what is included in the balance sheet 
the balance sheet includes information about a company s assets and liabilities depending on the company this might include short term assets such as cash and accounts receivable or long term assets such as property plant and equipment pp e likewise its liabilities may include short term obligations such as accounts payable and wages payable or long term liabilities such as bank loans and other debt obligations who prepares the balance sheet depending on the company different parties may be responsible for preparing the balance sheet for small privately held businesses the balance sheet might be prepared by the owner or by a company bookkeeper for mid size private firms they might be prepared internally and then looked over by an external accountant public companies on the other hand are required to obtain external audits by public accountants and must also ensure that their books are kept to a much higher standard the balance sheets and other financial statements of these companies must be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles gaap and must be filed regularly with the securities and exchange commission sec 2