Asset

In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a combine or an economic entity. this is the anything tangible or intangible that can be used to realise positive economic value. Assets represent advantage of ownership that can be converted into cash although cash itself is also considered an asset. The balance sheet of a firm records the monetary expediency of the assets owned by that firm. It covers money & other valuables belonging to an individual or to a business.

Assets can be grouped into two major classes: tangible assets in addition to intangible assets. Tangible assets contain various subclasses, including current assets and fixed assets. Current assets put cash, inventory, accounts receivable, while constant assets include land, buildings and equipment. Intangible assets are non-physical resources and rights that realise a value to the firm because they afford the firm an advantage in the marketplace. Intangible assets include goodwill, copyrights, trademarks, patents, computer programs, and financial assets, including financial investments, bonds, and stocks.

Formal definition

IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards, the near widely used financial reporting system, defines: "An asset is a produced economic resource controlled by the entity as a a thing that is said of past events. An economic resource is a right that has the potential to produce economic benefits."

The definition under US GAAP generally Accepted Accounting Principles used in the United States of America: "An asset is a present adjustment of an entity to an economic benefit."