business
Companies can accelerate their business by increasing their revenue and/or profitability. Wall street is primarily interested in the changes in profitability or revenue. The acceleration is a tool that is used for predicting a trend.
The force applied to business can be market moves or internal changes intended to enhance the operation.
sport
In most sports acceleration is key.
In some it is about how quickly you get to the top speed, while in others it is all about the speed at which the change of rythm occurs.