Final answer:
Profit is the financial gain remaining after subtracting all expenses and costs from total revenue, and is best described as the funds available for business growth after all costs have been paid.
Step-by-step explanation:
Profit is best described as D. the funds available for business growth, after expenses and salaries are paid. This is because profit in a business context typically refers to the financial gain achieved when the revenues from business activities exceed the expenses, costs, and taxes involved in sustaining the activities. Thus, it is calculated as Profit = Total Revenue - Total Cost.
There are two key concepts of profit: accounting profit and economic profit. Accounting profit takes into consideration only the explicit costs and is calculated as total revenue minus explicit costs. This is essentially the difference between the dollars brought in and the dollars paid out. In contrast, economic profit also includes implicit costs, meaning it reflects the total revenue minus both explicit and implicit costs. Therefore, while accounting profit is used for tax purposes and often reported on financial statements, economic profit provides a more comprehensive view of a business's profitability, considering all costs, including those that are not directly paid out in cash.