Hispanopedia Wiki
Articulo de referencia

Balance sheet

In financial accounting , a balance sheet (also known as statement of financial position or statement of financial condition ) is a summary of the financial balances of an indiv...

Hispanopedia WikiContenido en espanolLectura gratuita

In financial accounting, a balance sheet (also known as statement of financial position or statement of financial condition) is a summary of the financial balances of an individual or organization, whether it be a sole proprietorship, a business partnership, a corporation, a private limited company or other organization such as a government or not-for-profit entity. 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 four basic financial statements, the balance sheet is the only statement that applies to a single point in time of a business's calendar year.[2]

A standard company balance sheet typically lists assets, then liabilities, then owner's equity. Assets and liabilities themselves are typically listed in order of liquidity – "current" items with a maturity of less than one year, and "long-term" items with a maturity greater than one year.[3] 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.[4]

A business can measure its profits by subtracting its expenses from its revenues. However, many businesses are not paid immediately; they build up inventories of goods and 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.

Types

Un balance general resume los activos, el patrimonio y los pasivos de una organización o un individuo en un momento específico. Existen dos formas de balance general: la forma de informe y la forma de cuenta. Los individuos y las pequeñas empresas suelen tener balances generales simples. [ 5 ] Las empresas más grandes suelen tener balances generales más complejos, que se presentan en el informe anual de la organización . [ 6 ] Las grandes empresas también pueden preparar balances generales para segmentos de sus negocios. [ 7 ] Un balance general a menudo se presenta junto con uno de un momento diferente (normalmente el año anterior) para compararlo. [ 8 ] [ 9 ]

Personal

Un balance personal enumera los activos corrientes , como el efectivo en cuentas corrientes y de ahorro ; los activos a largo plazo, como las acciones y los bienes inmuebles ; los pasivos corrientes, como las deudas por préstamos e hipotecas vencidas o pendientes; y los pasivos a largo plazo, como las hipotecas y otros préstamos . Los valores de los títulos y los bienes inmuebles se registran a su valor de mercado, en lugar de a su costo histórico o base de costo . El patrimonio neto personal es la diferencia entre el total de activos y el total de pasivos de un individuo. [ 10 ]

Pequeñas empresas estadounidenses

El balance general de una pequeña empresa incluye activos corrientes como efectivo, cuentas por cobrar e inventario ; activos fijos como terrenos, edificios y equipos; activos intangibles como patentes ; y pasivos como cuentas por pagar , gastos acumulados y deuda a largo plazo. Los pasivos contingentes, como las garantías, se registran en las notas al balance general. El patrimonio neto de la pequeña empresa es la diferencia entre el total de activos y el total de pasivos. [ 12 ]

Organizaciones benéficas

In England and Wales, smaller charities which are not also companies are permitted to file a statement of assets and liabilities instead of a balance sheet. This statement lists the charity's main assets and liabilities as at the end of its financial year.[13]

Public business entities structure

Guidelines for balance sheets of public business entities are given by the International Accounting Standards Board through International Financial Reporting Standards and numerous country-specific organizations/companies. The standard used by companies in the US adheres 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.[14][15][16]

If applicable to the business, summary values for the following items should be included in the balance sheet:[17] Assets are all the things the business owns. This will include property, tools, vehicles, furniture, machinery, and so on.

Assets

Current assets

  1. Cash and cash equivalents
  2. Accounts receivable
  3. Inventories
  4. Prepaid expenses for future services that will be used within a year
  5. Notes receivable

Non-current assets (fixed assets)

  1. Property, plant and equipment
  2. Investment property, such as real estate held for investment purposes
  3. Intangible assets, such as patents, copyrights and goodwill
  4. Financial assets (excluding investments accounted for using the equity method, accounts receivables, and cash and cash equivalents), such as notes receivables
  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.[18]
  7. Loan To (More than one financial period)

Liabilities

  1. Accounts payable
  2. Provisions for warranties or court decisions (contingent liabilities that are both probable and measurable)
  3. Financial liabilities (excluding provisions and accounts payables), 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
  7. Interests on loan stock
  8. Creditors' equity

Net current assets

Net current assets means current assets minus current liabilities.[19]

Equity / capital

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" are 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-entry bookkeeping. In this sense, shareholders' equity by construction must equal assets minus liabilities, and thus the shareholders' equity is considered to be a residual.

Regarding the items in the 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

Substantiation

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.

Sample

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 (subtotal) rows are missing as well.

Under IFRS items are always shown based on liquidity from the least liquid assets at the top, usually land and buildings to the most liquid, i.e. cash. Then liabilities and equity continue from the most immediate liability to be paid (usual account payable) to the least i.e. long-term debt such as mortgages and owner's equity at the very bottom.[20]

Consolidated Statement of Finance Position of XYZ, Ltd. As of 31 December 2025
ASSETSNon-Current Assets (Fixed Assets)Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) Less : Accumulated DepreciationGoodwillIntangible Assets (Patent, Copyright, Trademark, etc.) Less : Accumulated Amortization Investments in Financial assets due after one year Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures Other Non-Current Assets, e.g. Deferred Tax Assets, Lease Receivable and Receivables due after one year Current AssetsInventoriesPrepaid Expenses Investments in Financial assets due within one year Non-Current and Current Assets Held for saleAccounts Receivable (Debtors) due within one year Less : Allowances for Doubtful debtsCash and Cash Equivalents
TOTAL ASSETS (this will match/balance the total for Liabilities and Equity below)
LIABILITIES and EQUITYCurrent 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. Deferred income, Security depositsNon-Current Liabilities (Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year)Loans Payable Issued Debt Securities, e.g. Notes/Bonds Payable Deferred Tax Liabilities Provisions, e.g. Pension Obligations Other Non-Current Liabilities, e.g. Lease ObligationsEQUITYPaid-in CapitalShare Capital (Ordinary Shares, Preference Shares) Share PremiumLess: Treasury SharesRetained EarningsRevaluation ReserveOther Accumulated ReservesAccumulated Other Comprehensive IncomeNon-Controlling Interest
TOTAL LIABILITIES and EQUITY (this will match/balance the total for Assets above)

See also

References

  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. ↑ "Cuatro tipos de estados financieros" . William & Mary . 28 de noviembre de 2022. Consultado el 15 de febrero de 2024 .
  3. ↑ Daniels, Mortimer (1980). Estados financieros de las corporaciones . Ciudad de Nueva York: Arno Press. págs. 13–14 . ISBN  0-405-13514-9.
  4. ↑ Williams, pág. 50
  5. ↑ "Hoja de cálculo de muestra de la Administración de Pequeñas Empresas de EE. UU. para una pequeña empresa" . Archivado del original el 15 de julio de 2007. Consultado el 10 de agosto de 2003 .
  6. ↑ "Balance general de Microsoft Corporation, 30 de junio de 2004" . Microsoft.com. Archivado del original el 13 de enero de 2009. Consultado el 4 de octubre de 2012 .
  7. ↑ "Balance de International Business Machines 'Global Financing' comparando 2003 con 2004" . Ibm.com . Consultado el 4 de octubre de 2012 .
  8. ↑ "Comparación de dos balances de fin de año" . Consultado el 4 de octubre de 2012 .
  9. ↑ "Comparación de dos balances de fin de año" . Archivado del original el 19 de octubre de 2007. Consultado el 8 de mayo de 2010 .
  10. ↑ "Estructura del balance personal" (PDF) . Archivado del original (PDF) el 7 de marzo de 2008. Consultado el 8 de mayo de 2010 .
  11. ↑ Williams, pág. 50.
  12. ↑ "Obtenga más financiación" . Guía empresarial . Administración de Pequeñas Empresas de EE. UU. Archivado del original el 1 de enero de 2011. Consultado el 15 de julio de 2022 .
  13. ↑ Comisión de Beneficencia para Inglaterra y Gales , Notas introductorias sobre cuentas de ingresos y pagos , documento CC16b, publicado en junio de 2013, nuevo formato en enero de 2017, consultado el 16 de noviembre de 2023.
  14. ↑ "Estructura del balance personal" . Archivado del original el 19/11/2007 . Consultado el 08/05/2010 .
  15. ↑ "PLAN DE CUENTAS DEL ESTADO DE ALABAMA" (PDF) . Archivado del original (PDF) el 29 de julio de 2007. Consultado el 21 de septiembre de 2007 .
  16. ↑ "Cuentas del balance de las empresas de servicios públicos del estado de Nueva York (EE. UU.)" . Archivado del original el 24 de marzo de 2017. Consultado el 24 de julio de 2012 .
  17. ↑"Presentation of Financial Statements" International Accounting Standards Board. Accessed 24 June 2007.
  18. ↑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.
  19. ↑Accounting Tools, Inc., Net current assets definition, published 28 October 2023, accessed 15 November 2023
  20. ↑"IFRS VS GAAP: BALANCE SHEET AND INCOME STATEMENT". Accounting-financial-tax.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2016-05-14.