# data[].attributes.headline
English is found on every continent. It has major speech communities in over seventy countries. It is the language of the internet.  It is language of air-traffic control, of international travel, and of international business.  It is the language of science

# data[].attributes.subject
English is found on every continent. It has major speech communities in over seventy countries. It is the language of the internet.  It is language of air-traffic control, of international travel, and of international business.  It is the language of science

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/minority-ethnic/https://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/minority-ethnic/

# data[].attributes.headline
•Arabic is spoken by over 375 million people in the Middle East and North Africa

# data[].attributes.subject
•Arabic is spoken by over 375 million people in the Middle East and North Africa

# data[].attributes.headline
More than 1 billion people are learning English as you read this.According to the British Council, around 1 billion people around the world were learning English in 2000. This figure is now likely to be significantly higher.

# data[].attributes.subject
More than 1 billion people are learning English as you read this.According to the British Council, around 1 billion people around the world were learning English in 2000. This figure is now likely to be significantly higher.

# data[].attributes.body
After developing for almost a millennium on the British Isles, English was taken around the world by the sailors, soldiers, pilgrims, traders and missionaries of the British Empire. By the time anything resembling a language policy was introduced, English had already reached all corners of the globe.

# data[].attributes.body
As we have seen, a global language arises mainly due to the political and economic power of its native speakers. It was British imperial and industrial power that sent English around the globe between the 17th and 20th Century.

# data[].attributes.headline
Over 1/7th of the world's population speaks mandarin.

# data[].attributes.subject
Over 1/7th of the world's population speaks mandarin.

# data[].attributes.body
With more than 350 million people around the world speaking English as a first language and more than 430 million speaking it as a second language, there are English speakers in most countries around the world.

# data[].attributes.headline
English is the language of business and business is the mechanics of the world...

# data[].attributes.subject
English is the language of business and business is the mechanics of the world...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Some say it's English. Or Mandarin. Others contend it's the subtle, culture-spanning clues picked up by reading facial expressions and other physical movements. But most agree that the true language of business is accounting. The story of any company, no matter the size, the industry, or the country of origin, is told through its financial records and reports. Income, debt, revenue versus expenses, compensation, and cost of retaining customers can all be found on financial statements.

But if that's true, why are so few executives fluent in the language? Wharton accounting professor Christopher Ittner says the answer has to do in part with timing. "It might not be important in early stages of your career. You can get by without being able to read a financial statement. But at some point you have to provide financial justification for what you're doing, and you have to make decisions based on numbers that come from other people. If you don't know what you're looking at, and you don't know the right questions to ask, your effectiveness is diminished."

"At some point you move up the hierarchy and you need this information. It's not trendy. Accounting isn't a hot topic. But it's the language of business, and you have to learn it."

Christopher Ittner, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting

Ittner has been teaching executives the language of business with three other senior Wharton accounting faculty for over a decade in Finance and Accounting for the Non-Financial Manager.The week-long program improves participants' financial literacy and their confidence to enter into numbers-based discussions and ask the right questions of the right people. He explains, "We start with the language of the accounting system: balance sheets and income statements. You learn where those numbers come from, and what they're used for. It is important to understand that the primary purpose of a financial statement is for external reporting. It's put together using a set of accounting rules that can be applied in different ways by different people."

The program then moves into financial analysis. "We teach how accounting works and then overlay that knowledge with the financial decision-making process," says Ittner. "You need to make internal economic decisions, and what you have are financial accounting numbers that are driven by accounting rules. They may not make economic sense for internal decisions. You need to know how they're calculated and have a way to evaluate them before you consider basing a decision on them."

A fundamental distinction, he says, is that decision-making is forward looking, and accounting is backward looking. Financial statements are snapshots of what has already happened. You may need to go beyond those numbers and get more data to get a more accurate picture of what you can expect to be true in the future.

Ittner provides an example that he's seen many times: "The question is should we make a product ourselves or outsource it? You get a quote from another company for $16 each. Now you need to know how much it would cost for you to make it. The accounting system says $18, so you decide to outsource. But the problem is the higher figure from accounting includes a charge for overhead, which may not change even if you don't make the product. You're paying for the factory, the computers, the salaries anyway. Overhead is the biggest cost for most companies. But how that overhead gets allocated can result in very different numbers. It can be arbitrary, and it prevents you from making a true comparison.

"You need to ask some questions. 'What is the change in total costs if I don't do this? How much is allocated and how much is money I can really save if I outsource? Where did you get that number? What are we trying to achieve? What do the numbers assume?' You need to be informed enough to ask the right questions and gather the right data. Don't blindly rely on accounting numbers."

Ittner stresses the importance of the program for participants who come with backgrounds ranging from marketing to operations to engineering. "Even if they've been exposed to finance and accounting before, they need more exposure. At some point you move up the hierarchy and you need this information. It's not trendy. Accounting isn't a hot topic. But it's the language of business, and you have to learn it."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Improving Financial Literacy by Understanding Financial Analysis - Wharton@Work

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Some say it's English. Or Mandarin. Others contend it's the subtle, culture-spanning clues picked up by reading facial expressions and other physical movements. But most agree that the true language of business is accounting. The story of any company, no matter the size, the industry, or the country of origin, is told through its financial records and reports.

# data[].attributes.headline
Portuguese is the majority language of South America, by a small margin. Spanish, with slightly fewer speakers than Portuguese, is the second most spoken language on the continent

# data[].attributes.subject
Portuguese is the majority language of South America, by a small margin. Spanish, with slightly fewer speakers than Portuguese, is the second most spoken language on the continent

# data[].attributes.headline
The rise of South America will kill English and create more Spanish speakers

# data[].attributes.subject
The rise of South America will kill English and create more Spanish speakers

# data[].attributes.headline
Africa has an increasing amount of influence over language use

# data[].attributes.subject
Africa has an increasing amount of influence over language use

# data[].attributes.headline
Evaluate the idea that English is now a global language and this is affecting the way English is changing around the world

# data[].attributes.subject
Evaluate the idea that English is now a global language and this is affecting the way English is changing around the world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.entities[].name
London Native English Speaker Interviews Part

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Global English with Professor David Crystal. Another innovative feature of Global - Macmillan's new course for adult learners of English. Visit the website www.macmillanenglish.com/global to download a complete sample unit, and the chance to win a Flip camcorder or antique-style globe.