A balance sheet (also known as a statement of financial position) provides a snapshot of a business’s assets, liabilities and owner’s equity at a specific point in time. This data can be used to calculate a variety of liquidity and solvency ratios. It is a critical tool for both internal and external analysts, investors, lenders, and others who need to evaluate a company’s current and expected performance in the near future.
A company’s assets are everything it owns that holds some quantifiable value. This includes cash and equivalents such as short-term investments, treasury bills and money market funds, accounts receivable, inventory and fixed assets such as property, plant and equipment. Intangible assets such as patents and goodwill also fall into this category. These assets are generally recorded on the balance sheet at their purchase price, but they may depreciate over time due to wear and tear or other factors.
Liabilities on the other hand are what a company owes to others at a particular time. These can include both debts and accrued expenses, which are reflected on the balance sheet under the accounts payable and accrued expense account respectively. Like assets, liabilities are also classified as either current or long-term, with the former being those that a company expects to pay within one year and the latter being those that exceed one year in duration.
Then there is owner’s equity, which represents the monies invested in or owned by a company, and which can be split into categories such as common stock, retained earnings and accumulated other comprehensive income. The balance sheet reconciles all these components, showing that the sum of a company’s assets equals the sum of its liabilities and owner’s equity.
As a business grows and evolves, its assets, liabilities and shareholder’s equity will change. A balance sheet is a crucial tool that helps businesses and investors understand these changes. By viewing the current and past values of a company’s assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity, analysts can assess a firm’s liquidity, solvency and profitability. A balance sheet is a key piece of financial information that should be included in any company’s accounting reports. Bilanz