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Assets |
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AssetsThe main sense in which the term asset is used is to describe anything owned by an individual or business which has a monetary value. Some assets are relatively easy to measure - debtors, cash, stock and so on. Others are more difficult - goodwill, intellectual property, and brand values. In the context of a company's balance sheet, an asset is also a deferred cost. Equipment valued at £1m in a balance sheet represents £1m which the company spent and which is being depreciated as the equipment exhausts its usable life. The question of whether that equipment is actually an asset or a liability is really whether that asset generates more in after-tax revenues than it costs. If not, it is hardly something accruing to the benefit of the company and its shareholders.More generally, 'asset' is used to describe a class of investment product. So, shares, property, and bonds are all asset classes. Hence the phrase used in portfolio management - 'asset allocation'.Similar MatchesPublicly traded assetsPublicly traded assetsAssets that can be traded in a public market, such as the stock market. Capital assetsCapital assetsAssets, purchased as a long term investment for generating profit, such as buildings, plant and machinery and fixtures etc. Return on assets (ROA)Return on assets (ROA)Indicator of profitability. Determined by dividing net income for the past 12 months by total average assets. Result is shown as a percentage. ROA can be decomposed into return on sales (net income/sales) multiplied by asset utilization (sales/assets). Liquid assetsLiquid assetsA company's cash plus assets which can readily be converted into cash. Current assetsCurrent assetsValue of cash, accounts receivable, inventories, marketable securities and other assets that could be converted to cash in less than 1 year. Further SuggestionsAssets in placeNonmonetary assets and liabilities Capital Assets Mutual fund cash to assets ratio Net exposed assets Net monetary assets net assets intangible assets Real assets Assets requirements Monetary assets and liabilities free assets return on total assets current assets Net current assets fixed assets Nonfinancial assets Net assets Permanent Assets Wasting Assets Quick assets Net quick assets Return on total assets Exchange of assets Permanent Current Assets |
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