List of Assets

List of Assets in Accounting

Asset consists of the resources which are owned or which are controlled by the Corporation, individual or the government as the result of the events of the past with the motive of generating the cash flows in the future. The list of assets includes operating assets, non-operating assets, current assets, non-current assets, physical assets, and intangible assets.

In this article, we discuss the list of Top 10 Assets in Accounting

#1 – Cash and Cash Equivalents

List of Assets (Cash and Cash Equivalents)

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Source: List of Assets (wallstreetmojo.com)

Every business requires cash or bank balance for its operations. With the cash and cash equivalentsCash And Cash Equivalents Cash and Cash Equivalents are assets that are short-term and highly liquid investments that can be readily converted into cash and have a low risk of price fluctuation. Cash and paper money, US Treasury bills, undeposited receipts, and Money Market funds are its examples. They are normally found as a line item on the top of the balance sheet asset. read more, one can buy land, buildings, merchandise, etc., and can pay for expenses like employees’ salaries, utility bills, etc.

When the inflows are from the loan, then it increases the liabilities of the company, if from the sale of assets then it decreases the assets and if the inflows are from the profit then it grows the equity value of the shareholders of the company thereby increasing the interest of the investors in the company. If there is a lack of sufficient funds in the business, then the company has to sell off its assets, which will lead to the risk of becoming bankrupt or discontinuation of the operations.

Example: The Inflow of cash to the company is in the form of loans, raising share capitalRaising Share Capital Share capital refers to the funds raised by an organization by issuing the company's initial public offerings, common shares or preference stocks to the public. It appears as the owner's or shareholders' equity on the corporate balance sheet's liability side.read more, issue of debentures, profits from the business operation, gain on sale of property or equipment, etc.

#2 – Short Term Investments

Short Term InvestmentsShort Term Investments Short term investments are those financial instruments which can be easily converted into cash in the next three to twelve months and are classified as current assets on the balance sheet. Most companies opt for such investments and park excess cash due to liquidity and solvency reasons.read more contains those investment assets which are short term in nature and are liquid investments. These can be in debt or equity marketsEquity Markets An equity market is a platform that enables the companies to issue their securities to the investors; it also facilitates the further exchange of these stocks between the buyers and sellers. It comprises various stock exchanges like New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).read more and have short term maturity of less than 1 year.

source: Microsoft.com

#3 – Inventory

Inventory is a term used for the goods which are available for sale in the business. The revenue of the business depends upon the sale of its inventory. Higher the sale, Higher is the revenue generates and vice versa. Inventories are not the long term asset. They are part of current assets lists. In a manufacturing concern, inventories are further classified as

Raw materials: They are unprocessed materials on which the work is yet to be started. For example, to manufacture a t-shirt, cloth is a raw material.
Work-in-progress: When the work on raw material is done partially, and some value addition is remaining. For example, if the cloth is semi-stitched and still the other side of the t-shirt is yet to be stitched. Then such semi stitched piece is part of Work in progress.
Finished goods: The products which are ready for sale as they have completed production. The final product t-shirt which is properly stitched is the finished good.

#4 – Accounts and Notes Receivables

It is a widespread thing in the business enterprise to make sales on credit. Due to such sales made on credit, the account receivableAccount Receivable Accounts receivables refer to the amount due on the customers for the credit sales of the products or services made by the company to them. It appears as a current asset in the corporate balance sheet.read more or trade receivableTrade Receivable Trade receivable is the amount owed to the business or company by its customers. It is also known as account receivables and is represented as current liabilities in balance sheet.read more is created in the current assets. Accounts receivable represent the money owed to the business enterprise by their debtors.

For example, ABC Company sold goods worth $5,000 to XYZ Company. Now XYZ Company is liable to pay $5,000 to ABC Company. So in the books of ABC Company, XYZ Company is the debtor of $5,000, which is a part of accounts receivable. If the debtorsThe Debtors A debtor is a person or entity that owes money to the other party in a transaction. The receiver is referred to as the creditor, and the payment terms vary for each transaction based on the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties.read more fail to pay the amount, then the amount is written off as bad debts.

Accounts receivable also include bills receivable, which direct the debtors to pay off the amount mentioned within the time specified on the bill. In the above example, if the bill of exchange is issued to XYZ Company, directing him to pay $5,000 within 60 days, then instead of reporting XYZ Company as debtors, ABC Company will report $5,000 as bills receivable.

#5 – Prepaid Expenses

Prepaid expenses are paid in advance before they are accrued or when the benefit of such payment will be received in the coming financial years. The unexpired portion of the prepaid expense is reported on the asset side of the balance sheet.

Current Assets Example - Prepaid expense

source: Google SEC filings

We note from above that Google’s Prepaid revenue share, expenses, and other assets have increased from $3,412 million in December 2014 to $37,20 million in March 2015.

#6 – Land

The land is the tangible long-term asset which the business generally holds for a period of greater than one year. The land is bought for or with the place of business like office, plant, etc. or for housing and commercial developments.

The land is shown at the purchase price by the company until the same is sold. Any change in value during the holding period is not recorded, and only the gain or loss at the time of sale of land is reflected as the increase or decrease in cash or equity account. The balance sheet shows the purchase price until it is sold. There is no wear and tear in the land, so no depreciation benefit of the same is allowed as per the income tax.

#7 -Property, Plant & Equipment

Properties, Plant & Equipment, are tangible assetsTangible Assets Any physical assets owned by a firm that can be quantified with reasonable ease and are used to carry out its business activities are defined as tangible assets. For example, a company's land, as well as any structures erected on it, furniture, machinery, and equipment.read more that are physical. They are part of the company’s fixed assets Fixed Assets Fixed assets are assets that are held for the long term and are not expected to be converted into cash in a short period of time. Plant and machinery, land and buildings, furniture, computers, copyright, and vehicles are all examples.read more because they are used for the long term period. These assets are reported in the balance sheet at cost less than the amount of depreciation. Capital intensiveCapital Intensive Capital intensive refers to those industries or companies that require significant upfront capital investments in machinery, plant & equipment to produce goods or services in high volumes and maintain higher levels of profit margins and return on investments. Examples include oil & gas, automobiles, real estate, metals & mining.read more industries are having a more significant amount of fixed assets such as manufacturers, oil companies, automobile companies, etc.

The example of plant & machinery is Machinery, office furniture, Motor Vehicles, etc.

#8 – Intangible Assets

source: Google SEC Filings

Intangible assetsIntangible Assets Amortization of Intangible Assets refers to the method by which the cost of the company's various intangible assets (such as trademarks, goodwill, and patents) is expensed over a specific time period. This time frame is typically the expected life of the asset.read more are those assets that cannot be touched, or we can say they are not physical. Valuation of these assets is generally tricky because they are unique and are not readily available for sale. These assets carry their importance. For instance, the brand name promotes sales. If one buys a franchisee of KFC, then surely, we will have a good base of the consumer. But if one opens his own business with a new brand name when creating a consumer base will take a lot of time.

The list of intangible assetsList Of Intangible Assets Some of the most common intangible assets are logos, self-developed software, customer data, franchise agreements, Newspaper Mastheads, license, royalty, Marketing Rights, Import Quotas, Servicing Rights etc.read more is goodwill, trademark, copyrights, patent, brand names, etc.