Accounting – Balance Sheet
Articles
Understanding the Balance Sheet (Bilanz) Under HGB – A Comprehensive Guide
HGB-Bilanz erklärt: Aufbau, Bewertung, Größenklassen und HGB vs. IFRS — the German balance sheet under HGB, explained in English. Jetzt üben.
The Balance Sheet: A Deep Dive into Structure, Limitations, and Key Accounts
The balance sheet is one of the three core financial statements, alongside the income statement and the cash flow statement. It provides a snapshot of a company's financial position at a specific point in time, detailing what it owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities), and what is left for shareholders (equity).
What Is IFRS 16 and Why Does It Inflate EBITDA?
IFRS 16 moved operating leases onto the balance sheet. Here's what changed, why EBITDA looks higher afterward, and why leverage ratios don't automatically improve.
How to Answer an IFRS 16 Lease Accounting Question in an Interview
A step-by-step approach for answering IFRS 16 lease accounting questions in finance interviews, from the lease liability formula to the EBITDA and leverage follow-ups.
DTA vs DTL: Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities Explained Simply
DTA vs DTL explained simply: how deferred tax assets and liabilities arise, which way the timing difference runs, and how each one reverses. With examples.
How to Answer a Deferred Tax Interview Question (Step by Step)
How do you answer a deferred tax interview question step by step? Learn the direction rule for DTLs and DTAs with a fully worked example. Practice now.
What Is Off-Balance-Sheet Financing? SPVs and Synthetic Leases Explained
What is off-balance-sheet financing, and how do SPVs and synthetic leases hide debt from a company's balance sheet? Learn the VIE test. Practice now.
How to Answer an Off-Balance-Sheet Financing Interview Question
How do you answer an off-balance-sheet financing interview question with confidence? Learn the 4-step SPV and synthetic lease framework. Practice now.
Why IFRS 16 Hits Airlines, Retailers, and Telecoms Differently
Why does IFRS 16 hit airlines, retailers, and telecoms so differently? Learn the lease-term and EBITDA drivers interviewers expect you to explain. Practice now.
How to Answer 'Why Does IFRS 16 Affect Industries Differently?' in an Interview
How do you answer why IFRS 16 affects industries differently in a finance interview? Learn the 4-step EBITDA and leverage framework here. Practice now.
What Is Pension Accounting? PBO, Plan Assets, and the Corridor Method Explained
A plain-English breakdown of defined benefit pension accounting: how the PBO and plan assets roll forward, what funded status means, and why the corridor method smooths pension expense.
How to Answer a Pension Accounting Interview Question (Step-by-Step Framework)
A step-by-step framework for answering pension accounting interview questions: roll forward the PBO and plan assets, compute funded status, and calculate pension expense under the corridor method.
Cases
Financial Distress Balance Sheet Analysis of a Company
Financial distress occurs when a company struggles to meet its financial obligations, often due to declining revenues, high debt levels, or poor liquidity. In this case study, you will analyze a company’s balance sheet and key financial ratios to assess whether it is at risk of bankruptcy and what steps it could take to improve its financial position.
Balance Sheet Optimization & Financial Engineering: Strategic Capital Structure Management
A well-optimized balance sheet is critical for corporate stability, financial flexibility, and shareholder value maximization. In this case study, you will analyze Company Z’s financial position, evaluate its capital structure, liquidity, and leverage, and propose strategic solutions for balance sheet optimization. The focus will be on debt restructuring, asset management, shareholder value strategies, and financial engineering techniques, providing insights relevant for investment banking and corporate finance professionals.
Walk Me Through the Balance Sheet
Walk me through the balance sheet.
IFRS 16: Lease Accounting
As an accounting analyst, walk me through how IFRS 16 changes the accounting for an operating lease — specifically, how does the lease get recognized on the balance sheet, and what happens to the company's EBITDA and leverage ratios?
Deferred Taxes
Walk me through how deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities arise, and tell me which one you'd record when a company recognizes an expense for book purposes before it's deductible for tax purposes.
Off-Balance-Sheet Financing: SPVs and Synthetic Leases
As a credit analyst, you are asked to identify a company's off-balance-sheet financing arrangements — such as special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and synthetic leases — and reclassify them onto the balance sheet to reveal the company's true leverage.
Lease Accounting Across Sectors: Why IFRS 16 Hits Differently by Industry
As a credit analyst, you are tasked with comparing how IFRS 16 lease capitalization affects leverage metrics differently across three companies in different sectors — an airline, a retailer, and a telecom operator — each with very different lease profiles, and explaining why the balance sheet and leverage impact is not uniform across sectors even though all three follow the same accounting standard.
Pension Accounting: PBO, Plan Assets, and the Corridor Method
You're reviewing a company's defined benefit pension plan. Walk me through how the plan's obligation and assets roll forward for the year, what funded status that leaves the company with, how the pension expense recognized in the income statement is calculated using the corridor method, and how you'd adjust the company's leverage and WACC to reflect the plan's net liability.