Definition

Noun: A financial statement that summarizes a company's assets, liabilities, and shareholders' equity at a specific point in time. It provides a snapshot of what an entity owns and owes, as well as the amount invested by shareholders, based on the fundamental equation: Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders' Equity.

Usage

The balance sheet is one of the three core financial statements used to evaluate a business. It is used to assess financial health, liquidity, and capital structure. - It is prepared at the end of an accounting period (e.g., quarterly or annually). - The term is used with verbs like prepare, review, analyze, and present. - It is often preceded by adjectives like consolidated, annual, or company's.

Examples

• The auditor requested to see the company's latest balance sheet.
• A strong balance sheet with little debt makes the firm attractive to investors.
• The balance sheet showed that total assets had grown significantly over the year.
• According to the balance sheet, liabilities exceeded assets, indicating trouble.

Advanced Usage

• Off-balance-sheet: Referring to assets or financing arrangements that are not recorded on a company's balance sheet.
  • The company used off-balance-sheet vehicles to manage its debt.
• Balance sheet date: The specific date as of which the balance sheet is prepared.
  • All figures are stated as of the balance sheet date, December 31st.

Variants and Related Words

• Balance (noun): In accounting, the difference between the debit and credit sides of an account; also used more generally (e.g., , ).
• Trial balance (noun): An internal accounting report listing all general ledger account balances, used to prepare financial statements.
• Statement of financial position (noun): A formal synonym for a balance sheet.

Synonyms

• Statement of financial position
• Statement of financial condition

Related Phrases

• Balance sheet analysis: The process of reviewing and interpreting the items on a balance sheet.
  • Balance sheet analysis revealed a heavy reliance on short-term borrowing.
• Balance sheet equation: The formula: Assets = Liabilities + Equity.
  • The balance sheet equation must always be in balance.

Noun

1. a record of the financial situation of an institution on a particular date by listing its assets and the claims against those assets