Assets And Noncurrent Assets

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Assets are an important part of any business or organization. Assets are resources that add value to the business, fund daily operations and are used to pay expenses that have been incurred by the organization. Assets are listed on the balance sheet of an organization’s financial statements, which can be used for decision making by owners, management, investors and creditors of an organization. There are two different classifications of assets recognized on the balance sheet: current and noncurrent, or long-term, assets. The key difference in how they are classified is when the asset is expected to be realized in cash or consumed. Current assets are resources that are expected to be realized in cash, sold or used in an operating cycle or within …show more content…

The resources are long term in nature and provide benefits to the organization for many years. Common noncurrent assets are Property, Plant and Equipment, long-term investments and intangible assets, such as copyrights, goodwill and patents. Noncurrent assets are capitalized, which according to Investopedia, means that “the company allocates the cost of the asset over the number of years for which the asset will be in use, instead of allocating the entire cost to the accounting year in which the asset was purchased.” This means that the cost is depreciated over the useful life of the asset. The cost of a noncurrent asset is listed on the balance sheet at carrying cost, or the difference between the purchase price of the asset less depreciation. Both current and noncurrent assets can be a tangible asset. Tangible assets are items that have a physical existence or property that you can touch, see or feel. Examples of tangible assets are land, machinery, inventory, buildings and equipment. Noncurrent assets can also be classified as an intangible asset. These are assets that do not have a physical existence and can’t be touched or seen. Examples of intangible assets are goodwill, patents, trademarks and …show more content…

Ratios are a tool that can be used to measure liquidity and there are three common ratios that accomplish this. Cash Ratios, Current Ratios and Quick Ratios can be used for determining the liquidity of an organization (Current Asset, 2014) According to Accounting Tools (2014), the order of liquidity is the “presentation of assets in the balance sheet in the order of the amount of time it would take to convert them into cash.” This means that the balance sheet has a breakdown of current assets listed first, followed by a listing of the company’s noncurrent assets. The listing of both current assets and noncurrent assets would also be in order of liquidity. In conclusion, the classification of assets is extremely important for an organization because the information may be used by a wide range of users, including owners, investors, creditors, auditors and management. Decisions may be made based on the data provided in the balance sheet, so it is important to make sure the information is accurate and precise as

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