Competitive Analysis. A company's marketing strategy which involves assessing the performance of competitors in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses.Compliance Officer - A corporate official whose job is to ensure that a company is complying with regulations, and that its employees are complying with internal policies and procedures.Compound Interest - Interest which is calculated on not only the the initial loan, but also on the accumulated interest.Compulsory Purchase - When an organisation has the legal right to force the sale of land, property, etc., usually to build motorways or railways.Concept - A thought or notion. An idea for a new product, advertising campaign, etc.Concierge - An employee of e.g. an hotel who provides a service to guests, such as handling luggage, delivering mail and messages, making tour reservations, etc.Conciliation - To bring two disputing sides together to discuss the problem with the aim of reaching an agreement.Conditional Sale - A purchasing arrangement, usually where the buyer pays in instalments but does not become the legal owner of the goods until the full purchase price has been paid.Conference Call - A telephone call which allows three or more people to take part at the same time.Conglomerate - A corporation which consists of several smaller companies with different business activities.Conservator - In law, a guardian or protector appointed by a court to manage the affairs, finances, etc., of someone who is too ill or incapable of doing so themselves.Consortium - A group of businesses, investors or financial institutions working together on a joint venture.Constructive Spending - Helping the local economy by buying home produced goods, holidaying in your own country, etc., rather than buying imported goods and holidaying abroad.Consultant - An expert who is paid by a company, individual, etc., to give advice on developing plans and achieving goals.Consumer - An individual who uses goods and services but who may not have been the purchaser.Consumer Credit - Also called Personal Credit or Retail Credit. Loans given to consumers by financial institutions for household or personal use.Consumer Debt - Money owed by people in the form of loans from banks or purchase agreements from retailers, such as 'buy now pay later'.Consumer Panel - A group of selected people, usually a cross-section of a population, whose purchasing habits are monitored by an organisation, in order to provide feedback on products, services, etc., which are used.Consumer Price - The price which the general public pays for goods and services.Consumer Price Index - CPI. A measure of inflation which involves regularly monitoring the change in price for everyday goods and services purchased by households.Consumer Protection - Laws which protect consumers against unsafe or defective products, deceptive marketing techniques, dishonest businesses, etc.Consumer Watchdog - An independent organization that protects the rights of individual customers and monitors companies to check for illegal practices.Consumption Tax - Tax paid which is based on the price of services or goods, e.g. value added tax.Contango - A situation in which the price of a commodity to be delivered in the future exceeds the immediate delivery price, often due to storage and insurance costs.Contingency