Why do bankers use M instead of K? TheStory Behind the MM Convention

Explore Our Course LibraryEnhance your leadership skills with our diverse selection of courses. Take your abilities to the next level and become a more effective leader and team mm meaning player. Rather than use the barred M, however, accounting went with MM as an abbreviation for a million. For example, 1MM equals 1 million, $34MM equals $34 million and so on. The barred M was necessary because the Romans didn’t use zero, and they didn’t like using more than three identical letters in a row.

• The barred M was necessary because the Romans didn’t use zero, and they didn’t like using more than three identical letters in a row.
• Any universal shift would require a coordinated effort from all major institutions simultaneously.
• For example, an annual salary of $60,000 might appear as $60k instead of $60M.
• The Roman numerals MM are frequently used to designate that the units used in presenting information (financial and non-financial) are in millions.
• The example below shows how figures can be portrayed in millions.

Common Number Abbreviations

• This convention originated from Roman numeral accounting traditions and became engrained centuries ago.
• To save time, space, and enhance readability, professionals have developed standard abbreviations for “million” that convey the same meaning while being concise and visually efficient.
• Regardless of why you are trying to abbreviate the word “million,” you have come to the right place.
• In this example, we intentionally chose a piece of analysis that contained various different units, such as dollars and shares.
• The Report containing certain information of company C is given below, representing the same with the compact number representing mode.

While “M” is generally accepted in various industries, it’s essential to consider your audience and the specific context you’re writing for. Below is a break down of subject weightings in the FMVA® financial analyst program. As you can see there is a heavy focus on financial modeling, finance, Excel, business valuation, budgeting/forecasting, PowerPoint presentations, accounting and business strategy.

How do you write 1 million in abbreviated form?

It’s then up to the reader to note the context, with the document stating the place value once at the beginning and not again. Abbreviating one million dollars is done using the above abbreviations. Generally, the abbreviation with two M’s is preferred in finance.

Why do professionals abbreviate million as “M”?

• If you do use these abbreviations, be sure to clearly define them in the text.
• It is Latin for multiplying one “thousand” by itself to create the “million” number.
• Similarly, if a company reports an acquisition cost of €500MM, it indicates an acquisition worth €500 million.
• In this blog post, we explored the commonly accepted abbreviations “M” and “MM” and their contextual usage across different industries and regions.
• However, I would not bet that that is a standard abbreviation.

If a financial statement has a lot of large figures, the accountant may simply dispense with abbreviations. Stating at the top of the report that “all figures are in millions of dollars” should take care of it. What matters is that readers look at the figures and understand the amounts. As a data analyst who works closely with the finance industry, I‘ve always been fascinated by the ubiquitous use of “MM” as an abbreviation for millions among banking and accounting professionals. It differs from the standard “k” and “M” abbreviations used in the metric system and most other sectors. I decided to take a deep dive into the origins and rationale behind “MM” to better understand this unique element of finance culture.

“MM” as an Abbreviation for Million

Aside from finance, you may also encounter the use of “M” in various other contexts. It is commonly employed in newspaper headlines, where limited space necessitates concise language. Additionally, tech companies often use “M” to denote megabytes, a unit of digital storage capacity. One thing to consider is that when writing about large amounts of money, the words “million” or “billion” are often left out altogether, as are superfluous zeroes.

• In this article, we will teach you how to abbreviate the word and how to use the abbreviation for “million.” Let’s first understand what million means.
• However, millions range from 1,000,000 to 999,999,999 so there can be a maximum of eight zeros if you are referencing a 100 million (100,000,000).
• As can be expected, trillions is therefore shorthanded by the letter T.
• Aside from finance, you may also encounter the use of “M” in various other contexts.
• Review a few examples of sentences that feature common abbreviations for million.

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MM helped condense meaning while still conveying millions clearly. Unfortunately, there isn’t a consistent approach to labeling units. The least ambiguous approach is to simply write them out in words, such as “$ thousands.” This is Corporate Finance Institute’s recommended method, to avoid any potential confusion. However, if you’re working on a project focused on investment banking or targeting specific regions, incorporating “MM” might be more suitable to align with industry standards and regional practices. Some style guides might opt for the complete “million” virtual accountant or have their own prescribed abbreviation, so it’s essential to consult the relevant guidelines before finalizing your writing.

Academic and Scientific Writing

While you can make MM stand for millions of anything, it’s important that the reader knows whether you’re talking about dollars, euros, units shipped, etc. If, say, you use it for both units and dollars in the same document, separate the different categories so your readers don’t get confused. “M” is only used as an abbreviation when talking about a lot of money or in scientific communities. These examples underscore the need for abbreviations like MM to avoid ambiguity with large figures. I have seen million, billion, and trillion abbreviated as M, B, and T respectively. However, I would not bet that that is QuickBooks a standard abbreviation.

What is the correct abbreviation for millions, billions and trillions in a financial context?

You may also find it helpful to review measurement abbreviations for common units. Expand your ability to communicate about quantities and amounts by getting to know various names and expressions for large numbers. Review a few examples of sentences that feature common abbreviations for billion. Review a few examples of sentences that feature common abbreviations for million.