Accounting – Balance Sheet
Articles
Understanding the Balance Sheet (Bilanz) Under HGB – A Comprehensive Guide
What is a Bilanz (German balance sheet)? A clear breakdown of the HGB balance sheet structure — Aktiva, Passiva, equity, and key differences from IFRS.
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.
Deferred Tax Assets vs. Liabilities Explained (DTA vs DTL)
What deferred tax assets and liabilities are, why book and tax income diverge, and how to tell a DTA from a DTL — with a plain-English guide for finance interviews.
How to Answer a Deferred Tax Interview Question (Step by Step)
A step-by-step framework for answering deferred tax interview questions, including the DTA vs DTL direction rule, the formula, and a worked example.
What Is Off-Balance-Sheet Financing? SPVs and Synthetic Leases Explained
Off-balance-sheet financing lets companies borrow through SPVs and synthetic leases without the debt showing up on their balance sheet. Here's how it works and why it distorts leverage.
How to Answer an Off-Balance-Sheet Financing Interview Question
A step-by-step framework for answering SPV and synthetic lease interview questions: how to test for consolidation, reclassify debt, and recompute leverage.
Why IFRS 16 Hits Airlines, Retailers, and Telecoms Differently
IFRS 16 capitalizes all leases the same way, but the leverage impact varies hugely by industry. See why lease term matters as much as payment size.
How to Answer 'Why Does IFRS 16 Affect Industries Differently?' in an Interview
A step-by-step framework for answering the IFRS 16 cross-sector interview question, with a worked airline vs. retailer vs. telecom example.
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.