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5.4.1 Main Elements of a Statement of Financial Position

In this lesson you will learn:

✅ The main classifications of assets and liabilities, using examples

The statement of financial position and the idea of balancing assets and liabilities is a difficult concept.

However, for IGCSE you don’t need an detailed understanding of how the Statement of Financial Position is constructed. Furthermore, questions on this topic are much less popular than questions on profit or cash flow.

What you do need to know are the contents of a statement of financial position with examples.

⭐⭐⭐Top Tip ⭐⭐⭐

Learn definitions for the contents of the statement of financial position with examples.

5.4.1 Statement of Financial Position

The statement of financial position is a snapshot taken at one moment in time, when we imagine that the business is frozen, and we count up all the business’s assets and liabilities. 

The main classifications of assets and liabilities

Assets: items of value owned by the business like buildings, vehicles, equipment, machinery.

Liabilities: debts owed by the business, like bank loans or bills that must be paid. 

These are split into two further categories: current and noncurrent. 

Current liabilities are debts which must be paid within the next year, for example a bill which must be paid to a supplier within one month, also known as accounts payable.

Accounts payable are debts owed by a business which must be paid. 

Non current liabilities are debts which will last longer than one year, like a long term loan for new production machinery.

Non current assets are items of value the business will keep longer than one year. For example, land, buildings, equipment and vehicles.

Current assets are items of value that the business won’t keep for longer than a year, like cash or inventory. Current assets also include sales that have been completed, but the business is still waiting for payment, also known as trade receivables.

Current assets are items of value that the business won’t keep for longer than a year, like cash, inventory or as trade receivables.

Trade receivable are sales that have been completed, but the business is still awaiting payment. 

Key Terms to Learn

Assets: items of value owned by the business like buildings, vehicles, equipment, machinery.

Liabilities: debts owed by the business like bank loans.

Account Payable: debt owed by a business which must be paid (current liability).

Non current liabilities are debts which will last longer than one year, like a long term loan for new production machinery.

Non current assets are items of value the business will keep longer than one year, for example land, buildings, equipment and vehicles.

Current assets are items of value that the business won’t keep for longer than a year, like cash or inventory. Current assets also include sales that have been made but the business is still waiting for payment, also known as trade receivables.

Trade receivable: sales made by business, but still awaiting payment (current asset).

Here is an example of the statement of financial position. Statement of financial position is also known as the balance sheet.

Example Statement of Financial Position for XYZ Inc on 31 Dec 2020

 $$
Non current assets  
Equipment25
  
Current Assets 
Inventory15
Cash1
Trade Receivable3
Total Assets44
Current Liabilities 
Overdraft3
Accounts Payable5
  
Non Current Liabilities
Loan20
Total Liabilities28
Share Capital10
Retained Profit6
Total Equities and Liabilities44

We can see the different sections for current assetsnon current assetscurrent liabilities and non current liabilities. If you are asked an IGCSE question based on the statement of financial position you will not see this kind of detail and complexity. 

Some of the figures will be taken from the statement of financial position to give us a question like the example for Balanced Books, which we will look at in detail in the next section.

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