Series 65: Assets

Assets

A company’s assets can be divided into two broad categories: current assets and long-term assets. Current assets are anything that could be converted into cash within a year. Current assets consist of:

• • Cash and cash equivalents—cash and highly liquid investments such as securities and money market instruments that can be easily converted into cash
• • Accounts receivable—money that is owed to the company by customers
• • Prepaid expenses—goods or services that have been paid for, but will be received in the future (e.g., postage, insurance, office supplies)
• • Inventory—products the company is holding and plans to sell in the near future; accountants can choose between two different ways to value inventory
• » FIFO (first in, first out)—units purchased first are assumed to be sold first
• » LIFO (last in, first out)—units purchased last are assumed to be sold first

In an inflationary environment, a LIFO assumption results in a lower-val