Asset

Any possession that has value in an exchange. The New York Times Financial Glossary

* * *

asset as‧set [ˈæset] noun [countable]

ACCOUNTING FINANCE something belonging to an individual or a business that has value or the power to earn money:

• The company has a tremendous asset - 50 hectares of real estate right next to an international airport.

ˌcapital ˈasset , ˌchargeable ˈasset [countable] TAX ACCOUNTING FINANCE

1. something such as land, buildings, or machinery used by a business to produce its goods or services; = FIXED ASSET:

• the company's investment in capital assets

2. an asset on which capital gains tax must be paid if it is sold

ˌcurrent ˈasset [countable usually plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

money that a business has or is owed, or something that could easily be turned into money, for example raw materials and goods that have been produced but not sold:

• Investment properties are now shown as current assets.

ˌfixed ˈasset [countable usually plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

something that a business owns and that it uses in order to produce goods, for example a piece of land, a building, or a piece of machinery:

• Virtually all of their money is tied up in fixed assets.

ˌfrozen ˈasset [countable usually plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

something that a business owns, for example money, property, or machinery, that cannot be sold because it has been put under outside control, for example by a court:

• Thousands of legal claims are being made by individuals attempting to get their frozen assets returned.

ˌhard ˈasset [countable usually plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

another word for tangible asset

inˌtangible ˈasset [countable usually plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

something that a business has and can make money from, but that is not something physical and so cannot easily be valued, for example a name of a product, technical knowledge, loyalty from customers etc:

• Intangible assets such as information, image, and people are the main drivers of business today.

ˌliquid ˈasset [countable usually plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

anything that a business has that is either cash or something that can be easily turned into cash, such as money owed by customers and shares that can be easily sold:

• The Swiss company has been under pressure to invest some of its liquid assets.

ˌnet ˈassets [plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

the overall value of a business, the difference between its assets and its liabilities:

• He recommended that the company be dissolved and its net assets distributed to shareholders.

ˌnet ˌcurrent ˈassets [plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

the difference between a company's current and its current liabilities

ˈoperating ˌassets [plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

assets that are used in the production activities of a company:

• It plans to sell the operating assets of its consumer tapes business for about £2 million.

ˌtangible ˈasset [countable usually plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

an asset that is physical and can be valued easily, rather than an intangible asset that is difficult to value:

• Investors fled financial markets, putting their money into gold, collectibles and other tangible assets.

ˌunderlying ˈassets [plural] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

assets in relation to the Securities that are based on them:

• The stocks are trading at about 2.7 times the value of underlying assets, while the average for the last 50 years is 1.5 times.

ˈwasting ˌasset [countable] ACCOUNTING FINANCE

an asset, such as property or a business, that is losing money over time:

• It's been quite clear for some time that the airline is a wasting asset.

* * *

asset UK US /ˈæset/ noun [C, usually plural]

► ACCOUNTING, FINANCE something that is owned by a person, company, or organization, such as money, property, or land: »

The company reported total assets worth $1.9 million.

have/hold/own assets »

You can hold assets offshore, such as bank accounts or property.

acquire/buy/increase assets »

The parties will decide whether to buy assets or shares.

dispose of/reduce/sell assets »

The company's board could dispose of assets once they decide to sell the company.

freeze/release/unfreeze assets »

The courts can order a financial institution to freeze assets.

record/show sth as an asset »

This figure will need to be shown in the accounts as an asset.

»

the sale/disposal/transfer of assets

► a person or thing that is very useful or valuable: be an asset to sb/sth »

Thank you for your contribution - you are an asset to the company.

great/important/valuable asset »

Our customer service team is our most important asset.

→ See also CAPITAL ASSET(Cf. ↑capital asset), CHARGEABLE ASSET(Cf. ↑chargeable asset), CHARGE ON ASSETS(Cf. ↑charge on assets), CIRCULATING ASSET(Cf. ↑circulating asset), CURRENT ASSET(Cf. ↑current asset), FINANCIAL ASSET(Cf. ↑financial asset), FROZEN ASSET(Cf. ↑frozen asset), HARD ASSET(Cf. ↑hard asset), INTANGIBLE ASSET(Cf. ↑intangible asset), INTELLECTUAL ASSET(Cf. ↑intellectual asset), KNOWLEDGE ASSET(Cf. ↑knowledge asset), LIQUID ASSET(Cf. ↑liquid asset), NET ASSETS(Cf. ↑net assets), NET CURRENT ASSETS(Cf. ↑net current assets), OPERATING ASSETS(Cf. ↑operating assets), RETURN ON ASSETS(Cf. ↑return on assets), TANGIBLE ASSET(Cf. ↑tangible asset), UNDERLYING ASSETS(Cf. ↑underlying assets), VERIFICATION OF ASSETS(Cf. ↑verification of assets), WASTING ASSET(Cf. ↑wasting asset)