The Balance Sheet – Assets

Fixed Assets
Fixed assets are those assets that are held by the company on a continuous, on-going basis and are used to generate wealth. Examples of fixed assets include premises, motor vehicles, patents and copyrights and plant and machinery.

Current Assets
These are items that are not held on a continuous basis and are used to generate cash through the company’s trading activities. Examples include stock, and cash.

Whether an asset is classified as fixed or current depends on the use to which the asset is put. For example a car manufacturing plant may hold a stock of cars for sale as current assets whereas a company that has cars for use by management may classify these cars as fixed assets.