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.

• For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) hasworked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online.
• Yes, “M” is accepted in formal business and financial writing.
• Most native speakers wouldn’t care much about “million” as an abbreviation because they won’t often come across the number in their daily lives.
• It makes the most sense considering that “million” starts with the letter “M.” Most abbreviations follow this standard practice.
• The word “million” can be paired with the suffix “-aire” to form the word millionaire which indicates an individual with a million or more dollars.
• We delved into specific considerations for fine-tuning your abbreviation practices, emphasizing consistency, audience, and adherence to style guides.

Which sectors commonly use “M” to abbreviate million?

It’s then up to the reader to note the context, with the document stating the place mm meaning 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”?

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 a standard abbreviation.

Example Sentences With Million Abbreviations

Unlock your potential and accelerate your career with sought-after management and leadership skills. Yes, “M” is widely recognized across international finance and business sectors. Mixing both abbreviations can lead to confusion and render your writing less effective. By using this concise abbreviation, journalists can save valuable space and capture readers’ attention without overwhelming them with lengthy figures. 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.

“M” vs. “MM” – What Is The Correct Abbreviation for “Million”?

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 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 Certified Bookkeeper necessary because the Romans didn’t use zero, and they didn’t like using more than three identical letters in a row.

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” or have their own prescribed abbreviation, so it’s essential to consult the relevant guidelines before finalizing your writing.

You have to be careful when using it or interpreting it because MM can stand for other things too. While obscure outside banking circles, MM enjoys near universal usage within finance and accounting as the standard abbreviation for “millions”. This convention originated from Roman numeral accounting traditions and became engrained centuries ago. Today, MM remains the standard abbreviation for millions throughout the banking and accounting professions.

• After analyzing its history and modern use, I have a new appreciation for how deeply rooted MM is within finance culture, likely to endure for the foreseeable future.
• It’s also common to see K used for 1,000 and B for a billion.
• In this context, MM is the same as writing “M multiplied by M,” which is equal to “1,000 times 1,000,” which equals 1,000,000 (one million).
• If net income runs to $6,500,000, it goes on the books as $6.5MM.
• While obscure outside banking circles, MM enjoys near universal usage within finance and accounting as the standard abbreviation for “millions”.
• Whether etched by hand or printed, space was at a premium on these pages.

When should you use “M” versus “MM”?

Aside from finance, you may also encounter the use of “M” in various other contexts. It is commonly employed in newspaper headlines, what are retained earnings 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.

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.