Total assets

What is Total assets

Total assets refers to the total amount of assets that the company owns. Assets are things that a company owns that have economic vale that can be driven from in the future. These assets are recorded on the company balance sheet and can be categorised as: cash, marketable securities, inventory, fixed assets , accounts receivable, intangible assets, goodwill etc.

How to calculate Total assets (formula)

Total assets are balance sheet entries and are calculated as sum of all the assets on the balance sheet. Assets are usually separated in two groups:

• Current assets - these are assets that are short term economic resources and are expected to be converted into cash in the next year. There are things like cash, inventories and accounts receivable.
• Non-Current assets - these are all the other assets that are not planed to be converted into cash in the next year.

How is the assets value estimated

The value of an assets is what sometimes is called book value and its priced at the value that the accountants of the company have estimated. Depending on the applicable accounting standards, the assets value may be recorded at their current market values or based on historical cost (the price that the asset was purchased at).

Different types of assets classifications

There are may different ways that assets can be classified based on their utility. Some of the more common assets classification are:

• Fixed Assets - These are are long-term resources usually in the form of physical items such as plants, equipment, and buildings.
• Financial Assets - These are investments in securities of other institutions usually in the form of stocks, bonds, and other types of financial securities.
• Intangible Assets - Intangible assets are resources that are not physical in nature, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and goodwill.