Asset accounts definition
/What are Asset Accounts?
Asset accounts store monetary information about a company’s resources. Assets can be subdivided into many accounts, depending on their nature and assumed holding periods. The ending balances in these accounts roll forward into the beginning balances for the following year. The general categories of asset accounts are as follows, along with the accounts commonly used within each category:
Current assets
Cash. Includes bills and coins on hand, such as petty cash.
Bank deposits. Includes cash kept in depository accounts.
Marketable securities. Includes both debt securities and equity securities, as long as they can be liquidated within a short period of time.
Trade accounts receivable. Only includes receivables from the organization's customers.
Other accounts receivable. May include an array of miscellaneous receivables, especially advances to employees and officers.
Notes receivable. Includes notes from other parties. A common source is accounts receivable that have been converted into notes.
Prepaid expenses. Includes any prepaid amounts that have not yet been consumed, such as prepaid rent, insurance premiums, and advertising.
Other current assets. Includes any minor items not readily classified into one of the preceding accounts.
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Inventory
Raw materials inventory. Includes materials that must be converted into their final form through a production process.
Work-in-process inventory. Includes goods that are in the process of being converted into salable items.
Finished goods inventory. Includes items that have been manufactured and are now ready for sale.
Merchandise inventory. includes goods that were purchased from suppliers in a ready-for-sale condition. This account is most commonly used by retailers.
Fixed assets
Buildings. Includes the constructed or purchased cost of all buildings owned by the firm.
Computer equipment. May include not only computer equipment, but also the cost of more expensive software packages.
Furniture and fixtures. Includes all furniture owned by the business.
Land. Includes the cost of all land owned by the business. This account is not depreciated.
Leasehold improvements. Includes the cost of all improvements made to property being leased by the company as the lessee.
Machinery. Includes the cost of production equipment, conveyors, and so forth.
Office equipment. Includes the cost of such office equipment as printers and copiers.
Vehicles. Includes all vehicles, forklifts, and related equipment owned by the business.
Accumulated depreciation. Represents the cumulative total of all depreciation charged against fixed assets. This is a contra account, and so is paired with and offsets the other fixed asset accounts.
Intangible assets
Broadcast licenses. Includes the cost to obtain broadcast licenses.
Copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Includes the costs incurred to obtain these assets.
Domain names. Includes the cost to acquire Internet domain names.
Goodwill. Is comprised of the acquisition cost of an entity, less the fair value of all identifiable assets. This account is reduced by the amount of any goodwill impairment detected by the accountant.
Accumulated amortization. Represents the cumulative total of all amortization charged against intangible assets. This is a contra account.