Assets can be classified as Financial or Non-financial assets. One might wonder why this is necessary. Let us dive into this concept, beginning with understanding what financial and non-financial assets are and why they are classified as such. What are Assets? Assets are things that have a monetaryRead more
Assets can be classified as Financial or Non-financial assets. One might wonder why this is necessary. Let us dive into this concept, beginning with understanding what financial and non-financial assets are and why they are classified as such.
What are Assets?
Assets are things that have a monetary value and are beneficial for a business. Assets are commonly classified as tangible, intangible, current, fixed, financial, non-financial, etc.
Plant and machinery, land, buildings, cash, bank balance, patents, etc are some of the examples of assets that a business has.
What are Financial Assets?
Financial assets are the things of value that are held by a person for their underlying value. They are intangible and do not have a physical form. For example – Stocks, bonds, debentures, options, futures, etc.
The value of these assets may change over time depending upon the market conditions, changes in government policies, fluctuations in interest rates, etc.
In comparison to non-financial or physical assets, financial assets are more liquid as they can be traded and can be converted into cash.
What are Non-financial assets?
Non-financial assets are tangible or intangible assets that have a value but cannot be easily converted into cash. They are not as liquid and generally not traded.
Examples of such assets are buildings, plant and machinery, patents, trademarks, etc.
Why do we separate Financial and Non-Financial Assets?
The following are several important reasons why it is important to segregate the same:
- It helps in the proper classification of assets on the Financial Statements.
- It helps in liquidity management.
- It helps in Risk assessment.
- Tax management can be done accurately.
Difference between Financial and Non – Financial Asset

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Definition The trial balance is a list of all the closing balances of the general ledger at the end of the year. Or in other words, I can say that it is a statement showing debit and credit balances. A trial balance is prepared on a particular date and not on a particular period. What does trial balRead more
Definition
The trial balance is a list of all the closing balances of the general ledger at the end of the year. Or in other words, I can say that it is a statement showing debit and credit balances.
A trial balance is prepared on a particular date and not on a particular period.
What does trial balance include?
As in each double-entry system, each account has two aspects debit and credit.
Hence the following trial balance includes:
• Debit or credit of the reporting period.
• The amount which is to be debited or credited to each account.
• The account numbers.
• The dates of the reporting period.
• The totaled sums of debits and credits entered during that time.
When we prepare a trial balance from the given list of ledger balances, these need to be included which are as follows :
The balance of all
• Assets accounts
• Expenses accounts
• Losses
• Drawings
• Cash and bank balances
Are placed in the debit column of the trial balance.
• The balances of
• liabilities accounts
• income accounts
• profits
• capital
Are placed in the credit column of the trial balance.
Importance
As the trial balance is prepared at the end of the year so it is important for the preparation of financial statements like balance sheets or profit and loss.
The purpose of the trial balance is as follows:
• To verify the arithmetical accuracy of the ledger accounts
This means trial balance indicates that equal debits and credits have been recorded in the ledger accounts.
It enables one to establish whether the posting and other accounting processes have been carried out without any arithmetical errors.
• To help in locating errors
There can be some errors if the trial balance is untallied therefore to get error-free financial statements trial balance is prepared.
• To facilitate the preparation of financial statements
A trial balance helps us to directly prepare the financial statements and then which gives us the right to not look or no need to refer to the ledger accounts.
Structure of trial balance

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