Writing style guides recommend that figures under a million should be written numerically (1,000 vs. one thousand). Insurance Accounting Once you get above that amount, you’d say billion or trillion instead of using the numbers. The Greek option is typically capitalized when multiple abbreviations are used for accounting purposes. Roman abbreviations are usually not capitalized when using this method (1MM vs. 1mm), but each firm has different standards they follow. Content contained on or made available through the website is not intended to and does not constitute legal advice or investment advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed. Your use of the information on the website or materials linked from the Web is at your own risk.
Modern Applications of MM
- Abbreviating one million dollars is done using the above abbreviations.
- The Authorized Share Capital of Company is $15,000,000 shares of $ 100 each i.e. $ 1,500,000,000.
- It is commonly used in financial documents, or when discussing budgets, earnings, or other financial data.
- 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.
- As a result, “M” simply became shorthand for adding three zeros and thus “MM” became the shorthand for adding six zeros.
The cardinal number is automatically recognized when using M or MM in accounting. Even if you have a significant figure to represent, such as 12 billion, you could still write it as 1200MM, which would be understood. The same principle applies to millions and billions when dealing with financing and accounting terms. This methodology differs from everyday slang, which takes the first letter from each word as the primary abbreviation. Once a number reaches higher than ten, it becomes much harder to count with your fingers.
How Many Zeros in a Million?
But due to confusion between M and MM, now the alternative notations are used for representing thousands and millions. For Representation of Thousand, K is used as an abbreviation, and for representing Million, Single M is denoted as an abbreviation. These abbreviations simplify the reading and comprehension of financial documents. If you have to spend time counting how many zeroes are after a number to understand the full amount, it’ll take extra time to understand what is being communicated to you by an accountant.
📆 Date: 22-23 Mar, 2025🕛 Time: 8:30-11:30 AM EST📍 Venue: OnlineInstructor: Dheeraj Vaidya, CFA, FRM
The term MM is used in the finance world to denote one million and is a standard nomenclature used across the globe. It is commonly used in financial documents, contracts, and communication, especially those regarding large monetary amounts. When plural, as in “millions,” it refers to multiples of 1,000,000. In its simplest terms, a million is “one thousand thousand”.
- That said, if your organization uses M and it doesn’t cause confusion, you are free to use M to abbreviate one million.
- Regretfully, until the USA goes metric there’s going to continue to be problem with this.
- When plural, as in “millions,” it refers to multiples of 1,000,000.
- The term “M” in accounting is the Roman numeral for 1,000.
- The Romans incorporated seven letters to represent different numbers for a standard counting method to simplify that situation.
What are the correct abbreviations for millions, billions and trillions in a financial context?
The seven letters in Roman numerals are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M. These figures have values of 1, 5, 10, 50, income statement 100, 500, and 1,000. It’s also common to see K used for 1,000 and B for a billion.
Million Abbreviation: How to Abbreviate Million (MM, M, mm, or m)?
The prevailing thought as to mm meaning why Romans used letters to represent numerical values instead of numbers involves the fingers on a person’s hand. I have seen million, billion, and trillion abbreviated as M, B, and T respectively. However, I would not bet that that is a standard abbreviation. Rather than use the barred M, however, accounting went with MM as an abbreviation for a million.
Abbreviations for “Million”
Its significance also lies in its capability to provide clarity and prevent misunderstandings that could potentially occur if numbers were presented in their raw form. If you’re looking to avoid the word million altogether, you won’t have much luck. The only other option is to write your entire number numerically or even convert it to scientific notation. Test your knowledge of some of the most commonly misunderstood texting acronyms. For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) hasworked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online. He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com.