Current Assets (2024)

Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding the Concept of Current Assets

Last Updated August 1, 2023

What are Current Assets?

The Current Assets categorization on the balance sheet represents assets that can be consumed, sold, or used within one calendar year.

Current Assets (1)

What is the Definition of a Current Asset?

Current assets are recorded on the assets side of the balance sheet (B/S), on top of the non-current assets section.

The balance sheet, one of the core three financial statements, is a periodic snapshot of a company’s financial position.

Together, current assets and non-current assets form the assets side of the balance sheet, meaning they represent the total value of all the resources that a company owns.

  • Current Assets: Only assets that can be converted into cash within one year are classified as “current”, and they are often used to measure a company’s short-term financial health.
  • Non-Current Assets: In contrast, a non-current asset is a resource that provides economic value to a company for more than twelve months, i.e. one-year.

What are Examples of Current Assets on the Balance Sheet?

The assets section of the balance sheet is ordered from most liquid to least liquid.

The most common examples that appear on the balance sheet are the following:

  • Cash and Cash Equivalents: Cash on hand, currencies, and other short-term assets such as checking accounts and treasury bills with maturity dates of three months or less.
  • Marketable Securities: Short-term investments that can be converted to cash, such as money markets and certificates of deposit.
  • Accounts Receivable (A/R): Cash payments owed to the company by its customers for products or services already delivered.
  • Inventory: The raw materials that go into making a product, as well as units in production and finished goods.
  • Prepaid Expenses: The value of goods or services that the company has paid for in advance but not yet received.

What is the Difference Between Current Assets vs. Non-Current Assets?

Non-current assets, or “long-term assets”, cannot reasonably be expected to be converted into cash within one year. Long-term assets are comprised of fixed assets, such as the company’s land, factories, and buildings, as well as long-term investments and intangible assets such as goodwill.

One important rule to note when accounting for long-term assets is that they appear on the balance sheet at their market value on the date of purchase.

Thus, unless deemed to be impaired, the long-term asset’s recorded value remains unchanged on the balance sheet even if the current market value is different from the initial purchase value.

Balance Sheet Liquidity Ratio Formulas

The term “liquidity” refers to a company’s ability to meet its short-term financial obligations.

  • Liquid: If the company has enough liquid assets that can be quickly converted to cash without losing too much value to cover its current liabilities, then the company is considered liquid (and at less risk of default).
  • Illiquid: If the company does not have sufficient liquid assets and cannot sufficiently cover its current liabilities, then it is considered illiquid, which is typically a major red flag to investors and creditors.

Investors can gain a number of insights into a company’s financial strength and future prospects by analyzing its near-term, liquid assets.

Of the ratios used by investors to assess the liquidity of a company, the following metrics are the most prevalent.

  • Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities
  • Quick Ratio = (Cash & Cash Equivalents + Marketable Securities + Accounts Receivable) / Current Liabilities
  • Net Working Capital Ratio (NWC) = (Current Assets – Current Liabilities) / Total Assets
  • Cash Ratio = Cash & Cash Equivalents / Current Liabilities

Current Assets (2)

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Current Assets (2024)

FAQs

What is a current asset answer? ›

A current asset, also known as a liquid asset, is any resource a company could use, turn into cash, or sell within a year. This includes cash in the bank, money that customers owe (accounts receivable), goods ready to be sold (inventory), and other investments that can be easily offloaded.

How do I calculate current assets? ›

How to Calculate Current Assets. Current Assets = Cash + Cash Equivalents + Inventory + Accounts Receivables + Marketable Securities + Prepaid Expenses + Other Liquid Assets.

How do you answer total assets? ›

Total Assets = Current Assets + Noncurrent Assets

In basic accounting, total assets are also equal to total liabilities and total stockholder's equity. The total value of assets is based on the purchase price and not on appraised or market value.

What is the sum of current assets answer? ›

Gross working capital is the sum of a company's current assets (assets that are convertible to cash within a year or less). Gross working capital less current liabilities is equal to net working capital, or simply "working capital;" a more useful measure for balance sheet analysis.

What are 5 examples of current assets? ›

Current assets include cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, stock inventory, marketable securities, pre-paid liabilities, and other liquid assets. The Current Assets account is important because it demonstrates a company's short-term liquidity and ability to pay its short-term obligations.

What are current assets for dummies? ›

Current assets are the key assets that your business uses up during a 12-month period and will likely not be there the next year. Current asset accounts include the following: Cash in Checking: Any company's primary account is the checking account used for operating activities.

What is total current assets? ›

Total Current assets is the sum of all current assets. These are cash, cash equivalents, prepaid expenses, inventory, or any other assets expected to be converted into cash within the next year. Total Current Assets is important when calculating the current ratio.

How to find total assets? ›

Determine total assets by combining your liabilities with your equity. Since liabilities represent a negative value, the simplest method for finding total assets with this formula is to subtract the value of liabilities from the value of equity or assets. The resulting figure equals your total assets.

How to calculate net current assets? ›

Net current assets (NCA) is a term used to describe the value of a company's current assets minus its current liabilities.

Is equipment a current asset? ›

Equipment is a fixed asset, or a non-current asset. This means it's not going to be sold within the next accounting year and cannot be liquidized easily. While it's good to have current assets that give your business ready access to cash, acquiring long-term assets can also be a good thing.

Is inventory a current asset? ›

Yes, inventory is considered a current asset. Current assets or short-term assets are accounts that track what a company owns and expects to use within a year. And since inventory is intended to be sold within 12 months, it's recorded as a current asset in the balance sheet.

How to calculate asset value? ›

The company needs to look at its balance sheet and identify tangible and intangible assets. From the total assets, deduct the total value of the intangible assets. From what is left, deduct the total value of the liabilities. What is left are the net tangible assets or net asset value.

How do you calculate current assets? ›

How to Calculate Current Assets
  1. Here is the current asset formula:
  2. Current Assets = Cash + Accounts Receivable (AR) + Inventory + Prepaid Expenses.
  3. Current assets are the resources a business owns that can be converted into cash within one year, or less. ...
  4. Calculate Current Liabilities.
Apr 22, 2022

How to calculate quick assets? ›

Quick assets = (cash + cash equivalents + short-term investments + accounts receivable ) / (current liabilities)

What is the formula for average current assets? ›

Average Current Assets = (Aggregate Assets for Current Year + Aggregate Assets for Preceding Year) ÷ 2. Compared to the current assets formula, the formula for average current assets gives business owners an idea of the average assets they have on hand during a typical one-year period.

What is a current asset quizlet? ›

What is a current asset? Cash plus other assets that are expected to be sold or converted to cash during the current operating cycle. Includes: Demand deposit, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, inventory, pre-paids, and short-term investments.

What does assets current mean? ›

Current assets are the resources that a business owns and expects to use or sell within a year. Current assets are important to a business because by converting them to cash they allow it to pay its day-to-day operating expenses, bills and loan payments - its current liabilities.

What are current assets best described as? ›

Current assets are cash or cash equivalents, inventory, marketable securities, or any other asset that can be converted to cash within one year.

What is current asset and asset? ›

Current assets are short-term assets that are typically used up in less than one year. Current assets are used in the day-to-day operations of a business to keep it running. Fixed assets are long-term, physical assets, such as property, plant, and equipment (PP&E). Fixed assets have a useful life of more than one year.

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