Рефераты. A balance sheet

A balance sheet

Presentation

“Balance sheet”

1. Balance sheet

In financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of a person's or organization's balances. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A balance sheet is often described as a snapshot of a company's financial condition. Of the four basic financial statements, the balance sheet is the only statement which applies to a single point in time.

A company balance sheet has three parts: assets, liabilities and ownership equity. The main categories of assets are usually listed first and are followed by the liabilities. The difference between the assets and the liabilities is known as equity or the net assets or the net worth of the company; according to the accounting equation, net worth must equal assets minus liabilities.

Another way to look at the same equation is that assets equals liabilities plus net worth. This is how a balance sheet is presented, with assets in one section and liabilities and net worth in the other section. The sum of these two sections must be equal; they must "balance."

Records of the values of each account or line in the balance sheet are usually maintained using a system of accounting known as the double-entry bookkeeping system.

A business operating entirely in cash can measure its profits by withdrawing the entire bank balance at the end of the period, plus any cash in hand. However, real businesses are not paid immediately; they build up inventories of goods and they acquire buildings and equipment. In other words: businesses have assets and so they can not, even if they want to, immediately turn these into cash at the end of each period. Real businesses owe money to suppliers and to tax authorities, and the proprietors do not withdraw all their original capital and profits at the end of each period. In other words businesses also have liabilities.

A balance sheet, also known as a "statement of financial position", reveals a company's assets, liabilities and owners' equity (net worth). The balance sheet, together with the income statement and cash flow statement, make up the cornerstone of any company's financial statements. If you are a shareholder of a company, it is important that you understand how the balance sheet is structured, how to analyze it and how to read it.

2. Types of balance sheets

A balance sheet summarizes an organization or individual's assets, equity and liabilities at a specific point in time. Individuals and small businesses tend to have simple balance sheets. Larger businesses tend to have more complex balance sheets, and these are presented in the organization's annual report. Large businesses also may prepare balance sheets for segments of their businesses.

Personal balance sheet

A small business balance sheet lists current assets such as cash, accounts receivable, and inventory, fixed assets such as land, buildings, and equipment, intangible assets such as patents, and liabilities such as accounts payable, accrued expenses, and long-term debt. Contingent liabilities such as warranties are noted in the footnotes to the balance sheet. The small business's equity is the difference between total assets and total liabilities.

Corporate balance sheet

Guidelines for corporate balance sheets are given by the International Accounting Standards Committee and numerous country-specific organizations.

Balance sheet account names and usage depend on the organization's country and the type of organization. Government organizations do not generally follow standards established for individuals or businesses.

3. The Types of Assets

Current Assets

Current assets have a life span of one year or less, meaning they can be converted easily into cash. Such assets classes are: cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and inventory. Cash, the most fundamental of current assets, also includes non-restricted bank accounts and checks. Cash equivalents are very safe assets that can be are readily converted into cash. Accounts receivable consists of the short-term obligations owed to the company by its clients. Companies often sell products or services to customers on credit, which then are held in this account until they are paid off by the clients. Lastly, inventory represents the raw materials, work-in-progress goods and the company's finished goods.

Non-Current Assets

Non-current assets, are those assets that are not turned into cash easily, expected to be turned into cash within a year and/or have a life-span of over a year. They can refer to tangible assets such as machinery, computers, buildings and land. Non-current assets also can be intangible assets, such as goodwill, patents or copyright. While these assets are not physical in nature, they are often the resources that can make or break a company - the value of a brand name, for instance, should not be underestimated.

Depreciation is calculated and deducted from most of these assets, which represents the economic cost of the asset over its useful life.

4. Liabilities

On the other side of the balance sheet are the liabilities. These are the financial obligations a company owes to outside parties. Like assets, they can be both current and long-term. Long-term liabilities are debts and other non-debt financial obligations, which are due after a period of at least one year from the date of the balance sheet. Current liabilities are the company's liabilities which will come due, or must be paid, within one year.

5. Ownership Equity

Ownership equity is the initial amount of money invested into a business. If, at the end of the fiscal year, a company decides to reinvest its net earnings, these retained earnings will be transferred from the income statement onto the balance sheet into the ownership equity account. This account represents a company's total net worth. In order for the balance sheet, total assets on one side have to equal total liabilities plus ownership equity on the other.

6. Read the Balance Sheet

Below is an example of a balance sheet:

As you can see from the balance sheet above, it is broken into two sides. Assets are on the left side and the right side contains the company's liabilities and shareholders' equity. It also can be seen that this balance sheet is in balance where the value of the assets equals the combined value of the liabilities and shareholders' equity.

Another interesting aspect of the balance sheet is how it is organized. The assets and liabilities sections of the balance sheet are organized by how current the account is. So for the asset side, the accounts are classified typically from most liquid to least liquid. For the liabilities side, the accounts are organized from short to long-term borrowings and other obligations.

7. Analyze the Balance Sheet

With a greater understanding of the balance sheet and how it is constructed, we can look now at some techniques used to analyze the information contained within the balance sheet. The main way this is done is through financial ratio analysis.

Financial ratio analysis uses formulas to gain insight into the company and its operations. For the balance sheet, using financial ratios (like the debt-to-equity ratio) can show you a better idea of the company's financial condition along with its operational efficiency. It is important to note that some ratios will need information from more than one financial statement, such as from the balance sheet and the income statement.

The main types of ratios that use information from the balance sheet are financial strength ratios and activity ratios. Financial strength ratios, such as the working capital, provide information on how well the company can meet its obligations. This can give investors an idea of how financially stable the company is and how the company finances itself. Activity ratios focus mainly on current accounts to show how well the company manages its operating cycle (which include receivables, inventory and payables). These ratios can provide insight into the operational efficiency of the company.

There are a wide range of individual financial ratios that investors use to learn more about a company.

1. Баланс

У фінансовій звітності, баланс або звіт про фінансові ркзультати являє собою баланс персони чи організації. Активи, пасиви та власний капітал вказані за станом на конкретну дату, наприклад, на кінець фінансового року. Баланс часто називають відображенням фінансового стану компанії. З чотирьох основних фінансових звітів, баланс є єдиним документом, що відноситься до конкретного моменту часу.

Баланс компанії складається з трьох частин: активи, пасиви та власний капітал. Основні категорії активів, як правило, перераховуються в першу чергу і слідують за пасивами. Різниця між активами та пасивами відома як власний капітал підприємства; у відповідності з рівнянням бухгалтерського обліку, власний капітал повинен дорівнювати активам за мінусом пасивів..

Інший спосіб відобразити теж рівняння полягає в тому, що активи дорівнюють пасивам плюс власний капітал. Таким чином, баланс представляється, з активами в одному розділі та пасивами і власним капіталом в іншому розділі. Сума цих двох розділів повинна бути рівною, вони повинні бути "збалансовані".

Звіти про цінності кожного облікового запису або рядок в балансі, як правило, підтримуються за допомогою системи обліку відомою як подвійна система бухгалтерського обліку.

Фірма, що має справу виключно з готівкою, може виміряти свої прибутки, вивівши весь залишок на банківському рахунку на кінець звітного періоду, плюс будь-яка готівка на руках. Однак, справжне торгове підприємство не виплачуються відразу, воно нарощує запаси товарів та закуповує будівлі та обладнання. Іншими словами: підприємства мають активи і тому вони не можуть, навіть якщо вони хочуть, відразу ж перетворити їх на готівку в кінці кожного періоду. Справжнє підприємство заборговує гроші постачальникам та податковим органам влади, і власники не відображають свої дійсних прибутків та власного капіталу в кінці кожного періоду. Іншими словами підприємства також мають зобов'язання.

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