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CONCEPTUALIZATION OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
Author(s) -
Nurnberg Hugo
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
accounting and finance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.645
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-629X
pISSN - 0810-5391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-629x.1981.tb00125.x
Subject(s) - conceptualization , current liability , pension , business , schema (genetic algorithms) , payment , accounting , finance , actuarial science , economics , working capital , artificial intelligence , machine learning , computer science
The conceptualization of assets and liabilities is fundamental to an understanding of financial accounting. It is often maintained that assets and liabilities represent economic resources and economic obligations, respectively, but that not all economic resources are assets and not all economic obligations are liabilities — a somewhat confusing state of affairs. This paper presents a schema for distinguishing assets from economic resources and liabilities from economic obligations based on the authoritative literature in the United States, Australia, Canada and Great Britain. The schema should be useful for clarifying certain financial accounting controversies concerning income taxes, leases, pension benefit payments and executory contracts.