“mm” (which is usually kept in the lower case) is an old-fashioned abbreviation that doesn’t see much common usage. You’ll find that it’s mainly used in the energy sector, but it otherwise doesn’t get recognized. You might not put a lot of thought into your abbreviations, and that’s okay.
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It has become less common due to the potential for confusion. If you do use these abbreviations, be sure to clearly define them in the text. The Notation MM for representing Millions is becoming less common as it creates confusion between the representation of M and MM, whereas the M denotes the Thousand.
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MM is the symbol used for representing the numbers in millions, whereas the symbol m is used as thousand in roman numbers and so mm is thousand multiplied by thousand, which is equal to 1 million. Large enterprises often present their financial statements and other reports with the figures in the millions, i.e., and they use ($ MM). If a financial statement has a lot of large figures, the accountant may simply dispense with abbreviations.
- Roman numerals are often used in accounting to help abbreviate and designate numbers.
- If you do use these abbreviations, be sure to clearly define them in the text.
- 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.
- It has become less common due to the potential for confusion.
- The MM abbreviation works whether the entry is in dollars, some other currency or millions of items or customers.
- 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.
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“M” is Certified Bookkeeper the official abbreviation used whenever a million units of something are requested. I have worked in equity markets for 20 years and poor abbreviations drive me crazy. Regretfully, until the USA goes metric there’s going to continue to be problem with this. I’ve found answers on the web but also got conflicting answers from financial professionals (coworkers). Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
- To add to the potential for misunderstanding, MM is not the Roman numeral for million.
- It makes the most sense considering that “million” starts with the letter “M.” Most abbreviations follow this standard practice.
- In this blog post, we explored the commonly accepted abbreviations “M” and “MM” and their contextual usage across different industries and regions.
- The finance, business, and informal sectors frequently use “M” for million.
- These regional variations highlight the importance of understanding local customs and practices when communicating numerical information.
- Yes, “M” is widely recognized across international finance and business sectors.
Mixing both abbreviations can lead to confusion and render your writing mm meaning less effective. In the realm of journalism and media, where space is often limited, the abbreviation “M” is prevalent. Newspapers, magazines, and online news outlets frequently use “M” to convey numerical information within headlines, captions, or articles. For example, if a company reports a revenue of $10M, it indicates that the company generated $10 million in revenue.
- For Representation of Thousand, K is used as an abbreviation, and for representing Million, Single M is denoted as an abbreviation.
- To avoid confusion, use any and all abbreviations consistently throughout all your financial records.
- If you’re dealing with mergers and acquisitions, bond issuances, or investment portfolios, it’s essential to be familiar with both “M” and “MM” to ensure accurate communication.
- For example, 1MM equals 1 million, $34MM equals $34 million and so on.
- It is commonly employed in newspaper headlines, where limited space necessitates concise language.
- Similarly, if a company reports an acquisition cost of €500MM, it indicates an acquisition worth €500 million.
- Yes, “M” is accepted in formal business and financial writing.
For example, the Roman numeral MM is frequently used to designate that the units used in presenting information (financial and non-financial) in millions. For example, an annual salary of $60,000 might appear as $60k instead of $60M. 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.
Be Consistent in Abbreviation Usage
Abbreviating one million dollars is done using the above abbreviations. Generally, the abbreviation with two M’s is preferred in finance. “M” is only used as an abbreviation when talking about a lot of money or in scientific communities.
M vs. MM – What Is The Correct Abbreviation for “Million”?
Another theory is that it is a misprinting of the cash flow Greek letter phi. 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).
He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com. For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has worked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online. A common shortening of millimetre in spoken English is “mil”. This can cause confusion in the United States, where “mil” traditionally means a thousandth of an inch. You can use any of the above abbreviations for thousand options when referring to thousands in writing.