The Importance of Balance Sheet
The Importance of Balance Sheet
Balance sheet is a very important document because through it we can have an instant picture of how strong is the business. It shows a snapshot of the company’s financial condition at any point in time, most often at the end of a fiscal quarter or at year-end. Personal and company balance sheets are practically similar. The balance sheet lists down assets such as house, car, saving accounts and others. It also records liabilities like car loan, mortgage, credit card debt etc. To get the net worth of a person or company, we simply deduct liabilities from assets.
The three main parts of the balance sheet are assets, liabilities and shareholder equity. In the formula, assets should be equal to the sum of liabilities and shareholder equity. However, some assets are not good and some liabilities are not all bad. How can it be? Here is the explanation.
Cash and cash equivalents are good assets. But accounts receivables and inventory are not good assets because the first represents cash not received by the company and there is a possibility that they may not be received. Inventory on the other hand is cash tied up in products or materials not yet sold.
Assets such as investments may be included in some balance sheets. Prepaid expenses (like insurance which are paid in advance), property and equipment are classified as assets.
Liabilities are current short term and long term debts. Debt is not necessarily bad although we want to avoid it. Debt can be an asset in a sense because it is cash that the company is using for its operation. It also adds worth to the company.
Accounts payable are also good because these are cash that the company can use for the meantime while the accounts are not yet due for payment.
The shareholder equity is simply the result after deducting liabilities from assets. The stockholders can claim this portion.