Accruals: Revenue and expenses that are recorded as they occur, even though they may not have actually been paid.

Anthrax: An infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. Human anthrax has three major clinical forms: cutaneous, inhalation and gastrointestinal.

Amortize: To reduce the value of an asset through regular charges to income over time; or to write off expenses by prorating them over a period of time.

Appropriation: Public funds set aside by Congress for a specific purpose.

Bar code: A series of vertical full bars and half bars representing the ZIP Code information printed on a mailpiece to facilitate automated processing by bar code reader equipment.

Biohazard: A biological material especially if infective, that poses a threat to humans or their environment.

Capitalize: To treat an expenditure as an asset; or to compute the present value of a future payment that will be paid over a period of time.

Confirm: A service that allows mailers to identify and track their mailpieces by placing a bar code or PLANET (Postal Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique) Code on the front of their letter or flat.

Contribution: The difference between the revenue from a class of mail and that class's volume-variable costs. For example, if a class of mail has revenue of $1.5 billion and volume-variable costs of $1 billion, its contribution is $500 million, which means that this class of mail covers its costs and contributes $500 million to the common costs of all mail services.

Delivery Confirmation: Delivery Confirmation is a special service designed to provide the date of delivery or attempted delivery for Priority Mail and Standard Mail parcels, bound printed matter and library mail.

Depreciate: To periodically reduce the estimated value of an asset over the course of its useful life.

Deputy Postmaster General (DPMG): A member of the Board of Governors, jointly appointed by the Postmaster General and Governors.

Direct Mail: A form of advertising often employed by businesses to reach targeted groups of potential customers by mail.

Employment Cost Index (ECI): A national indicator of overall employee labor cost and one of the principal economic indicators used by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Equity: The difference between the value of all assets less all liabilities.

Express Mail: The Postal Service's premium delivery service, providing guaranteed overnight delivery for documents and packages weighing up to 70 pounds. Both domestic and international services are offered.

First-Class Mail: A class of mail including letters, postcards, and postal cards, all matter wholly or partially in writing or typewriting, and all matter sealed or otherwise closed against inspection.

Fixed Asset: Any tangible property such as buildings, machinery and equipment, furniture, and leasehold improvements.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP): The rules and procedures of accepted accounting practice as defined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The total market value of all the goods and services produced in one year in the United States.

Inspector General: The Inspector General is appointed by and reports directly to the Governors of the Postal Service and is independent of postal management. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) primarily investigates and evaluates programs and operations of the Postal Service to ensure the efficiency and integrity of the postal system.

Irradiation: Treatment or therapy by exposure to radiation.

Leasehold: An asset that gives the Postal Service the right to use property under a lease.

Lettershop: A company that personalizes, labels, sorts and stuffs envelopes in preparation for Standard Mail.

Liability: Any debt or obligation the Postal Service is bound to pay.

Nitrile Gloves: Industrial strength protective hand coverings that are highly resistant to a wide range of chemicals, abrasions and punctures.

Periodicals: A class of mail, formerly called second-class mail, that consists of magazines, newspapers, and other publications.

Point-of-Service ONE (POS ONE): An electronic retail sales device that assists employees with retail transactions and provides product inventory and sales information.

Postal Inspection Service: The investigative arm of the Postal Service responsible for investigating criminal acts involving the mails and misuse of the postal system.

Postal Rate Commission (PRC): An independent federal agency that makes recommendations concerning Postal Service requests for changes in postal rates and mail classifications.

Postmaster General (PMG): The chief executive officer of the Postal Service, appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Governors.

Present Value: The value today of a future payment that is discounted at a stated rate of compound interest. For example, the present value of $100 that will be paid to the Postal Service 10 years from now is about $38.55, if we discount that $100 at a rate equal to 10 percent interest compounded annually.

Priority Mail: Priority Mail provides two- to three-day delivery service.

Priority Mail Global Guaranteed®: An alliance with DHL Worldwide Express, Inc. providing day-certain delivery guaranteed service to 65 countries around the world.

Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC): A large mail-sorting and dispatching plant that serves as a hub for mail originating from post offices, collection boxes and customer mailboxes, and large-volume mailers in a designated service area.

Receivable: Money that is owed to the Postal Service.

Recognize: To record in Postal Service accounts as income or expense. Standard Mail: New name for the bulk advertising mail formerly known as Third-Class Mail.

Tracking: Maintenance of records concerning various aspects of mailings such as response rates, mail dates and location of respondents. U.S. Mail: Any mailable matter that is accepted for mail processing and delivery by the Postal Service.

United States Postal Service (USPS): The successor to the Post Office Department, the USPS was established by the Postal Reorganization Act of July 1, 1971, as an independent, self-supporting federal agency within the executive branch.

Universal Service: The Postal Service's mandate and commitment to the nation to provide mail delivery service at uniform and reasonable rates to everyone, everywhere.

Year: As used in the financial section of this report, it means the Postal Service fiscal year, which is the 12-month period during which the Postal Service keeps accounts, beginning October 1 and closing September 30.