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Accounting & Tax vocabulary · Assets, Liabilities & Equity

Asset

Meaning in accounting & tax, with examples

/ˈæset/nounCore term

In accounting & tax, asset means: Something a business owns or controls that is expected to bring future economic benefit, such as cash, receivables, stock, machinery or software.

In Turkish: varlık, aktif, kıymet

How it is used

Assets are listed on the balance sheet and split into current and non-current. Companies acquire, record, depreciate, revalue and dispose of assets.

Example sentences

  1. The delivery vans are recorded as assets and depreciated over five years.

  2. Total assets grew to 2.4 billion lira after the acquisition.

Common collocations

  • total assets
  • fixed assets
  • current assets
  • dispose of an asset
  • asset register
  • liabilityAn amount a business owes to others, such as suppliers, banks, employees or the tax office, which it will have to settle in the future.
  • equityThe owners' share in a business: what remains when all liabilities are subtracted from the assets. It includes paid-in capital and retained earnings.
  • fixed assetA long-term physical asset that a business uses to operate rather than to sell, such as buildings, machinery, vehicles or computers.
  • current assetAn asset that is expected to be turned into cash, sold or used up within one year, such as cash, receivables, inventory and prepaid expenses.
  • balance sheetA financial statement that shows what a company owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities) and the owners' share (equity) on a specific date.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Assets, Liabilities & Equity

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.