Current assets
What the company owns that is meant to turn into money within a year.
Current assets are bank deposits and cash, trade receivables, inventory and short-term investments — everything normally sold or consumed within a year.
Set against current liabilities, the figure gives a rough picture of whether the company can pay what is falling due. If current assets are smaller than current liabilities, the company depends on something coming in before something else goes out.
The counterpart is fixed assets: buildings, machinery and anything else meant to be used in the business over several years.
Where this figure comes from
Read from the “Total current assets” line of the balance sheet in the annual accounts.
Related terms