asset

n.

1. A useful or valuable quality, person, or thing; an advantage or resource: proved herself an asset to the company.
2. A valuable item that is owned.
3. A spy working in his or her own country and controlled by the enemy.
4. assets
   1. Accounting. The entries on a balance sheet showing all properties, both tangible and intangible, and claims against others that may be applied to cover the liabilities of a person or business. Assets can include cash, stock, inventories, property rights, and goodwill.
   2. The entire property owned by a person, especially a bankrupt, that can be used to settle debts.

[Back-formation from English assets, sufficient goods to settle a testator's debts and legacies, from Anglo-Norman asetz, from asez, enough, from Vulgar Latin *ad satis, to sufficiency : Latin ad, to; see ad- + Latin satis, enough.]

1. A resource having economic value that an individual, corporation or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide future benefit.

2. A balance sheet item representing what a firm owns.

Investopedia Says:
1. Assets are bought to increase the value of a firm or benefit the firm's operations. You can think of an asset as something that can generate cash flow, regardless of whether it's a company's manufacturing equipment or an individual's rental apartment.

2. In the context of accounting, assets are either current or fixed (non-current). Current means that the asset will be consumed within one year. Generally this includes things like cash, accounts receivable and inventory. Fixed assets are those that are expected to keep on providing benefit for more than one year, such as equipment, buildings, real estate, etc.

Related Links:
Learn this easy-to-understand technique of analyzing a company's financial statements and reports. Introduction To Fundamental Analysis
Do you rely too heavily on ROE? Consider using return on assets for a more complete picture. ROA On The Way
Learn about the components of the statement of financial position and how they relate to each other. Reading The Balance Sheet
Knowing what the company's financial statements mean will help you to anaylze your investments. Breaking Down The Balance Sheet

Anything owned by a person or organization having monetary value, usually its cost or fair market value. An asset may be a specific property, such as title to real estate or other tangible property, or enforceable claims against others.

1. Banking. Loans, discounts, investment securities (government bonds, municipal bonds), and claims against other banks. Loans account for the largest portion of interest earning assets held by banks and thrift institutions. Also included in this category are Federal Funds sold to other banks; checks in the process of collection. See also Real Estate Owned; Trading Account Assets.

2. Finance. There are several major asset categories: (1) current assets-cash and short-term items convertible into cash within one year; (2) Fixed Assets-furniture, plant, and equipment owned by a firm, which are depreciated over their useful life; (3) Intangible Assets-patents, trademarks, or goodwill, which have a value and carry a cost; and (4) pledged assets-collateral for a bank loan or purchase of securities on margin.

Something of value.
Example: Land, houses, cars, furniture, cash, bank deposits, and securities owned are assets.

noun

All things, such as money, property, or goods, having economic value. capital, fortune, mean, resource (used in plural), wealth, wherewithal. See owned/unowned.

n

Definition: advantage
Antonyms: disadvantage, liability

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n.any piece of materiel that can be deployed advantageously against an enemy, or if belonging to an enemy, whose destruction will result in an advantage.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Real or personal property, whether tangible or intangible, that has financial value and can be used for the payment of its owner's debts.

An accrued asset is one that arises from revenue earned but not yet due. For example, an accrued dividend is a share of the net earnings of a corporation that has been declared but has not yet been paid out to its shareholder(s).

In bankruptcy, an asset is any form of property owned by a debtor who is insolvent that is not exempt from being used to repay debts.

For income tax purposes, a capital asset is property held by a taxpayer for personal enjoyment or investment, such as a home, furniture, stocks and bonds, or an automobile, but does not include inventory, commercial accounts, and notes receivable, depreciable property, commercial property, copyrights, and short-term government obligations. When a capital asset is sold, any gain received is given preferential tax treatment.

A current, liquid, or quick asset is an item that can be readily converted to cash, such as stocks and bonds.

A fixed asset is one of a permanent or long-term nature used in the operation of a business and not intended for sale.

A frozen asset is one that cannot be easily converted into cash, such as real estate when there is no market, or that cannot be used because of a legal restriction, such as a spendthrift trust.

An intangible asset is one to which an arbitrary dollar value is attached because it has no intrinsic market value but represents financial value, such as the good will of a business, trademarks, or patents.

; fixed asset; liquid asset.

See: capital asset.

A possession that can be turned into cash to cover liabilities.

Commonly, the term denotes anything of value.

IN BRIEF: An item that is owned that has some value.

The house on Elm Street was Virginia's greatest asset.

Quotes:

"Because bankers measure their self-worth in money, and pay themselves a lot of it, they think they're fine fellows and don't need to explain themselves." - James Buchan

"Most people...find a disorientating mismatch between the long-term nature of their liabilities and the increasingly short-term nature of their assets." - Howard Davies

"No one has a greater asset for his business than a man's pride in his work." - Mary Parker Follet

"Central banks don't have divine wisdom. They try to do the best analysis they can and must be prepared to stand or fall by the quality of that analysis." - Eddie George

"I hate banks. They do nothing positive for anybody except take care of themselves. They're first in with their fees and first out when there's trouble." - Harvey Goldsmith

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - aktiv, fordel

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    aktiver og passiver

Nederlands (Dutch)
aanwinst, waardevolle eigenschap, bezit, goed, activa

Français (French)
n. - avoir, biens, capital, (Comm, Fin, Jur) actif, avantage, atout

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    actif et passif

Deutsch (German)
n. - Vorzug, Gut

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    Soll und Haben, Vermögen und Schulden

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - περιουσιακό στοιχείο, προσόν, αξία, πλεονέκτημα, ατού, (οικον.) στοιχείο ενεργητικού, (πληθ.) ενεργητικό

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    (οικον.) ενεργητικό και παθητικό

Italiano (Italian)
vantaggio, risorsa

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    attivo e passivo, rosso e nero
• capital assets    beni immobili
• fixed assets    beni fissi

Português (Portuguese)
n. - bens (m pl) (Jur.), ativo (m) (Jur.)

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    ativo (m) e passivo (m)
• capital assets    bens (m pl) de capital
• fixed assets    ativo (m) fixo

Русский (Russian)
имущество, ценное качество

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    актив и пассив (фин.)
• capital assets    основные средства
• fixed assets    имущество, основные средства

Español (Spanish)
n. - posesión, propiedad, ventaja, bienes, activo

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    activos y pasivos

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ägodel, tillgång

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
资产, 有用的东西

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    资产和负债

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 資產, 有用的東西

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    資產和負債

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 자산, 유산, 이점

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 遺産, 全資産, 資産, 役に立つもの, 長所, 宝

idioms:

• assets and liabilities    資産と負債
• fixed assets    固定資産

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ممتلكات, أصول, موجودات, شي ثمين, مصدر قوه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮נכס, רכוש, אדם או דבר בעלי ערך‬

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