Which of the following appears on the balance sheet?

• A. Current assets
• B. Expenses
• C. Revenues
• D. Cost of goods sold

Answer: (A)

When looking at financial statements, the balance sheet shows the company’s resources and obligations at a specific moment in time. Assets are organized into current and noncurrent, and current assets include items the company expects to convert to cash or use within a year, such as cash, accounts receivable, and inventory. Expenses, revenues, and cost of goods sold, on the other hand, are performance measures that appear on the income statement for a period of time, not on the balance sheet. Cost of goods sold is an expense that affects net income and is tracked on the income statement, not listed as a balance sheet item (though it relates to the inventory on the balance sheet). So the element that appears on the balance sheet is current assets.