The balance sheet

This chapter is concerned with measuring the stocks of assets, both non-financial and financial, and liabilities. Assets and liabilities can be aggregated across all types so as to show the total value of assets less liabilities, or net worth, of an institutional unit. Alternatively, the total value of a given type of asset across all units in the economy can be derived. Tables depicting the first sort of aggregation are called balance sheets; those depicting the second sort are called asset accounts. For both balance sheets and asset accounts, it is also important to show how the transactions and other flows recorded during the course of an accounting period explain the changes in value of the stock in question between the start and end of the period. The value of the stock at the start of the period is referred to as the opening stock and the value at the end of the period is referred to as the closing stock. Sometimes a stock level is referred to as a position, especially in the balance of payments context.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development