepancy
d waive, checked
e contact, get back
44 07 Financial services and advice In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
wExtra activityw
Getting the right intonation is important when you’re
asking questions to make requests and check information.
You could remind students that we usually use a rising
intonation at the end of closed questions with yes/
no answers and a falling intonation at the end of open
questions. Ask students to work in pairs and take it in
turns to read the conversation in 9 aloud. Monitor students
as they’re reading the conversation, offering correction
with the intonation of the questions where necessary.
Over to you
Ask students to work with a partner and decide who
will be Student A and Student B. Refer students to their
respective pages at the back of the book, and give them
time to prepare for and roleplay Scenario 1. They then
swap roles and roleplay Scenario 2, which is a similar
situation. If time is short, students could just do one of the
scenarios. Monitor the roleplays and give feedback when
they have finished.
Get your student to take the role of Student A
1:1 for both Scenarios 1 and 2, and you take the
role of Student B. Give feedback when you have
finished.
Tax planning
1 Put students into pairs and ask them to read the
statements and choose the one which most closely reflects
their opinion of tax. Students then tell their partners
which statement they’ve chosen, giving reasons. Encourage
students to bring in examples of their own experiences
of dealing with corporate taxation where appropriate.
Even if students don’t have any experience with corporate
taxation, they should all have experience of paying tax,
so they could bring this into their discussions if they feel
comfortable doing so. Conduct whole-class feedback.
2 Ask students to read the information and think about
the standard ways in which businesses can reduce their tax
bill. Encourage them to think in general terms, e.g. make
use of tax exemptions, rather than getting into the specific
details of the taxation system in the country where they
live. Students can discuss their ideas in pairs. Conduct
whole-class feedback.
Suggested answer
Standard ways to reduce tax liability are to reduce income by
increasing expenses or use any tax exemptions that the tax authori-
ties allow.

3  20 
Before playing the recording, ask students to
predict what the four main suggestions will be. Then play
the recording and ask them to make notes on the four
main suggestions proposed. Ask students to compare their
answers in pairs before checking answers in class. Check
students know the meaning of capital allowances.
ANSWERS
a claim capital allowances on asset purchases
b bring forward maintenance work and incur expenses earlier
c delay income
d change the accounting period to close the accounts before the
summer
 20 
Clive:  Thanks for coming, Gary.
Gary:  No problem, Clive. This is my associate, Sonia.
Sonia:  Hi, pleased to meet you.
Clive:  Pleased to meet you.
Gary:  So, how can we help, Clive?
Clive:  Well, as I said on the phone, we had an amazing
summer last year and that was great but it’s also
tipped us into the higher-rate tax bracket and we’re
facing an enormous tax bill. Basically, I’d like to keep
as much of our profits as we can.
Gary:  Absolutely, well done on last year.
Clive: Thanks.
Gary:  But obviously we don’t want you to give up all your
profits. Can I bring Sonia in here?
Clive:  Of course.
Sonia:  Well, I’ve had a look through your accounts,
thanks for sending them through …
Clive:  Not a problem.
Sonia:  … and I think there’s a number of things we can do.
Clive:  That’s great.
Sonia:  Well, firstly, I noticed you purchased several
assets last year.
Clive:  That’s right.
Sonia:  And you’ve recorded them directly and amortized
them in the normal way.
Clive:  Yes, that’s right.
Sonia:  But the thing is, you’re entitled to capital
allowances on asset purchases. This means you can
claim tax relief on the purchase price of the asset.
Clive:  Yes, right.
Sonia:  So what we need to do is deduct the asset
purchase price from your operating profit, which
would reduce your operating profit to £400,000.
Clive:  That’s great but it still leaves us with a big bill.
Sonia:  Yes, that’s true, but there’s more we could do. For
example, we see from the information you sent us
that you’re preparing to do some maintenance work
soon.
Clive:  That’s right. The park needs constant upkeep.
Sonia:  Well, how about bringing that work forward,
before you close the accounts?
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
Clive:  So we’d incur those expenses earlier?
Sonia:  That’s right. And that would bring profits down by
another £30,000 to £370,000.
Clive:  Okay, that would be great but the bill will still be
quite large.
Gary:  Yes. We were wondering if you had income you
could delay.
Clive:  How do you mean?
Sonia:  Well, if you could delay any income you receive
before the end of the accounting period, then you
wouldn’t have to pay the tax until next year.
Clive:  Well, that’d be difficult. We make most of our
income in the summer and it’s all already earned.
There’s no way we can defer much.
Sonia:  Okay, then we need a more radical solution.
Clive:  And what would that be?
Sonia:  Well, do you expect such a busy summer next year?
Clive:  We’d like to think so but it really depends on the
weather.
Sonia:  So, your current accounting period runs from
January 1st until December 31st. This means your
peak period, the summer, is included in this year’s
income. Why don’t you change your accounting period
so that you close the accounts just before the summer?
Clive:  Can we do that?
Sonia:  Yes, you can. We’d need to provide a reason but
we can deal with that later.
Clive: Okay.
Sonia:  So, if you did that, you’d be able to defer your
summer income until next year’s tax payment. That’ll
comfortably get you below £300,000 and it’s unlikely
you’ll make the same profits next year. You know the
British weather!
4 Put students into pairs and ask them to discuss how good
they think the suggestions are and whether they would give
the same advice if they were the accountants in this situation.
If students have a good knowledge of tax regulations in their
country, they should be able to say whether it would also be
possible to do the things the advisors suggest there. Bringing
forward maintenance work to incur expenses earlier and
delaying income should be possible everywhere, but claiming
capital allowances on asset purchases and changing the
accounting period may not be.
5 Tell students that they’re going to order some
sentences from the meeting. They can use what they
remember from listening to the meeting to help them.
Don’t check answers at this stage.
6  21  Play the recording and ask students to listen
out for the words they ordered in 5, so that they can check
their answers. If necessary, play the recording again. Draw
students’ attention to the use of the conditional structure
if you did that, you’d be able to defer and elicit or explain
that this is used to show that deferring is a hypothetical
possibility, which is only likely to happen if the client is in
agreement with it.
07 Financial services and advice 45
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
ANSWERS
a But the thing is
b what we need to do is
c how about bringing
d Why don’t you change
e if you did that, you’d be able to defer
 21  11 Ask students to look back at the report in 9 and find
a But the thing is, you’re entitled to capital allowances
on asset purchases.
b So what we need to do is deduct the asset purchase
price from your operating profit.
c Well, how about bringing that work forward, before
you close the accounts?
d Why don’t you change your accounting period so that
you close the accounts just before the summer?
e So, if you did that, you’d be able to defer your
summer income until next year’s tax payment.
7 Ask students to look back at the complete sentences from
5 and match them to their functions. Check answers in class.
ANSWERS
1 a  2 c, d  3 
b, e
8 Tell students that they’re going to focus on the
structures following the phrases for making suggestions
in 5. Ask students to refer to the sentences in 5 to help
them see what the correct structures are. Ask students to
compare answers in pairs before checking in class.
ANSWERS
a 3  b 5  c 1  d 4  e 2
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs. Ask each student to think of and
write down five issues that they’re currently having at
work that they need a suggestion or recommendation for.
Give them a couple of possible examples of issues, e.g.
I need to increase my productivity at work. I need to be able
to understand financial documents in English. Students then
take it in turns to tell their partner what their issues are
and make a suggestion for how they can deal with each
issue. Remind students to use the phrases for making
suggestions from 8. Monitor students’ conversations and
give them feedback when they’ve finished.
9 Tell students that they’re now going to read and
complete a summary of the recommendations that the
accountants made to Martin’s Holiday Park regarding
the tax strategy they should adopt. Ask students to read
the report all the way through once and then go back
and decide which sentences should go in which gaps.
Students only need to write the number for each sentence.
Check answers in class. You could also ask students
how this executive summary compares with reports on
recommendations which they write or read at work.
ANSWERS
a 3  b 2  c 5  d 1  e 4
46 07 Financial services and advice In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
10 Ask students to match the words from the report to
their meanings, using the context in the report to help
them. Ask students to compare answers in pairs before
checking in class.
ANSWERS
a 4  b 2  c 5  d 1  e 3
the sentences they need to help them complete sentences a,
b and c. Students then complete the recommendations with
the correct verbs. Check students’ answers. Elicit the two
structures used with the verbs, referring to the Grammar tip.
ANSWERS
a propose  b recommend  c 
suggest
Grammar tip
Ask students to read the information and examples in the
box and make sure they understand the two structures
that you can use to make suggestions with the verbs
propose, recommend and suggest. Tell students that they’re
now going to practise using these structures in 12.
12 Ask students to rewrite the sentences using the
words in brackets. If the word in brackets is a verb, they
will need to formulate the sentence in one of the two ways
(or both ways) they looked at in the Grammar tip. If the
words in brackets don’t include a verb, they will need to
make a phrase to use in the sentences. Ask students to
compare their sentences in pairs before checking answers
in class.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a I suggest shortening / that we shorten the accounting period.
b What we need to do is bring forward expenses.
c I propose claiming / that they claim capital allowances.
d How about deferring some of your income?
e The thing is, you can claim tax relief.
Over to you
1 Ask your student to tell you about how their
1:1 company or a company they know well could
reduce its tax liability. Listen and ask
questions.
2 Get your student to take the role of Student A, and you
take the role of Student B for Scenarios 1 and 2. Give
feedback when you have finished.
wExtra activityw
Ask students to write a report summarizing the
recommendations they made during the Over to you
roleplay in which they were the tax consultant. Students
can use the report on page 39 as a model and write a
text of roughly the same length. Remind students to
use the verbs (propose, recommend, suggest) for making
suggestions that they’ve learned. Monitor students and
give feedback when they’ve finished.
08Learning objectives
Auditing
In this unit, students will practise making small talk
and building relationships, opening a meeting, and
asking sensitive questions. They will read a blog post
on relationship-building skills and an audit policy.
Students will also listen to a social conversation, an
opening meeting, and a difficult conversation. The
language focus is on auditing expressions, meetings
expressions, and indirect questions.
Digital resources: Unit 08
Audio; Video; Photocopiable worksheet;
Glossary; Answer key; Listening script; Teacher’s
Presentation Kit
Background information
Financial auditing is the process of checking a
company’s financial statements against specified
criteria – usually international accounting standards.
Auditors are unbiased, independent financial experts
who are deemed capable of providing a reasonable
reassurance that a company’s financial statements
are accurate. They do this by examining the financial
statements and then giving, or rendering, an
opinion on whether the financial statements comply
with accounting standards and whether there are
any errors in them.
There are many resources online that have been
created to provide information about auditing. Here
are some links to get you started:
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/audit.asp
http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/auditing/
http://www.pwc.com/m1/en/services/assurance
/what-is-an-audit.html
Key terms glossary
audit (verb) to officially examine the financial records of
a company, organization, or person to see that they are
accurate
audit (noun [countable]) an official examination of the
financial records of a company, organization, or person to
see that they are accurate
irregularity (noun [countable]) a situation in which the
rules, laws, or usual ways of doing things have not been
followed
reconcile (verb) to make two sets of accounting data
consistent
regulative (adjective) relating to regulations
render (verb) to officially announce a judgment or decision
segregation (noun [uncountable]) the process of
dividing something up
transaction (noun [countable]) the action or process of
buying or selling something
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Warm up
Start by drawing students’ attention to the quote from
Michael Strachan. Ask students to discuss the question
in the Warm up. Check they understand that Strachan
means that if auditors do too good a job, their clients
may want to end their relationship with them because
the client has to make corrections to their financial
reporting, pay more tax than expected or pay a fine. Then
ask these questions:
●
  D o you have any first-hand experience of auditors
losing business by doing too good a job?
●
  W hat kind of relationship usually exists between an
auditor and the company they work for? Is it friendly,
hostile, neutral, etc?
How to start an audit
1 Put students into pairs and ask them to read the
statements. Check the meaning of credibility (a quality that
makes it possible for you to believe in or trust someone or
something). Then ask students to choose the statement
which most closely reflects their opinion and tell their
partners why they agree with it, giving reasons. Encourage
students to bring in examples of their own experiences of
audits where appropriate. Conduct whole-class feedback.
You could also ask students to give all the advantages and
disadvantages of being audited they can think of.
2 Tell students that they’re going to read a blog post
about the importance of relationship-building for auditors.
Find out what students think auditors can or should do
in order to establish a good relationship with the people
at the company they’re auditing. Then ask students to
read the blog post and find the answers to the questions.
Put students into pairs to discuss the questions before
checking answers in class. You could also ask students
whether they agree with the advice given in the blog post.
Students’ answers are likely to be influenced by the culture
they’re from.
ANSWERS
a Because an auditor’s main job is to give an opinion on the
accounts.
b It can make things go more quickly and smoothly and makes
asking sensitive questions easier.
c Auditors need to keep clients happy so they come back the
following year.
08 Auditing 47
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
3 Tell students that they’re going to focus on specific
words and phrases used in the blog post. Check the
meaning of unbiased (showing no preference or prejudice
towards one group of people’s interests or another’s). You
could ask students to use the meanings to predict the
missing words and phrases and then reread the blog post
to check. Then check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a the entity
b approachable
c calm people down
d impartially
wExtra activityw
Refer students to the blog post in 2 and ask them to
think of five tips that they would give to auditors doing
an audit at their company. These can be both general
and specific and include recommendations on how to
carry out the audit, as well as practical advice, such as
where the auditors can have lunch. Students can discuss
what tips they would give in pairs and then write them
down. Encourage students to use the language they’ve
learned so far in this course for making suggestions
and recommendations, e.g. I suggest + verb + -ing …, You
should/shouldn’t …, You have to …, etc. Conduct whole-
class feedback on the tips students have written.
4 Divide students into A/B pairs and ask them to read
the information. Give students time to prepare and to
think about what would be good small-talk topics in this
context. Students then roleplay the conversation in pairs.
When they’ve finished, give students feedback on how
successfully they demonstrated that they’re friendly and
approachable or how successfully they made small talk.
5  22  Tell students that they’re going to listen
to a conversation between a finance director and an
auditor. Ask students to read the questions and check the
meaning of keep the conversation going (do something to
make a conversation continue). You could ask students
to speculate about what the answers to the questions
could be. How similar do they expect the conversation
to be to theirs? Then play the recording and ask students
to make notes on their answers. Check answers in class
and conduct whole-class feedback on how similar the
conversation was to students’ own conversations in 4.
ANSWERS
a getting there, traffic, cycling/walking to work, travelling for work
b responding to what the other person says, asking questions
c Students’ own answers
 22 
Ian:  Hi, I’m Ian, the finance director.
Sarah:  Hi, Ian, I’m Sarah. Pleased to meet you.
Ian:  You too. Did you find us okay?
Sarah:  Yes, it was quite easy. I used my satnav. But the
traffic coming off the motorway was awful. I was in a
queue for over half an hour!
48 08 Auditing In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
Ian:  Oh, I know – it can be really bad during the rush
hour. I’m lucky – I can cycle to work.
Sarah:  Mmm – that’s much better. I can walk to our main
office but I have to use the car when I’m visiting clients.
Ian:  Do you travel a lot?
Sarah:  Yes, two or three times a month. Anyway, have
you worked here long?
Ian:  About three years. I was at a manufacturing
company before.
Sarah:  Oh really? This must be quite different then …
6 Ask students to read the sentences and put them
in the correct order based on what they can remember
from 5 and what they know about the typical structure of
conversations in English. You may want to help students
by telling them that the conversation started with
sentence d (Did you find us okay?). Make sure students
are aware that this is a standard phrase used in small talk
in English in order to ask someone how their journey
was. Students then order the remaining sentences. Don’t
confirm answers at this stage.
7  22  Play the recording and ask students to check
their answers. If necessary, play the recording again. You
may want to draw students’ attention to the use of the
Past Simple and Present Perfect. Elicit or explain that the
Past Simple is used to refer to finished events and the
Present Perfect is used, in this case, to refer to a situation
that is ongoing and hasn’t finished yet.
ANSWERS
1 d  2 e  3 b  4 a  5 f  6 c
8 Students may or not be familiar with the question-
answer-add small-talk technique, or rule. If they’re not, you
may want to give a quick demonstration of how it works by
getting a student to ask you a small talk question, e.g. How
was your weekend? You could then give an answer, e.g. Good,
thank you, before adding some information, e.g. I went
to the cinema. Then ask students to find examples of this
technique in 6 and to think about how these examples help
to keep the conversation going. Ask students to discuss
their answers in pairs and then check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a Did you find us okay? – Yes, it was quite easy. I used my satnav.
But the traffic coming off the motorway was awful.
Anyway, have you worked here long? – About three years. I was
at a manufacturing company before.
b If you give more information than is required, it helps to keep the
conversation going and makes it easier for the other person to
develop the conversation.
9 Ask students to write responses to the questions which
are true or realistic for them. They should include an
answer to the question and some extra information. Make
sure students are aware that they don’t have to share any
personal information which they don’t feel comfortable
sharing. As students most likely won’t be away on a
business trip while they’re taking part in this lesson, they
will need to make up a possible answer to question e.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Good thanks, but the train was a little busy.
b About two years. I started in sales.
c About an hour – there wasn’t much traffic.
d It was okay, but I had a lot of meetings.
e In a local hotel. It’s very nice.
10 Put students into pairs and ask them to take it in
turns to ask the questions in 9 and give the responses
that they wrote. Encourage students to try to make their
conversations sound as natural as possible and also to
spontaneously carry them on after one student has given
their reply. Monitor students’ conversations and then give
feedback.
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs and ask them to imagine that
they’re meeting each other for the first time in a situation
that they could actually find themselves in, e.g. during
a coffee break at a meeting or on training course, at a
conference, etc. Students spontaneously ask and respond
to each other’s questions, thereby making small talk. Tell
students that they have to keep the conversation going
for five minutes, trying to minimize pauses as much as
possible. Monitor students’ conversations and give them
feedback when they’ve finished.
The opening meeting
1  23  Ask students what they would expect an
audit team to say during an opening meeting and what
information they would expect the auditors to provide.
Then ask students to read the list of options before
listening to the recording and ticking the ones they hear.
Check answers as a class.
ANSWERS
audit-team responsibilities
the purpose of the audit
the time frame
a closing meeting
 23 
Omar:  Really good to meet you all and thanks for the
warm welcome. So the purpose of this meeting is
to confirm the audit plan and clarify the timescales.
First, let me introduce the team. My name’s Omar.
I’ll be leading the audit and Kelly and Sarah will be
assisting me. They’ll be on site at all times and they’ll
be responsible for the body of the audit. Okay, as
you know, the main aim of the audit is to render an
opinion on the accuracy of your financial information.
Let’s run through how the process works. We’ve spent
time getting to know your business and we think
we’re up to speed. Now, we’ll look at your control
structure and some of your transactions. We have a
lot of documentation already – thanks for providing
that – but if there’s anything else, who should we ask?
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
Ian:  If you just let me know, I can provide it.
Omar:  Good, thanks, Ian. So, I guess that just leaves the
time frame. Let’s go over that now. The audit will
take three days and we need a further two days to
complete the report. That means the report will be
ready by Monday and we’ll hold a closing meeting on
Monday. Are there any questions?
Ian:  Yes, I was just wondering if…
2  23  Tell students that they’re going to listen again
and focus on the specific language that Omar uses. Check
the meaning of the body of the audit (the main part of
it) and render an opinion (to give an opinion). Note that
students will look at the latter in 2 on page 42. Before you
play the recording again, you could ask students to predict
the missing words based on what they can remember. Then
play the recording so that they can check or complete their
answers. Ask students to compare their answers in pairs
before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a the purpose of
b be leading
c ’ll be responsible for
d main aim of
e run through
f go over
g will take
h will be ready by
3 Ask students to read the sentences in 2 again and identify
what Omar uses them to explain. Encourage students to use
the content or structures, such as the infinitive of purpose
(to + verb), e.g. to confirm in sentence a, to help them choose
the correct functions. Ask students to compare answers in
pairs before checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
1 
a, d  2 e, f  3 b, c  4 g, h
4 Ask students to use the information in the box on the
left and the example sentences in 2 to prepare to start an
audit opening meeting. Put students into pairs and ask
them to take it in turns to start the meeting. Monitor
students as they do this. Students can give each other
feedback on how effectively they did this and you can also
add your feedback to theirs.
How to conduct an audit
1 Tell students that they’re going to read an article about
how to begin a new audit investigation to get the gist of
the audit methodology it describes. They can ignore for
now the fact that some phrases in the text are in bold.
When students have finished reading, put them into pairs
and ask them to discuss how similar the methodology
described in the article is to that of audits they’ve been
involved in or, at least, been aware of. Encourage students
to bring in examples from their own experiences where
appropriate and compare and contrast these with what is
described in the article. Conduct whole-class feedback.
08 Auditing 49
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
2 Ask students to read the definitions and match them
to the words in bold in the article they’ve just read in 1.
Encourage them to use the context to help them. Ask
students to compare answers in pairs before checking in
class. Check answers in class and ask students to note
down any words or phrases that they want to remember.
ANSWERS
a authorization of transactions
b potential misstatement
c regulative information
d reconciling amounts
e segregation of duties
f manually check
g render an opinion
h entity’s internal controls
i physical records
3 Ask students to complete the questions with words
from their answers in 2. Encourage them to pay attention
to the words that come before and after the gap to help
them complete the questions. Students can compare their
answers in pairs before you check answers in class.
ANSWERS
a regulative
b controls
c segregation
d physical
e render
4 Divide students into pairs. Give them time to prepare
their answers to the questions in 3. Then ask students to
take it in turns to ask and answer the questions. Monitor
students’ conversations and then give feedback when
appropriate.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Auditors need to be familiar with the regulations affecting the
company being audited to ensure that the practices they observe
are within the regulations.
b If there is a clear structure of responsibility and everyone knows
what records and documents to keep, the company probably has
good, effective controls.
c It’s a good idea to have strong segregation of duties. This
ensures that there is no duplication of tasks and everyone knows
who is responsible for which task, ensuring things are not missed
and, if they are, it’s clear who is responsible.
d Students’ own answers
e Auditors need to render an opinion on the financial statements
so that external parties such as the bank and shareholders know
that the financial information is accurate and reliable.
Accounting irregularities
1 Tell students that they’re now going to look at an
auditor’s findings and the irregularities they can uncover.
Put students into pairs and ask them to read the notes
and discuss the questions. Encourage students to bring in
examples of their own experiences of auditing or working
with auditors in their answers to question c. Conduct
whole-class feedback.
50 08 Auditing In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a Because there’s no physical evidence for the transaction so it
cannot be proved.
b It’s possible that there has been an administrative error or that
the money has been stolen.
c Investigate further and probably report the irregularity to your
superior.
2  24  Tell students that they’re now going to listen
to a discussion between Kelly and finance director Ian
about the irregularity Kelly found. Ask students to read
the questions. Then play the recording and ask students to
make notes on their answers. Check answers in class.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
a He feels he’s being accused of stealing the money.
b three
c Talk to the other members of the finance team.
 24 
Kelly:  So thanks for taking the time to talk to me.
Ian:  Not at all, how can I help?
Kelly:  Well, I’m afraid there’s something in the accounts
I don’t understand and I’d just like to get some
clarification.
Ian: Okay.
Kelly:  Well, there are several entries with no physical
documentation supporting them.
Ian: Really?
Kelly:  Yes, they’re for various items but the bulk of them
relate to refurbishments. They’re entries for paint,
furniture and other fixtures. The total for all the
entries is £54,000. Would you know anything about
this?
Ian:  No, we haven’t done any refurbishments in over a
year. Could it be a mistake?
Kelly:  Well, that’s what I thought at first but there are
also cash withdrawals for the same amounts a few
days after each entry. I was wondering if you could
explain that.
Ian:  No, I don’t have any idea. You don’t think I stole the
money?
Kelly:  I don’t want to make that claim at this stage but
this is definitely an irregularity. Could I ask who else
can enter expense items into the system?
Ian:  Well, any of us can. There are only three of us.
Kelly:  Yes, I noticed that in my initial investigation. But
could you confirm that only the three members of the
finance team can access the system?
Ian:  Yes, only us. So what happens now?
Kelly:  Would you mind if I talk to the other members of
your team?
Ian:  No, not at all.
3  25  Ask students to read the three statements.
They could also decide which of them is likely to be the
best summary of the meeting. Then play the recording for
students to select the best summary. Check answers in
class.

SUGGESTED ANSWER
b Ian was on his own in the office around the time the irregularities
started and could have stolen the money.
 25   26
Kelly:  Hi. Thanks for seeing me.
Craig & Penny: No problem.
Penny: What’s going on?
Kelly:  Well, I think Ian told you we’ve found an irregularity
in the accounts and we need to investigate further.
Penny:  Yes, Ian said. It’s about entries for
refurbishments, right?
Kelly:  Yes, that’s right. Could I ask if you know anything
about it?
Penny:  No, I’ve got no idea what it is.
Kelly:  And what about you, Craig?
Craig:  Well …
Kelly:  Go on, Craig, you’re not in trouble.
Craig:  Well, Ian’s been staying late a lot lately. He said he
had some problems. I asked him if he wanted some
help at first but he really seemed to want to be on his
own. I didn’t really think about it again.
Kelly:  Do you mind telling me the exact date this started?
Craig:  I can’t remember but I think it was the beginning
of June.
Kelly:  Okay, could you tell me if your system records
entry times?
Penny:  Yes, it does. Do you want me to check them?
Kelly:  Okay, thank you very much. I think we’re getting
to the bottom of this. Right, I need to speak to my
office. Thanks for your help.
4 Put students into pairs and ask them to discuss what
they think Kelly should do now, giving reasons, and
saying whether they think Ian actually stole the money
– what evidence is there for or against him having stolen
it? Encourage students to think about what they would
do in a similar situation. Conduct whole-class feedback
on students’ opinions and then ask them to read the
information on page 50 and compare.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
Kelly definitely needs to inform her office and the police may need
to be informed as there is potentially illegal activity.
5 Ask students to rewrite the questions using the words
in brackets. Tell students that these are all things that
Kelly said in the meeting they’ve just listened to. Make
sure students are aware that they will need to add words or
change forms in some cases and tell them to pay particular
attention to word order. Ask students to compare their
completed answers in pairs before checking in class.
6  26  Play the recording and ask students to check
their answers. If necessary, play the recording again.
ANSWERS
a I was wondering if you could explain that.
b Could I ask who else can enter expense items into the system?
c Would you mind if I talk to the other members of your team?
In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES
d Could I ask if you know anything about it?
e Do you mind telling me the exact date this started?
f Could you tell me if your system records entry times?
 
a I was wondering if you could explain that.
b Could I ask who else can enter expense items into the
system?
c Would you mind if I talk to the other members of
your team?
d Could I ask if you know anything about it?
e Do you mind telling me the exact date this started?
f Could you tell me if your system records entry times?
7 Elicit or explain that Kelly uses indirect questions in
5. Ask students to discuss in pairs why Kelly would use
indirect questions so often in this situation. Conduct
whole-class feedback and refer students to the Grammar
tip for more information about how to form indirect
questions.
ANSWER
She wants to be polite and indirect as she’s asking about sensitive
issues.
Grammar tip
Ask students to read the information about indirect
questions in the box. Tell them to pay particular
attention to word order in indirect questions.
wExtra activityw
Put students into A/B pairs. Student A writes five direct
questions which an auditor could ask a finance director
after finding irregularities in their company’s records.
Student B writes five indirect questions. Encourage
students to personalize their questions to their own
contexts as far as possible. Students then swap questions
with each other and rewrite the direct questions as
indirect questions and the indirect questions as direct
questions. Monitor students to make sure that the
questions they’re writing are, in fact, direct or indirect.
Over to you
Ask students to work with a partner and decide who
will be Student A and Student B. Refer students to their
respective pages at the back of the book, and give them
time to prepare for and roleplay Scenario 1. They then
swap roles and roleplay Scenario 2, which is a similar
situation. If time is short, students could just do one of the
scenarios. Monitor the roleplays and give feedback when
they have finished.
Get your student to take the role of Student A,
1:1 and you take the role of Student B for both
Scenarios 1 and 2. Give feedback when you
have finished.
08 Auditing 51

07–08 Video
Before you watch
1 Students have encountered all of the items listed,
but if you think they may be unsure about any of them,
you could elicit or check their meanings. Ask students to
rank the items in terms of how important they are in the
context of a company’s overall operations. Tell students
that there are no right or wrong answers here, and they
should just ensure that they can give reasons for their
ranking.
2 Put students into pairs and ask them to compare
and explain their rankings. Encourage students to ask
each other questions to find out more about each other’s
opinions, and to recycle the relevant vocabulary for
banking services, auditing, preparing financial statements
and managing payments. Conduct whole-class feedback
on which items students think are the most important
and why.
While you watch
1   In the first section of the video on Banking services,
students look in more detail at the banking services that
companies use. Ask students to read the questions and
check the meaning of bank lending (the lending of money
by banks to their customers). You could also ask students
to think about possible answers to the questions based
on what they already know about banking services and
to discuss their ideas in pairs. Then play this section and
ask students to watch and make notes on their answers.
Students can compare their answers in pairs before
checking answers in class.
ANSWERS
a Companies need bank lending in order to grow their business.
b Because it’s cheaper to pay the interest than getting someone to
take a stake in your company, who you then have to pay.
c Because they provide easy short-term funding that can give a
company time to get out of trouble.
d They went bankrupt.
2   Check the meaning of facilitate (to make
something easier or help it to move forward). Tell students
that they’re going to watch Alex talking about what
happened when a client of his needed to borrow money
from a bank to facilitate growth. Ask them to read the six
events in Alex’s story and decide what they think a logical
order for the events would be. Then play the section on
Relationships with banks and ask students to check their
order. Play the section again if necessary.
ANSWERS
1 c  2 e  3 a  4 d  5 b  6 f
52 VIDEO UNITS 07–08 In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017
wExtra activityw
Put students into pairs. Ask them to take it in turns
to use the sentences from 2 as prompts to retell Alex’s
story, adding in any other details they can remember and
including sequencing words and phrases, such as then,
after that, in the end, etc.
3   Before they watch the recording, ask students to
predict the three things Sumeer says that auditors do. They
can discuss this in pairs. Then play the section on The audit
process and ask students to make notes on the three things
that Sumeer mentions.
ANSWERS
1 They check the processes of the company to see how the data
has been produced and if these processes produced accurate
results.
2 They look at samples and check the data accordingly.
3 They assess the future of the company.
4   Tell students they’re now going to watch the
section on The experience of being audited. Check the
meaning with students of burden (a source of worry or
difficulty or a duty or responsibility that you would prefer
not to have). Ask them to read the list of statements and
then play this section for them to write Alex or Andy next
to each statement. Play the section again if necessary.
ANSWERS
a Alex
b Andy
c Andy
d Alex
Natural speech
1   In Unit 4 students have already looked at how
they can use pauses to present with greater impact, but it
may be a good idea to elicit or remind students of the fact
that speakers usually pause when they want to emphasize
the word or phrase that comes before the pause. Alex also
uses pauses to present what he wants to say with greater
impact in the section on Banking services. Ask students
to read the text and notice where Alex pauses. Check the
meaning of predominantly (mainly) with students. Then
play the clip from the recording (00:10–00:24) and ask
students to listen to Alex while reading the text and notice
where he pauses.
2   Ask students to read the sentence before they
listen to this second clip. They could predict where they
expect the pauses to be – reading the sentence aloud in
pairs may help them to do this. Then play the clip (00:43–
01:01) and ask students to mark the pauses with slashes.
Play it again so that students can check or complete their
answers. Ask students to compare their answers in pairs
before checking answers in class.
 CORPORATE FINANCE TEACHER’S NOTES

07–08
Answer key

There was a / term I learned / during my studies / and that was /
debt is cheaper than equity / and what that means is / if you bor-
row money from a bank, you pay / yes / you pay an interest rate
on the amount you’re borrowing / but that’s usually cheaper / than
getting someone in to take a stake in your business / and you have
to pay them out of your own money.
3 Put students into pairs and ask them to take it in turns
to say the sections in 1 and 2 out loud, pausing in the same
places that Alex paused in. Students could try reading
each section twice: once while reading from the text
with the pauses marked in, and once while reading from
the relevant section of the video script where they don’t
have the pauses marked in and they have to remember
where they are. You can access the video transcript on the
Teacher’s Resource Centre.
After you watch
Students could discuss the questions either with a partner
or in small groups. Encourage students to give reasons to
support their answers to questions a and d, and examples
from their experiences and working lives when responding
to questions b and c. They may have interesting anecdotes
to share, in which case, encourage them to do this. Give
students about ten minutes to discuss the questions and
then conduct whole-class feedback.
Review
This review section gives students an opportunity to
consolidate what they’ve learned and do some further
practice with the language and content of Units 07 and
08. You could use these sections in class after completing
these units or later in the course as a review activity.
Alternatively, you could assign them as homework or use
them to help students who’ve missed a lesson to catch up
with the rest of the group. After students have completed
the exercises, ask them to go through the checklist as a
reminder of what they have covered in these two units.
07 Financial services and advice
ANSWERS
1
a streamline  b deposit  c mitigate  d working  e issues
2
a 3  b 2  c 4  d 1
3
a The thing is, you’re entitled to tax relief.
b What they need to do is bring forward their expenses.
c How about changing the accounting period?
d Why don’t you delay income?
e If we did that, we’d / we could reduce our tax bill.
4
a allowances  b declarable  c year-end  d forward  e reliefs

08 Auditing
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1
1 Yes, but the motorway was busy.
2 A year. I was at … before.
3 It’s good, especially the breakfast, which is excellent.
2
1 c  2 d  3 a  4 b
3
a segregation  b render  c reconcile  d regulative  e internal
4
a if you could
b mind telling
c what you do
d correct
e where the record is

In Company 3.0 ESP Corporate Finance © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017 REVIEW UNITS 07–08 53