What is Assets

Any item of economic value owned by an individual or corporation, especially that which could be converted to cash. Examples are cash, securities, accounts receivable, inventory, office equipment, real estate, a car, and other property.

On a balance sheet, assets are equal to the sum of

    Liabilities

    Common stock,

    Preferred stock, and

    Retained earnings.

From an accounting perspective, assets are divided into the following categories:

1-      Current assets (cash and other liquid items),

2-      Long-term assets (real estate, plant, equipment),

3-      Prepaid and deferred assets (expenditures for future costs such as insurance, rent, interest), and

4-      Intangible assets (trademarks, patents, copyrights, goodwill)