Nearly every financial crisis can be traced back to a foundation of weak balance sheets that cracked under the pressure of excessive debt. Companies, households, and governments load up on debt during ...

Financial statements are documents used to communicate to end-users a business's financial circumstances in an efficient and effective manner. Four basic financial statements exist: the balance sheet, ...

A balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a snapshot of a company's assets, liabilities, and shareholder's equity. A balance sheet is a type of financial statement. It gives you an ...

Previously, we discussed some ways to improve cash flow within a company. This evolved from a question that was posed by contractors on a message board regarding the difference between profits and ...

The current ratio indicates a business's ability to pay its near-term obligations. Investors need to be cautious of companies with a significant portion of assets labeled as intangible or goodwill. To ...

Accounting for a letter of credit on your balance sheet depends on when you use it. One issued by your financial institution acts as a credit substitute. That institution, often a bank, steps into ...

A balance sheet displays what a company owns, what it owes, how it's financed, and its shareholders' equity at a particular point in time. An income statement displays the company's revenues and ...

Discover how different depreciation methods affect long-term asset values and short-term earnings, plus key assumptions that influence financial health.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and ...

What does it mean when a company has a "fortress-like" balance sheet? Photo: Frank Kovalchek via Wikimedia Commons. Nearly every financial crisis can be traced back to a foundation of weak balance ...

Now let's take a closer look to see how strong this balance sheet is by analyzing it with some common balance sheet ratios. There are about a half-dozen different ratios we can use to determine a ...