What is the balance sheet? Balance sheet items, balance sheet structure

Each business entity forms financial statements for its activities. One of its integral elements is the balance sheet. The balance sheet items characterize the financial and property status of the enterprise at the reporting date. Consider the document in more detail.

Sections of the balance sheet

Section clauses reflect the movement of property and funds to account accounts. Data entry into the documentation is carried out according to international rules. Mandatory elements are asset and liability balance. Items of the balance sheet reflect what funds are used by the enterprise, what are its obligations. The document also shows the organization's own resources. All resources available to the enterprise can be provided either at the expense of the owners' capital, or from borrowed funds. Items of the assets of the balance sheet should reflect an amount equal to the aggregate of claims of owners and creditors in monetary terms.

Method of formation

There are different types of balance sheets. They vary depending on the order of compilation, designation and other criteria. By the method of formation,

1. Balance sheet balance. Items of the balance characterize the property of the subject and the sources of its formation in monetary terms for a certain date. This document is compiled by counting the balances (balances) of the accounts.
2. Negotiable balance sheet. Balance sheet items, in addition to balances and sources of property at the beginning and end dates of the period, reflect information about their movement for a certain period of time. This document is considered interim.

Frequency of compilation

On this criterion distinguish:

1. Initial (introductory) balance sheet. Balance sheet items are formed at the first stages of the enterprise. They show the composition of the organization's property. As a rule, it is presented in the form of contributions. The balance sheet entries show the sources of the property.
2. Final document. It reflects the results of the company's production and financial activities for a specific period.
3. Annual balance sheet. It is also considered final. However, unlike the previous one, it is compiled on the basis of the results of the reporting year and acts as a justification for opening accounts in the new period.
4. Interim balance sheet. It is formed in a shorter period than the reporting year. As a rule, it acts as an abridged form of an ordinary document. Meanwhile, most of the standards do not prohibit a complete intermediate balance.
5. The sanitized document. It is formed in cases when the issue of recognizing an enterprise as insolvent (bankrupt) is being decided.
6. Liquidation balance. This document is formed to reflect the property position of the organization when it ceases to function as a legal entity.

Readiness degree

The classification according to this criterion is as follows:

1. Preliminary balance. It is also called provisional. This balance sheet is formed in advance at the end of the period, taking into account the expected changes in the property state of the enterprise.
2. Final document. It is formed at the end of a specific period and reflects the results of the company's production and financial activities.

Degree of consolidation

Depending on this criterion, distinguish:

1. Single document. It shows information on the activities of one enterprise.
2. Consolidated document. The content of balance sheet items in this case is formed from the results of the activities of the parent and subsidiaries in general. This report excludes the mutual turnover of the latter.
3. Separation balance. It is formed when the enterprise is divided into several legal entities or when a certain percentage of the total capital is allocated for the creation of a new firm. The separation balance sheet should contain a provision on the succession of all obligations of the reorganized legal entity.

Other types

Depending on the source, balances are distinguished:

1. Inventory. They are drawn up in accordance with the inventory statements for property, settlement funds, liabilities.
2. Book. They are formed according to information from accounting books without performing an inventory.

If there are regulatory items in the document, then it is called a gross balance, if they are absent, respectively, by the net balance sheet. There is also a classification according to the forms of ownership of companies. So, there are accounting documents for public, private, public, joint, municipal mixed organizations.

Key Concepts

Before considering the formulation of balance sheet items, it is necessary to explain the general principles of drafting the document. The report is presented as a two-sided table. In each line the name of the accounting object is indicated, its cost is indicated as of the date of drawing up the document. The main items of the balance sheet are distributed according to certain rules. Commitments and shareholders' equity are transferred to the right. Assets, respectively, are indicated on the left. In economic publications these categories are explained:

1. Commitments. They represent the company's debt that exists at the balance sheet date. It is formed in connection with the implementation of the company's activities, the calculation of which can trigger the outflow of capital.
2. Assets - economic means. The enterprise received control over them in connection with the accomplished economic operations. These funds can bring in the future profits of the company.
3. Capital. It is presented in the form of investments of owners and incomes accumulated during the whole period of the firm's work.

Nuances

As a rule, the document is compiled at the reporting date (at the end of the month, year, quarter). But it should be understood that in the methodological plan, the balance, acting as a generalization of information about the value of the enterprise's property, can be formed on any number and period, as often as it is considered necessary. It can be made even at the end of each business transaction. It is also necessary to take into account that the principle of conservation applies when forming the reporting. This means that no article can arise from "nowhere". The indicators of the balance sheet are the results of the concrete actions of the organization. Synchronously with the funds in one part of the table, the sources of their occurrence in the other are reflected. The result of the asset is always equal to the result of the liability. Often a part of the funds is contributed by a non-owner. In this case, the equality takes the following form:

Assets = liabilities + capital.

The sums of both sides of the equation coincide, since they describe objects from different sides. The final result is called the "currency" or "digit" of the document.

Composition

The assets include all types of funds:

1. Equipment.
2. Building.
3. Material and commodity stocks.
4. Transport.
5. Customer indebtedness.
6. Money on the r / s, etc.

Obligations are formed from the finance that the enterprise must give for granted loans, services, goods, etc. The obligation of equality of the sums of both columns of the table does not depend on the number of transactions performed. The principle of double recording is used as the basis of correspondence. It involves the reflection of information about the operation on at least two accounts. As a rule, assets and liabilities are divided into long-term and current. In international practice, they are listed by the degree of liquidity.

Balance sheet items: transcript

The results are formed when processing a large volume of business transactions. Structurally, they combine into specific groups, depending on their functions and nature. Separate significant items of the balance sheet are presented. Decoding of non-essential information is carried out in a complex manner. Correct compilation of the report requires:

1. The proper grouping of processes in accordance with their nature.
2. Full coverage of the results and performance of the enterprise.
3. Correct reflection of operations. By the way they are displayed, it should be clear not only the state of the firm's finances, but also the result is visible.

The main items of the balance sheet are as follows:

1. OS.
2. Investment property.
3. Financial assets.
4. Stocks.
5. Biological assets.
6. Investments.
7. Trade and other payables / receivables.
8. Assets and liabilities for sale.
9. Cash and cash equivalents.
10. Assets and liabilities for tax deductions (deferred and current).
11. Reserves and capital, minority interest.
12. Financial and estimated liabilities.
13. NMA.

The balance sheet item 1 in the list reflects the company's fixed assets. They include everything that the enterprise uses directly in its production or other household. Activities. Additional items are provided in the balance sheet in the event that it is necessary for a reliable and complete reflection of the financial condition of the firm. To solve this problem, a number of data are being studied. In particular, the balance sheet items are evaluated by:

1. Liquidity of funds.
2. The content of assets.
3. Functions of funds within the enterprise.
4. Size, content, timing of obligations.

Features of the study of information

Analysis of items of the balance sheet can be performed in different ways:

1. Directly on the document. However, the composition of articles is not subject to change.
2. The study of densified comparative analytics through the aggregation of some elements that are homogeneous in composition.
3. Investigation of the corrected document on the inflation index. After that, the articles are aggregated in the respective analytical sections.

The first method is considered to be quite laborious and inefficient. In this case, the valuation of balance sheet items assumes the calculation of a set of results. In this regard, it is not always possible to identify the main trends in the company's financial position. The analytical balance summarizes and systematizes the calculations that are usually made when acquainting with the document. This method covers a huge number of results. They characterize the statistics and the dynamics of the company's finances. In fact, such a balance includes both horizontal and vertical indicators.

Main stages

There are 6 stages of balance analysis. These include the study of:

1. Dynamics and structures.
2. Financial sustainability of the company.
3. Liquidity of the balance sheet, solvency of the enterprise.
4. State of the means.
5. Business activity.
6. Financial condition of the firm.

Investigation of structure and dynamics

One of the key areas of analysis is the study of horizontal and vertical results. Within the framework of these procedures, structural dynamics and specific weight of specific groups of objects are investigated. Vertical and horizontal analyzes complement each other. In practice, as a rule, special tables are formed. They analyze the structure of the entire report, and the dynamics of its individual digits. Vertical study involves the use of relative amounts. It shows the specific weight of a single article as a result of the balance. As a mandatory element are dynamic series of quantities. With their help it is possible to track and forecast some or other structural changes in the means and sources of their coverage. As a result, the transition to relative values occurs. This makes it possible to perform a comparative analysis of companies in accordance with their industry specifics and other characteristics. Horizontal values are formed by constructing tables of absolute results of changes in amounts and relative figures of their decrease / growth.

Financial stability

Its absolute indicators are determined by the presence of:

1. Own real capital. It is presented as net assets.
2. Working capital and real working capital.

Relative values are the coefficients of stability.

Liquidity and solvency

Current assets should be at the enterprise in such a volume, which is potentially sufficient to pay off liabilities in the short term. In this case, talk about the liquidity of the balance sheet. It acts as the basis for the solvency of the enterprise. Estimation of liquidity can be performed in various ways, including the calculation of its main coefficients.

Status of funds

Carrying out the balance analysis, it is necessary to study the composition, efficiency, structure of the use of current and non-current assets. Special quantities are used in this work. In particular, they include indicators of turnover and profitability.

The intensity of doing business

Its assessment can be carried out:

1. By the degree of efficiency of the use of resources (dynamics and level of capital productivity, profitability, productivity, etc.). The most important quantities include the turnover of capital and assets.
2. By determining the rate of decline or increase in profit, turnover, etc.
3. According to special indicators, reflecting business activity. For example, they include the coefficient of stability of growth, investment activity, ability to self-financing.

Diagnosis of the state of finance is performed by calculating various coefficients, discriminant analysis. This can be done, for example, using the Altman model or other mathematical / economic models or formulas.

Conclusion

In Russia, the form of the balance sheet and the rules for its compilation for legal entities (except for budget and credit enterprises) is regulated by PBU 4/99. The order of formation of the document by banks is regulated by the Regulation of the Central Bank. Assets and liabilities should be shown with a separation depending on the period of circulation (maturity) for long- and short-term ones. Although there is no such classification in the liquidity reporting (for banks). Liabilities and assets are reported as short-term if their repayment period is no more than 12 months. After the reporting date or the duration of the operating cycle, if it is more than a year. All other values are shown as long-term. The presentation of the document is governed by international standards IFRS-1. The requirements are flexible enough and can be applied to different enterprises, regardless of their size and specificity of activities. Reflection of current information about the property, which is managed by the economic entity, in the form of the balance sheet acts as one of the basic accounting methods. The document does not show the movement of funds and the facts of the performance of specific operations. It reflects the state of the company's finances for a certain period. The essence of the balance is that information on the value of the company's property on a specific date is grouped in a special way, so that it is possible to analyze and forecast the state of affairs in the future.