Official definition · 官方定义
“A balance sheet provides a snapshot of what a company owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities), and the value left for the owners (shareholders' equity).”[1]
— Corporate Finance Institute, CFI Resource Library · corporatefinanceinstitute.com ↗ · accessed 2026-10-25
A balance sheet is a snapshot at one moment: what a company owns, what it owes, and what is left for shareholders. Unlike the income statement, it is a photograph rather than a film.
资产负债表是某一时点的快照：公司拥有什么、欠什么、股东还剩什么。与利润表不同，它是照片，不是影片。
The balance sheet tells you whether a company can survive a bad year. Cash and short-term investments against debt due within twelve months is the liquidity test; net debt against earnings is the leverage test. Two companies can report the same profit and have completely different balance sheets, which is why a lender looks here first and an equity investor often looks here last.
资产负债表告诉你：公司能不能挺过一个坏年份。现金加短期投资对比一年内到期债务，是流动性测试；净债务对比利润，是杠杆测试。
两家公司可以报出同样的利润，资产负债表却天差地别。所以债权人先看这里，股票投资者往往最后才看。
A big balance sheet means a strong company
It may be bloated with goodwill or slow inventory.
Assets are money
Most assets cannot be converted to cash at book value.
Off-balance-sheet means invisible
It means disclosed in the notes, not absent.
· a strong balance sheet
· net debt
· working capital
· goodwill impairment
· off-balance-sheet
a strong balance sheet 稳健的资产负债表；net debt 净债务；working capital 营运资金；goodwill impairment 商誉减值；off-balance-sheet 表外。
· balance sheet vs income statement
· equity vs enterprise value
balance sheet 是时点快照，income statement 是期间流量；equity 是账面权益，enterprise value 是企业价值。
The group ended the period with net debt of $Xbn, or Y times EBITDA.
报表句：期末净债务 X 亿美元，为 EBITDA 的 Y 倍——or Y times EBITDA 是杠杆的常用说法。