how to create a balance sheet?

College Accounting, Chapters 1-27
23rd Edition
ISBN:9781337794756
Author:HEINTZ, James A.
Publisher:HEINTZ, James A.
Chapter6: Financial Statements And The Closing Process
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 5RQ: Identify the sources of the information needed to prepare the balance sheet.
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how to create a balance sheet?

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Step 1

Purpose of the balance sheet

 

A balance sheet is a statement that shows the assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity of the firm on a particular date also known as the reporting date. Thus, the reporting date is usually the final date of the reporting period and helps to ascertain the financial position of the company as on date. 

Most companies report their results on a quarterly basis and have the last day of the quarter as the reporting data. 

The companies either report their results on a fiscal or retail calendar basis. 

Step 2

Determine the assets

Tally all the asset items in the balance sheet. 

Usually, in a balance sheet, the assets are shown in two ways, first is splitting them based on Current(short term) vs Non-current (long-term) assets and then further bifurcating them into each asset individually. This is to provide a clear picture to the analysts about each of the asset's individual contribution to the total. 

Assets are written as the following in the balance sheet line items:

Current Assets:

   Cash and cash equivalents

   Short-term marketable securities

   Accounts receivable

   Inventory

   Other current assets

Noncurrent Assets:

   Long-term marketable securities

   Property

   Goodwill

   Intangible assets

   Other noncurrent assets

Both the current assets and the non-current assets should be first sub-totaled and then totaled together 

Step 3

Determine the liabilities

Similar to the assets, liabilities are also shown in two ways, first is splitting them based on Current(short term) vs Non-current (long-term) liabilities and then further bifurcating them into each individually. 

Current Liabilities:

      Accounts payable

      Deferred revenue

      Current portion of long-term debt

      Commercial paper

      Accrued expenses 

      Other Current Liabilities

Noncurrent Liabilities:

      Deferred revenue (noncurrent)

      Long-term lease obligations

      Long-term debt

      Other noncurrent liabilities

Similar to the assets, the liabilities are also totaled along with the line items.

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