THE BALANCE SHEET Common Terminology

ASSET ACCOUNTS
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Intangible Assets: Rights, privileges and competitive advantages that result from the

ownership of long lived assets that do not possess physical substance

Patents and Rights: rights granted for varying numbers of years (depending of the
country) by a government to exclude others from manufacturing, using or selling
certain processes or devices.
Goodwill: when one firm acquires another firm, it measures the individual
identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their current fair value. If the
purchase price exceeds the sum of the fair value of the identifiable assets less the
identifiable liabilities, the excess is the goodwill.
Computer software: specific or standard computer program.
Tangible Assets: physical items that can be seen and touched, such as land, natural
resources, buildings, and equipment
Land: land used in operations or occupied by buildings used in operations.
Building: factory buildings, store buildings, garages, warehouses and other buildings
Equipment: lathes, ovens, machine tools, boilers, computers, bins, cranes,
conveyors, automobiles and so forth.

Machinery
Vehicles, Trucks
Computers
Furniture: desks, tables, chairs, counters, showcases and other selling and office
equipment.

Financial investments in securities: Long term investments in shares, bonds

Property Investments: investment in tangible assets such as buildings or land, not for a
production purpose.

CURRENT ASSETS
Inventories: goods available for sale, partially completed goods, and materials used in the
manufacture of products. Sometimes referred as stocks
Merchandise: reflects goods on hand purchased for resale, such as canned goods,
on grocery store shelves or suits in the racks of a clothing store. (Commercial firms)
Row materials: materials as yet unused for manufacturing products.
Unfinished goods or Work-in-Process: partially completed manufactured
products
Finished goods: completed but unsold manufactured products
Accounts receivable: amounts due from customers from the sale of goods or services on
account. Accounts receivable describes the figure representing the total amount of cash
owed by customers.
Advances to Suppliers: payments the firm has made in advance to a supplier for goods
or services that it will receive at a later date.
Prepaid expenses: expenses paid in cash and recorded as assets before they are used or
consumed
Prepaid rent or Prepaid Insurance: amount paid in advance for a future
consume, for example: use of land, building or equipments, and insurance premiums
paid for future coverage.

Revenues receivable: Amount owed by customers for goods or services already

delivered.

Marketable securities (bonds, shares): governments bonds or corporate stocks and

bonds that the firm will hold for a relatively short term. The word marketable implies that the
firm can readily buy and sell them for a relatively short time, less than one year.
Notes receivable: amounts due from customers or from others to whom a firm has made
loans or extended credit. The customer or other borrower puts the claim into writing in a
formal note, which distinguishes the claim from an account receivable.
Cash and equivalents: coins and currency and items such as bank checks and money
orders, bank deposits against which the firm can draw checks, as time deposits, usually
savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

LIABILITIES ACCOUNTS
Bank loan: an arrangement in which the owner (bank) of an asset (cash), called the

lender, allows a firm, called the borrower, the use of the asset for a period of time, which
the agreement setting up the loan usually specifies. The borrower promises to return the
asset to the lender and, often, to make a payment for the use of the asset, called interest.
Accounts payable to: Amounts owed by a firm to its suppliers from whom it has
purchased on credit.
Suppliers: Liability towards a third party arising from purchases of inventories.
Creditors: those to whom an organization or an individual owes money. Creditors
whose payments are due in less than one year are classed as current liabilities and
payments that are due in more than one year are long term liabilities.
Notes payable: the face amount of promissory notes given in connection with loans from
a bank or with the purchase of goods or services. It is an obligation in the form of a written
promissory note. (the same items appear as Notes Receivables on the creditors (lenders)
balance sheet).
Advances from customers: the general name used to indicate the obligation incurred
when a firm receives payment in advance for goods or services it will furnish to customers in
the future
Unearned revenues: Cash received before revenues were earned and recorded as
liabilities until they are earned.
Expenses payable: Payments due for business expenses.
Bonds to be paid (payable): a form of a long-term loan. The borrower usually raises the
funds from a number of lenders, each of whom receives written evidence of its share of the
loan.
Payable Income Taxes: the estimates liabilities for income taxes, accumulated and
unpaid based on the taxable income of the business

SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY
Paid-in-Capital: the amount paid in to the corporation by stockholders in exchange for
shares of ownership

Retained Earnings: amount of net income kept in the corporation for future use, not
distributed to stockholders as dividends

WORKING CAPITAL
Working capital: current assets minus current liabilities; sometimes called net working
capital or net current assets.

Solvent: Be able to meet debts when due.

Solvency: The ability of a company to pay interest as it comes due and to repay the face
value of debt at maturity, or an entitys ability to meet its immediate financial obligations
as they become due

Balance Sheet Classification

Liquidity: Availability of cash or cash equivalents for meeting a firm's obligations.
Maturity: Due date of a debt at which time the principal must be paid.