In accounting, a current asset is an asset which can either be converted to cash or used to pay current liabilities within 12 months. Typical current assets include cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, inventory and the portion of prepaid liabilities which will be paid within a year.
On a balance sheet, assets will typically be classified into current assets and long-term assets.
The current ratio is calculated by dividing total current assets by total current liabilities. It is frequently used as an indicator of a company's liquidity, its ability to meet short-term obligations.
Famous quotes containing the words current and/or asset:
“It is not however, adulthood itself, but parenthood that forms the glass shroud of memory. For there is an interesting quirk in the memory of women. At 30, women see their adolescence quite clearly. At 30 a woman’s adolescence remains a facet fitting into her current self.... At 40, however, memories of adolescence are blurred. Women of this age look much more to their earlier childhood for memories of themselves and of their mothers. This links up to her typical parenting phase.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)
“When ... did the word “temperament” come into fashion with us?... whatever it stands for, it long since became a great social asset for women, and a great social excuse for men. Perhaps it came in when we discovered that artists were human beings.”
—Katharine Fullerton Gerould (1879–1944)