Assets
Financial Accounting glossary · The Accounting Cycle & Financial Statements
Definition
Resources owned or controlled by the entity that are expected to provide future economic benefit.
Assets in plain English
Assets are simply everything a business owns or controls that is expected to help it make money in the future — cash, inventory, delivery trucks, buildings, even money customers still owe it. The key test is future benefit: an asset is something that will put money in your pocket or save you money down the road. Think of everything in your backpack and locker that has real use to you — your calculator, your bus pass, the cash in your wallet; those are your personal 'assets.' In accounting, assets are one side of the story of what a company has, and they're the engine that generates its earnings.
Learn these first
Practice Assets
Related Financial Accounting terms
Financial Accounting practice questions · Financial Accounting flashcards · Financial Accounting study guide