Balance Sheet

A statement of the total assets and liabilities of an organization at a particular date, usually the last day of the *accounting period. The first part of the statement lists the fixed and current assets and the liabilities, the second part shows how they have been financed; the totals for each part must be equal. Under the Companies Act, the balance sheet is one of the primary statements to be included in the financial accounts of a company. The Companies Act; requires that the balance sheet of a company must give a true and fair view of its state of affairs at the end of its financial year, and must comply with statute as to its form and content. There are two pos­sible balance-sheet formats. In both for­mats, corresponding amounts for the preceding financial year should be shown. A balance sheet does not necessarily value a company, as some assets may be omit­ted, or given an unrealistic value.