Unit 9 Text b

The income statement shows the flow of money during the given year. But we also describe the position the firm has reached as a result of all its past trading operations. We call this document the balance sheet. The balance sheet.

Now, essentially the balance sheet lists the assets the firm owns. It also lists its liabilities. What? LIABILITIES. OK? Good. Now by doing this the balance sheet provides us with a picture of the firm at a particular point of time, for example at the end of a year. I’ll now go through a balance sheet with you, so take a moment to look at this. It’s the balance sheet of Snark International on 31st December, 1987.

Let’s start with assets. Assets are what the firm owns. These assets are listed on the left, as you can see. Snark, this firm, has some cash in the bank. That’s one asset. It’s also owed some money by its customers, who haven’t paid yet. This money is shown as accounts receivable. That’s another asset. Yet another asset is the large inventories it has in its warehouses. Not only that, but it also owns a factory. This factory originally cost a quarter of a million, but notice that, because of depreciation, it’s now only worth two hundred thousand. Of course, it also has other equipment  desks, perhaps, or machinery  which originally cost Snark three hundred thousand. Again because of depreciation, this equipment is now worth a hundred and eighty thousand. So we can say, after adding all these assets up, that Snark is worth five hundred and ninety thousand.

Now let’s take a look at liabilities. Liabilities are what the firm owes. These liabilities are shown on the right of the balance sheet, as you can see, starting with accounts payable. These are bills that Snark owes but has not yet paid. It also hasn’t yet paid some salaries, some fifty thousand pounds’ worth. That’s also a liability. Then, there is a mortgage on the factory of a hundred and fifty thousand which it has negotiated with an insurance company. Finally there is a bank loan. That’s for shorter-term cash needs. Adding all that up, we can see that Snark has liabilities, or debts, of three hundred and fifty thousand. So we can say that the net worth of Snark, note that term ‘net worth’, is two hundred and forty thousand. That’s the excess of its assets over its liabilities.

Some of you may be wondering why Snark’s net worth is shown as a liability rather than an asset. The reason is simply because the firm is owned by its shareholders. So the net worth is really owed to them. It is a liability of the firm to the shareholders.

Now let’s imagine you have lots of money and you want to buy Snark. To make what we call a take-over bid, in fact. How much do you think you should offer? Eh? Well, you might think of offering two hundred and forty thousand, which is, after all, the net worth of the company. But I think probably not. Why not? Well, Snark is a live company. It’s got good prospects for future growth. It’s got a proven record. You have to remember you’re not just bidding for its physical and financial assets, less of course its liabilities. You’re actually bidding for the firm as a going concern. You will also get its reputation. Its customer loyalty. And a great many other things, all intangible. All these intangibles, like reputation and customer loyalty, we economists call goodwill.