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Balance sheet
In financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of
the financial balances of a sole proprietorship, a business partnership, a corporation or other
business organization, such as an LLC or an LLP. 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".
[1]
Of the three basic financial
statements, the balance sheet is the only statement which applies to a single point in time of a
business' calendar year.
A standard company balance sheet has three parts: assets, liabilities and ownership equity.
The main categories of assets are usually listed first, and typically in order of liquidity.
[2]
Assets 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 or capital of the company and according to
the accounting equation, net worth must equal assets minus liabilities.
[3]
Another way to look at the balance sheet equation is that total assets equals liabilities plus
owner's equity. Looking at the equation in this way shows how assets were financed: either by
borrowing money (liability) or by using the owner's money (owner's or shareholders' equity).
Balance sheets are usually presented with assets in one section and liabilities and net worth
in the other section with the two sections "balancing".
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, many 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 cannot, even if they want to,
immediately turn these into cash at the end of each period. Often, these 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.
Contents
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Personal balance sheet
US small business balance sheet
Public Business Entities balance sheet structure
Assets
Liabilities
Equity
Balance sheet substantiation
Sample balance sheet
See also
References
A balance sheet summarizes an organization or individual's assets, equity and liabilities at a
specific point in time. Two forms of balance sheet exist. They are the report form and the
account form. Individuals and small businesses tend to have simple balance sheets.
[4]
Larger
businesses tend to have more complex balance sheets, and these are presented in the
organization's annual report.
[5]
Large businesses also may prepare balance sheets for
segments of their businesses.
[6]
A balance sheet is often presented alongside one for a
different point in time (typically the previous year) for comparison.
[7][8]
Personal balance sheet
A personal balance sheet lists current assets such as cash in checking accounts and savings
accounts, long-term assets such as common stock and real estate, current liabilities such as
loan debt and mortgage debt due, or overdue, long-term liabilities such as mortgage and
other loan debt. Securities and real estate values are listed at market value rather than at
historical cost or cost basis. Personal net worth is the difference between an individual's total
assets and total liabilities.
[9]
US small business balance sheet
Sample Small Business Balance Sheet
[10]
Assets Liabilities and Owners' Equity
Cash $6,600 Liabilities
Types
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Accounts Receivable $6,200 Notes Payable $5,000
Tools and equipment $25,000 Accounts Payable $25,000
Total liabilities $30,000
Owners' equity
Capital Stock $7,000
Retained Earnings $800
Total owners' equity $7,800
Total $37,800 Total $37,800
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.
[11]
Guidelines for balance sheets of public business entities are given by the International
Accounting Standards Board and numerous country-specific organizations/companys. The
standard used by companies in the USA adhere to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles (GAAP). The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) is a United
States federal advisory committee whose mission is to develop generally accepted
accounting principles (GAAP) for federal financial reporting entities.
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.
[12][13][14][15]
If applicable to the business, summary values for the following items should be included in the
balance sheet:
[16]
Assets are all the things the business owns, this will include property, tools,
cars, desks, chairs etc.
Assets
Current assets
Public Business Entities balance sheet structure
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1. Cash and cash equivalents
2. Accounts receivable
3. Prepaid expenses for future services that will be used within a year
Non-current assets (Fixed assets)
1. Property, plant and equipment
2. Investment property, such as real estate held for investment purposes
3. Intangible assets
4. Financial assets (excluding investments accounted for using the equity method, accounts
receivables, and cash and cash equivalents)
5. Investments accounted for using the equity method
6. Biological assets, which are living plants or animals. Bearer biological assets are plants or
animals which bear agricultural produce for harvest, such as apple trees grown to produce
apples and sheep raised to produce wool.
[17]
Liabilities
See Liability (accounting)
1. Accounts payable
2. Provisions for warranties or court decisions
3. Financial liabilities (excluding provisions and accounts payable), such as promissory notes
and corporate bonds
4. Liabilities and assets for current tax
5. Deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets
6. Unearned revenue for services paid for by customers but not yet provided
Equity
The net assets shown by the balance sheet equals the third part of the balance sheet, which is
known as the shareholders' equity. It comprises::
1. Issued capital and reserves attributable to equity holders of the parent company (controlling
interest)
2. Non-controlling interest in equity
Formally, shareholders' equity is part of the company's liabilities: they are funds "owing" to
shareholders (after payment of all other liabilities); usually, however, "liabilities" is used in the
more restrictive sense of liabilities excluding shareholders' equity. The balance of assets and
liabilities (including shareholders' equity) is not a coincidence. Records of the values of each
account in the balance sheet are maintained using a system of accounting known as double-
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entry bookkeeping. In this sense, shareholders' equity by construction must equal assets
minus liabilities, and are a residual.
Regarding the items in equity section, the following disclosures are required:
1. Numbers of shares authorized, issued and fully paid, and issued but not fully paid
2. Par value of shares
3. Reconciliation of shares outstanding at the beginning and the end of the period
4. Description of rights, preferences, and restrictions of shares
5. Treasury shares, including shares held by subsidiaries and associates
6. Shares reserved for issuance under options and contracts
7. A description of the nature and purpose of each reserve within owners' equity
Balance Sheet Substantiation is the accounting process conducted by businesses on a
regular basis to confirm that the balances held in the primary accounting system of record
(e.g. SAP, Oracle, other ERP system's General Ledger) are reconciled (in balance with) with
the balance and transaction records held in the same or supporting sub-systems.
Balance Sheet Substantiation includes multiple processes including reconciliation (at a
transactional or at a balance level) of the account, a process of review of the reconciliation
and any pertinent supporting documentation and a formal certification (sign-off) of the account
in a predetermined form driven by corporate policy.
Balance Sheet Substantiation is an important process that is typically carried out on a
monthly, quarterly and year-end basis. The results help to drive the regulatory balance sheet
reporting obligations of the organization.
Historically, Balance Sheet Substantiation has been a wholly manual process, driven by
spreadsheets, email and manual monitoring and reporting. In recent years software solutions
have been developed to bring a level of process automation, standardization and enhanced
control to the Balance Sheet Substantiation or account certification process. These solutions
are suitable for organizations with a high volume of accounts and/or personnel involved in the
Balance Sheet Substantiation process and can be used to drive efficiencies, improve
transparency and help to reduce risk.
Balance Sheet Substantiation is a key control process in the SOX 404 top-down risk
assessment.
Balance sheet substantiation
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The following balance sheet is a very brief example prepared in accordance with IFRS. It
does not show all possible kinds of assets, liabilities and equity, but it shows the most usual
ones. Because it shows goodwill, it could be a consolidated balance sheet. Monetary values
are not shown, summary (total) rows are missing as well.
Balance Sheet of XYZ, Ltd.
As of 31 December 2009
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Accounts Receivable (Debtors)
Less : Allowances for Doubtful Accounts
Inventories
Prepaid Expenses
Investment Securities (Held for trading)
Other Current Assets
Non-Current Assets (Fixed Assets)
Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE)
Less : Accumulated Depreciation
Investment Securities (Available for sale/Held-to-maturity)
Investments in Associates
Intangible Assets (Patent, Copyright, Trademark, etc.)
Less : Accumulated Amortization
Goodwill
Other Non-Current Assets, e.g. Deferred Tax Assets, Lease Receivable
LIABILITIES and SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
LIABILITIES
Current Liabilities (Creditors: amounts falling due within one year)
Accounts Payable
Current Income Tax Payable
Current portion of Loans Payable
Short-term Provisions
Other Current Liabilities, e.g. Unearned Revenue, Deposits
Non-Current Liabilities (Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one
year)
Loans Payable
Issued Debt Securities, e.g. Notes/Bonds Payable
Sample balance sheet
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Deferred Tax Liabilities
Provisions, e.g. Pension Obligations
Other Non-Current Liabilities, e.g. Lease Obligations
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Paid-in Capital
Share Capital (Ordinary Shares, Preference Shares)
Share Premium
Less: Treasury Shares
Retained Earnings
Revaluation Reserve
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
Non-Controlling Interest
Balance sheet
substantiation
Cash flow statement
Income statement
Minority interest
Model audit
National accounts
Off-balance-sheet
Reformatted balance sheet
Sheet
Statement of retained earnings (statement of changes in
equity)
1. Williams, Jan R.; Susan F. Haka; Mark S. Bettner; Joseph V. Carcello (2008). Financial &
Managerial Accounting. McGraw-Hill Irwin. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-07-299650-0.
2. Daniels, Mortimer (1980). Corporation Financial Statements. New York: New York : Arno
Press. pp. 1314. ISBN 0-405-13514-9.
3. Williams, p.50
4. "US Small Business Administration sample spreadsheet for a small business" . Archived
from the original on 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2003-08-10.
5. "Microsoft Corporation balance sheet, June 30, 2004" . Microsoft.com. Retrieved 2012-
10-04.
6. "International Business Machines "Global Financing" balance sheet comparing 2003 to
2004" . Ibm.com. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
7. "Balance sheet comparing two year-end balance sheets" . Retrieved 2012-10-04.
8. "Balance sheet comparing two year-end balance sheets" . Archived from the original on
See also
References
6/15/2014 Balance sheet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_sheet 8/8
2007-10-19. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
9. "Personal balance sheet structure" . Archived from the original on 2008-03-07.
Retrieved 2010-05-08.
10. Williams, p. 50.
11. Small Business Administration
[dead link]
12. "Personal balance sheet structure" . Archived from the original on 2007-11-19.
Retrieved 2010-05-08.
13. University of Victoria (Canada) balance sheet accounts
[dead link]
14. STATE OF ALABAMA CHART OF ACCOUNTS
15. New York State (USA) public utilities balance sheet accounts
16. "Presentation of Financial Statements" International Accounting Standards Board.
Accessed 24 June 2007.
17. Epstein, Barry J.; Eva K. Jermakowicz (2007). Interpretation and Application of
International Financial Reporting Standards. John Wiley & Sons. p. 931. ISBN 978-0-471-
79823-1.
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