Long Term Assets | Financial Accounting (2024)

On a classified balance sheet, the asset section contained long term assets including things:

  1. Plant assets (also called property, plant and equipment or fixed assets)
  2. Long term investments
  3. Intangible assets

Plant assets are long-lived assets because they are expected to last for more than one year. Long-lived assets consist of tangible assets and intangible assets. Tangible assets have physical characteristics that we can see and touch; they include plant assets such as buildings and furniture, and natural resources such as gas and oil. Intangible assets have no physical characteristics that we can see and touch but represent exclusive privileges and rights to their owners.

In this section, we will look at the accounting treatment for plant assets, natural resources and intangible assets. Investments will be covered in other chapters.

Plant assets

To be classified as a plant asset, an asset must: (1) be tangible, that is, capable of being seen and touched; (2) have a useful service life of more than one year; and (3) be used in business operations rather than held for resale. Common plant assets are buildings, machines, tools, and office equipment. On the balance sheet, these assets appear under the heading “Property, plant, and equipment”.

Natural resources

Resources supplied by nature, such as ore deposits, mineral deposits, oil reserves, gas deposits, and timber stands, are natural resources or wasting assets. Natural resources represent inventories of raw materials that can be consumed (exhausted) through extraction or removal from their natural setting (e.g. removing oil from the ground).

Intangible assets

Although they have no physical characteristics, intangible assets have value because of the advantages or exclusive privileges and rights they provide to a business. Intangible assets generally arise from two sources: (1) exclusive privileges granted by governmental authority or by legal contract, such as patents, copyrights, franchises, trademarks and trade names, and leases; and (2) superior entrepreneurial capacity or management know-how and customer loyalty, which is called goodwill.

All intangible assets are nonphysical, but not all nonphysical assets are intangibles. For example, accounts receivable and prepaid expenses are nonphysical, yet classified as current assets rather than intangible assets. Intangible assets are generally both nonphysical and noncurrent; they appear in a separate long-term section of the balance sheet entitled “Intangible assets”.

Examples of intangible assets include:

  • Research and development (R&D)
  • Amortization
  • A patent
  • A copyright
  • A franchise
  • A trademark
  • A lease
  • A leasehold improvement
  • Goodwill
Long Term Assets | Financial Accounting (2024)

FAQs

How do you account for long-term assets? ›

Long-term assets are reported on the balance sheet and are usually recorded at the price at which they were purchased, and so do not always reflect the current value of the asset.

Is it good to have more long-term assets? ›

Long-term assets are an important component of effective financial business management for many industries. Companies that use and maintain these assets can improve their financial health and help ensure they earn consistent profits.

What would be considered a long term asset? ›

Long-term assets are also known as fixed assets, capital assets, or long-lived assets. Examples of long-term assets include long-term investments, such as bonds that mature in more than a year, and property, plants, and equipment that the company will use for more than a year.

What is a long term asset quizlet? ›

assets with relatively long useful lives that are currently used in operating the business. For example, buildings, factories, automobiles, etc.

What are the three rules for asset accounts? ›

To achieve this, the entity must follow three Golden Rules of Accounting: Debit all expenses/Credit all income; Debit receiver/Credit giver; and Debit what comes in/Credit what goes out. The rules apply to Nominal, Personal, and Real accounts.

What is the accounting equation for long term asset? ›

The accounting equation is Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity. This equation is the foundation of double-entry accounting.

How are long-term assets valued? ›

The carrying value of a long term asset (also called the net book value) refers to the value of the asset on the company's books. The carrying value is the original cost of the asset less any accumulated depreciation. It can be thought of as the historical accounting value of the asset.

Is it better to have more assets than liabilities? ›

Liabilities. Assets add value to your company and increase your company's equity, while liabilities decrease your company's value and equity. The more your assets outweigh your liabilities, the stronger the financial health of your business.

How to calculate operating long-term assets? ›

The value of a company's operating assets is equal to the sum of all assets minus the value of all non-operating assets. Where: Total Assets → Current Assets + Non-Current Assets. Non-Operating Assets → Cash and Cash Equivalents, Marketable Securities.

How long do long-term assets last? ›

Introduction. Long-lived assets, also referred to as non-current assets or long-term assets, are assets that are expected to provide economic benefits over a future period of time, typically greater than one year.

How many years is considered long term? ›

How long are short- medium- and long term? There are no exact definitions, but short-term usually means a period shorter than two years, medium-term covers a range from 2 to 5 or 10 years and long-term is a period longer than 5 or 10 years.

What is the balance sheet amount for long-term assets? ›

The amount of a long-term asset's cost that has been allocated to Depreciation Expense since the time that the asset was acquired. Accumulated Depreciation is a long-term contra asset account (an asset account with a credit balance) that is reported on the balance sheet under the heading Property, Plant, and Equipment.

What are the long term current assets? ›

Current assets are short-term assets that are typically used up in less than one year. Current assets are used in the day-to-day operations of a business to keep it running. Fixed assets are long-term, physical assets, such as property, plant, and equipment (PP&E). Fixed assets have a useful life of more than one year.

What are the assets of a long term investment? ›

What Are Long-Term Investments? A long-term investment is an account on the asset side of a company's balance sheet that represents the company's investments, including stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash. Long-term investments are assets that a company intends to hold for more than a year.

What is a long term asset capitalization? ›

In accounting, capitalization refers to long-term assets with future benefit. Instead of expensing costs as they occur, they may be depreciated over time as the benefit is received.

Where do long-term investments go on a balance sheet? ›

Long-term investments are recorded on the asset side of a company's balance sheet as investments.

How do you account for long-term debt on a balance sheet? ›

Long-term debt is listed under long-term liabilities on a company's balance sheet. Financial obligations that have a repayment period of greater than one year are considered long-term debt. Debts that are due within the current year are known as short/current long-term debt.

How do you account for assets no longer in use? ›

Basic rules: When an asset has been sold, demolished, is no longer in service or its value has been permanently impaired, any remaining value of the asset, net of accumulated depreciation, less any salvage value, must be written off or written down to its net realizable value.

Where do long-term assets go on cash flow statement? ›

On the statement of cash flows, the proceeds from the sale of a long-term asset is reported as a positive amount in the investing activities section.

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