3.4 Assets & Liabilities

Intangible Assets

Non-physical fixed assets that are valuable to a firm's survival and success, such as brand value, copyrights, trademarks and patents.

Current Assets

Short-term assets belonging to an organization which will last in the business for up to 12 months, e.g. cash, debtors and stock (inventory).

Trade Creditors

Suppliers may give trade credit, which needs to be repaid at a future date (typically 30 to 60 days).

Creditors

Suppliers that allow a business to purchase goods and/or services on trade credit.

Liabilities

The debts of a business, i.e. the money owed to others,

Fixed Assets

The long-term assets (possessions) of an organization that have a monetary value and are used repeatedly but are not intended for resale within the next twelve months, e.g. property and equipment.

Patents

The official rights given to a business to exploit an invention or process for commercial purposes.

Assets

The possessions owned by a business, which have a monetary value

Goodwill

The reputation and established networks (know-how) of an organization, which adds to a firm's monetary value.

Copyrights

These intangible fixed assets give the registered owner the legal rights to creative pieces of work, such as the works of authors, musicians, conductors, playwrights (scriptwriters) and directors.

Overdraft

This financial service allows customers to temporarily take out more money than is available in their bank account.

Long Term Liabilitis

A debt owed by a business which will take longer than a year (from the balance sheet date) to repay.

Trademarks

A form of intellectual property, the value of which gives the listed owner the legal and exclusive commercial use of the registered brands, logos, and/or slogans.

Debtors

A type of current asset, referring to individual or business customers that owe money to the organization as they have bought goods or services on trade credit, i.e. they need to pay within 30 and 60 days.

Stocks

Also known as inventories, these are the goods that a business has available for sale, per time period.