🔥 Warm-Up (5 minutes)
- How do companies usually decide on their budget for the year, in your opinion?
- What financial vocabulary do you already know in English (revenue, loan, interest rate, etc.)?
📖 Key Vocabulary
| English | Type | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| revenue | n. | Revenue increased by 8% last quarter. |
| expenditure | n. | The company reduced unnecessary expenditure. |
| budget | n. | The marketing budget was approved yesterday. |
| interest rate | n. | Interest rates rose again this month. |
| loan | n. | The company applied for a business loan. |
| transaction | n. | Every transaction is recorded automatically. |
| withdraw / deposit | v. | She withdrew cash from the company account. |
| overdraft | n. | The account went into overdraft last week. |
| fiscal year | n. | Our fiscal year ends in December. |
| forecast | n./v. | The finance team released its annual forecast. |
🧠 Grammar / Strategy Focus
In reported speech, the tense usually shifts back one step from the original statement, with pronouns and time words changed as needed: "I will send the report" → "She said (that) she would send the report." In indirect questions, drop the question-word order: "Where is the invoice?" → "He asked where the invoice was" (not "where was the invoice").
✏️ Part 5 Practice
Incomplete Sentences
📝 Part 6 Practice
Text Completion (Subject: Quarterly Budget Review)
During yesterday's meeting, the finance director explained that the company's revenue (1) by 8% compared to the previous quarter. She also mentioned that the new budget (2) finalized by next Friday. Department heads were asked (3) their expense reports before the deadline. If anyone has questions about the forecast, they should (4) the finance department directly.
📰 Part 7 Practice
Reading Comprehension
During last week's shareholder meeting, the CFO of Viet Phat Industries reported that company revenue had increased by 8% compared to the previous quarter, largely due to strong export sales. She also announced that the finance department would finalize next year's budget by the end of the month, with a focus on reducing unnecessary expenditures. When asked about the company's plans for a new bank loan, the CFO explained that the current interest rate made borrowing less attractive, so the company would instead use retained earnings to fund the planned factory expansion. Analysts who attended the meeting said they were pleased with the forecast and expect the company's stock price to rise in the coming months.
🎧 Listening Practice
Conversation (Part 3 style)
Teacher: read the script aloud twice (or record it) at natural speed, then ask students the questions below.
Man: How did the shareholder meeting go yesterday?
Woman: Pretty well, actually. The CFO said that revenue had increased by 8% compared to last quarter, mostly because of strong export sales.
Man: That's great news. Did she mention anything about the new factory expansion?
Woman: Yes, she said the company would use retained earnings instead of taking a bank loan, since interest rates are pretty high right now.
Man: Makes sense. Did the analysts seem happy with that plan?
Woman: They did — she said most of them expect the stock price to rise in the coming months.