Goodwill Patents Preliminary Expense A/c Claims Receivable
Current Assets & Examples Current Assets are those assets that are bought by the company for a short duration and are expected to be converted into cash, consumed, or written off within one accounting year. They are also called short-term assets. These short-term assets are typically called currRead more
Current Assets & Examples
Current Assets are those assets that are bought by the company for a short duration and are expected to be converted into cash, consumed, or written off within one accounting year. They are also called short-term assets.
These short-term assets are typically called current assets by the accountants and have no long-term future in the business. Current assets may be held by a company for a duration of a complete accounting year, 12 months, or maybe less. A major reason for the conversion of current assets into cash within a very short amount of time is to pay off the current liabilities.
Examples
Some of the major examples of current assets are – cash in hand, cash at the bank, bills receivables, sundry debtors, prepaid expenses, stock or inventory, other liquid assets, etc.
- All of these assets are converted into cash within one accounting year.
- Liquid assets are a part of current assets. Although they are easier to be converted into cash than current assets.
- Current assets (along with current liabilities) help in the calculation of the current ratio. And they’re also referred to as circulating/floating assets.
- Current assets are shown on the balance sheet (on the asset side) under the heading, current assets.
Current assets on the balance sheet
Balance Sheet (for the year…)
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Fictitious assets are expenses or losses not written off entirely in the profit and loss account during the accounting year in which they occur. Fictitious assets have no realizable value or physical existence. In the above, (C) preliminary expense is a fictitious asset. Preliminary expenses are theRead more
Fictitious assets are expenses or losses not written off entirely in the profit and loss account during the accounting year in which they occur. Fictitious assets have no realizable value or physical existence.
In the above, (C) preliminary expense is a fictitious asset. Preliminary expenses are the expenses incurred before the incorporation of a business. The word ‘fictitious’ means fake, these are not actually the assets of a company even though they are represented in the assets of the balance sheet.
Since the benefit of a fictitious asset is received over a period of time, the whole amount is not charged to the profit and loss account. The amount is amortized over several years. These expenses are non-recurring in nature. These expenses are shown as assets under the head miscellaneous expenditure. Also known as deferred revenue expenditure.
For example: A company incurred $50,000 as promotion costs before the formation of the business. This promotion cost will be deferred over 5 years. In the first year, $10,000 will be charged to the profit and loss account and the remaining $40,000 will be shown as an asset under the heading miscellaneous expenditure. Subsequently, $10000 will be charged to profit and loss for the next 4 years. The amount of $50,000 will be deferred over a span of 5 years.
Some other examples of fictitious assets :
Goodwill
Goodwill is not a fictitious asset because goodwill has a realizable value and can be sold in the market. Goodwill is an intangible asset which does not have a physical existence but can be traded for monetary value. Goodwill has an indefinite life and is sold when the business is sold. Goodwill can be self-generated or purchased. Goodwill is shown as an intangible asset under the heading fixed asset in the financial statements.
Patents
Patents are intangible assets which do not have a physical existence but have realizable value and can be sold in the market. So, patents do not come under the category of fictitious assets. Patents are basically intellectual property. The purchase price of the patent is the initial purchase cost which is amortized over the useful life of the asset. Patents are shown as intangible assets under the heading fixed asset in the balance sheet of the company.
Claim receivable
Claim receivable is an asset if the claim has been authorized by the insurance company. Claim receivable has a monetary value, so does not come under the category of a fictitious asset. If the claim is not yet authorized by an insurance company, it will be shown as a footnote in the financial statements. Authorized claim receivable is shown as a current asset in the financial statement.
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