Wage and Salary Administration	The group of activities involved in the development, implementation and maintenance of a base pay system.
Wager	A relationship between persons by which they agree that a certain sum of money or a thing owned by one of them will be paid or delivered to the other upon the happening of uncertain event.
Wages	Compensation based on hours worked.
Waiver	The intentional relinquishment or giving up of a known right.
Warehouse Receipt	An instrument showing that the signer has in his possession certain described goods for storage. It obligates the signer (the warehouseman) to deliver the goods to a specified person or to his order or bearer upon the return of the instrument.
Warehouseman	A person engaged in the purpose of storing goods for hire.
Warehousing	Receiving, identifying and sorting goods.
Warrant	1. An order in writing in the name of the state signed by a magistrate, directed to an officer, commanding him to arrest a person; 2. To guarantee, to answer for, to assure that a state of facts exists; 3. A document that conveys the preemptive right to existing stockholders.
Warranty	1. An undertaking, ether expressed or implied, that a certain fact regarding the subject matter of a contract is presently true or will be true; 2. A document that states certain facts and conditions about a product's operation and correct use and clarifies the limits of its performance under various circumstances.
Warranty of Merchantability	A promise implied in the sale of goods by merchants that the goods are reasonably fit for the general purpose for which they are sold.
Waste	Damage to the real property so that its value as security is impaired.
Waterfall Diagram	A diagram showing how each successive stage of an information system project validates the conclusions from the previous stage.
Wave	To wave at law is to relinquish or give up intentionally a known right or to do an act that is inconsistent with the claiming of a known right.
What If Question	A question posed and answered (typically using a mathematical model) to understand the effect of different assumptions or different decisions.
Wheeler-Lea Act	The law that gives the Federal Trade Commission the power to issue cease-and-desist orders against firms that make false or misleading advertising claims.
Whole Life Insurance	Life insurance that remains in effect for the insurer's entire life and pays on death.
Wholesaler	A business that purchases goods from a manufacturer and sells to retailers.
Wide Area Network (WAN)	A telecommunication network that links geographically separate locations.
Windfall Profit	An unforeseen profit in excess of a normal profit.
Winner's Curse	The plight of the winning bidder for an asset of uncertain value who has overestimated the asset's true value.
Wire Fraud	The use of wire, radio or television to defraud. This statute is used in conjunction with mail fraud in federal fraud charges.
Wire Transfer	The means of making payment to another party electronically verses a paper-based payment.
With Recourse	Endorsement of a negotiable instrument on which the endorser remains responsible should the obligation not be paid.
Without Recourse	A term used in endorsing a negotiable instrument excluding the endorser from responsibility should the obligation not be paid.
Work in Process	The direct material costs, the direct labor costs and the factory overhead costs, that have entered into the manufacturing process but are associated with products that have not been finished.
Work Teams	Groups of individuals that cooperate in completing a set of tasks.
Workers' Compensation	Provides benefits to a person injured on the job.
Working Capital	Excess of current assets over current liabilities used to finance current business activities.
Workout	An agreement between the debtor and creditors; a compromise to avoid bankruptcy.
Workstation	A powerful single user computer that can be used for complex data analysis and design work.
World Price	The price at which a good or service is traded internationally; it is determined by the world supply and demand for a product.
WORM	Acronym for Write Once, Read Many. An optical storage device that permits storing data in particular locations but not changing data once stored by the user.
Writ	An instrument in writing under seal in the name of the state, issued out of a court of justice at the commencement of or during a legal proceeding.
Writ of Certiorari	A discretionary proceeding by which an appellate court may review the rulings of an inferior tribunal.
Writ of Habeas Corpus	A court order to one holding custody of another, to produce that individual before the court for the purpose of determining whether such custody is proper.
Write-Off	Transferring or eliminating an uncollectable account or other asset from the books to an expense or profit and loss account because that asset no longer has any value.