Balance Sheet

Other Liabilities

A balance sheet item that includes obligations which are not going to be paid off within the year or operating cycle, but are not included in the "long term liabilities" category.

total current Liabilities

A company's debts or obligations that are due within one year. Current liabilities appear on the company's balance sheet and include short term debt, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other debts.

Treasury Stock

A corporation's own stock that has been repurchased from stockholders. Also a stockholders' equity account that usually reports the cost of the stock that has been repurchased.

Pre-Paid Expenses

A current asset representing amounts paid in advance for future expenses. As the expenses are used or expire, expense is increased and prepaid expense is decreased.

Long Term Assets

The value of a company's property, equipment and other capital assets, minus depreciation. This is reported on the balance sheet. 2.

Long-Term Debt

consists of loans and financial obligations lasting over one year. Long-term debt for a company would include any financing or leasing obligations that are to come due in a greater than 12-month period.

Total Liabilities

Are the aggregate debt and financial obligations owed by a business to individuals and organizations at any specific period of time. Total liabilities are reported on a company's balance sheet and are a component of the general accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity.

Shareholders' Equity

At a corporation it is the residual or difference of assets minus liabilities.

Current Assets

Cash and other resources that are expected to turn to cash or to be used up within one year of the balance sheet date. (If a company's operating cycle is longer than one year, an item is a current asset if it will turn to cash or be used up within the operating cycle.) Current assets are presented in the order of liquidity, i.e., cash, temporary investments, accounts receivable, inventory, supplies, prepaid insurance.

Goodwill

Goodwill is a long-term asset categorized as an intangible asset. Goodwill arises when a company acquires another entire business. The amount of goodwill is the cost to purchase the business minus the fair market value of the tangible assets, the intangible assets that can be identified, and the liabilities obtained in the purchase. The amount in the Goodwill account will be adjusted to a smaller amount if there is an impairment in the value of the acquired company as of a balance sheet date.

Short Term Investments

An account in the current assets section of a company's balance sheet. This account contains any investments that a company has made that will expire within one year. For the most part, these accounts contain stocks and bonds that can be liquidated fairly quickly.

Short Term Debt

An account shown in the current liabilities portion of a company's balance sheet. This account is comprised of any debt incurred by a company that is due within one year. The debt in this account is usually made up of short-term bank loans taken out by a company.

Long-Term Liabilities

Obligations of the enterprise that are not payable within one year of the balance sheet date. Two examples are bonds payable and long term notes payable.

Accounts Payable

This current liability account will show the amount a company owes for items or services purchased on credit and for which there was not a promissory note. This account is often referred to as trade payables (as opposed to notes payable, interest payable, etc.)

Property, Plant, & Equipment

A major classification on the balance sheet. It is the second long term asset section after current assets. Included are land, buildings, leasehold improvements, equipment, furniture, fixtures, delivery trucks, automobiles, etc. that are owned by the company. To learn more, see Explanation of Balance Sheet.

Deferred Long Term Liability Charges

A collection of future company liabilities that will typically be summed up and shown as one line item on the balance sheet. The charges are most often made up of deferred-tax liabilities that are to be paid more than one year in the future; depending on the company, they can also be comprised of forward contract obligations (like, swap contracts or derivative products).

Account Receivables

A current asset resulting from selling goods or services on credit (on account). Invoice terms such as (a) net 30 days or (b) 2/10, n/30 signify that a sale was made on account and was not a cash sale.

Inventories

A current asset whose ending balance should report the cost of a merchandiser's products awaiting to be sold. The inventory of a manufacturer should report the cost of its raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods. The cost of inventory should include all costs necessary to acquire the items and to get them ready for sale

Retained Earnings

A stockholders' equity account that generally reports the net income of a corporation from its inception until the balance sheet date less the dividends declared from its inception to the date of the balance sheet.

Current Liabilities

Obligations due within one year of the balance sheet date. (If a company's operating cycle is longer than one year, an item is a current liability if it is due within the operating cycle.) Another condition is that the item will use cash or it will create another current liability. (This means that if a bond payable is due within one year of the balance sheet date, but the bond will be retired by a bond sinking fund (a long term restricted asset) the bond will not be reported as a current liability.)

Other Stockholder Equity

Stockholders' equity represents the equity stake currently held on the books by a firm's equity investors. It is calculated either as a firm's total assets minus its total liabilities, or as share capital plus retained earnings minus treasury shares: Also known as "shareholders' equity"

Total Stockholder Equity

Stockholders' equity represents the equity stake currently held on the books by a firm's equity investors. It is calculated either as a firm's total assets minus its total liabilities, or as share capital plus retained earnings minus treasury shares: Also known as "shareholders' equity"

Total Assets

The basic accounting equation states that Assets = Liabilities + Stockholders Equity. In the accounting industry, assets are defined as anything that a business owns, has value and can be converted to cash.

Common Stock

The type of stock that is present at every corporation. (Some corporations have preferred stock in addition to their common stock.) Shares of common stock provide evidence of ownership in a corporation. Holders of common stock elect the corporation's directors and share in the distribution of profits of the company via dividends. If the corporation were to liquidate, the secured lenders would be paid first, followed by unsecured lenders, preferred stockholders (if any), and lastly the common stockholders.

Cash & Equivalents

are assets that are readily convertible into cash, such as money market holdings, short-term government bonds or Treasury bills, marketable securities and commercial paper

Capital Surplus

is a term that frequently appears as a balance sheet item as a component of shareholders' equity. Capital surplus is used to account for that amount which a firm raises in excess of the par value (nominal value) of the shares (common stock).

Total Current Assets

is the sum of cash, accounts receivable, inventory and supplies. Other assets that appear in the balance sheet are called long-term or fixed assets because they're durable and will last more than one year.