Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• BALANCE SHEET
  
  The Balance Sheet is one of the three essential measurement reports for the performance and health of a company along with the Profit and Loss Account and the Cashflow Statement. The Balance Sheet is a 'snapshot' in time of who owns what in the company, and what assets and debts represent the value of the company. (It can only ever nbe a snapshot because the picture is always changing.) The Balance Sheet is where to look for information about short-term and long-term debts, gearing (the ratio of debt to equity), reserves, stock values (materials and finsished goods), capital assets, cash on hand, along with the value of shareholders' funds. The term 'balance sheet' is derived from the simple purpose of detailing where the money came from, and where it is now. The balance sheet equation is fundamentally: (where the money came from) Capital + Liabilities = Assets (where the money is now). Hence the term 'double entry' - for every change on one side of the balance sheet, so there must be a corresponding change on the other side - it must always balance. The Balance Sheet does not show how much profit the company is making (the P&L does this), although pervious years' retained profits will add to the company's reserves, which are shown in the balance sheet.
  
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