Understanding Balance Sheets

Book excerpt: Written by two financial and accounting authorities, this hands-on working reference enables you to understand a company's balance sheet within the context of its annual report. You'll find detailed information on exactly what a balance sheet is, how it works, and how it's used to increase profitability; the individual components: receivables, cash, inventory, long-lived assets, current payables, long-term debt, and equity; how these different elements relate to each other, how they come into being, and how they should be controlled in your business; and how accounting data is created, accumulated, and used in the development of financial statements.