LeoGlossary: Balance
Balance can refer to the amount of money in a bank account. The same holds when referring to cryptocurrency in a digital wallet. Assets such as stocks always have balances in the accounts holding them.
It can also be the amount of money that is due on a statement such as credit card. Debt balances pertain to the amount of money owed.
Corporations issue statements that have balances on them. This can be all invoices such as a cable bill. Financial institutions such as banks, brokerage firms, and hedge funds all present regular statements showing the balances of the holdings.
Accounting
Balance is also an accounting term.
In bookkeeping, the difference between the sum of debit entries and the sum of credit entries entered into an account during a financial period.
This is important to understanding the financial health of a company. Financial statements are designed to provide the data executives such as CEOs require to make management decisions. These documents tend to be of a snapshot in time. The balances of company's assets and liabilities are located on the balance sheet.
