The balance sheet reflects a company's health. It lists the assets and liabilities for a specified period, such as the most recent quarter or a fiscal year. Potential investors or loan officers ...

Joseph Nguyen is a contributing author at Investopedia and a research analyst with experience at a securities brokerage firm. Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society ...

Balance-sheet balances carry over from one period to the next. So the ending cash balance from last year will become the beginning cash balance this year. Throughout the year, transactions will ...

When you want to know a company’s financial health, it helps to look at its balance sheet. But if you’ve never seen a balance sheet before or don’t know how to read one, all you’ll see is a collection ...

Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry. With over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts ...

Some business owners are tempted to leave their balance sheets to their accountants, but it is important for leadership to understand how to read their balance sheets in order to keep an eye on their ...

A strong balance sheet can make all the difference between your investment surviving a market downturn and blowing up in your face. Nearly every financial crisis can be traced back to a foundation of ...

A balance sheet is a versatile document that offers a snapshot of a company's or individual's finances at a given point in time. Businesses can use balance sheets to develop plans for the future and ...

If you’ve ever looked at a balance sheet and immediately wanted to slam your laptop shut, you’re not alone. Most business owners don’t come from accounting backgrounds, and the sheer volume of numbers ...

A balance sheet displays what a company owns, what it owes, how it's financed, and its shareholders' equity at a particular point in time. An income statement displays the company's revenues and ...

A balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a broad overview of a given firm's assets, liabilities and shareholders' equity. This important document gives management and other interested ...

If you're interested in investing, you've probably read quite a few articles that say "do your homework" before buying a stock. Reading and understanding a balance sheet is part of that homework.