I think that there’s a really descriptive name given to an entity’s balance sheet for instance in the International Financial Reporting Standards. An entity’s balance sheet is also called as ‘statement of financial position’ and that’s exactly what a balance sheet in essence is. 

A balance sheet is a list of various balance structured in a way to give an overview of how the entity is standing at financial position wise at a period end. Does the entity have a strong cash position, does it have a negative working capital, how do inventories compare to liabilities and so on? Those are the questions a balance sheet is supposed to answer and shed light on.

As it is, a balance sheet is structured in a certain way. Normally a balance sheet lists an entity’s assets on one side and liabilities on the other. This way the entity’s resources are comparable to what it owes to others.

And it’s not just that, but within assets and liabilities there’s also a split in terms of liquidity – shorter term liabilities and assets that are more liquid are shown separate to those not so liquid or required to be settled in a longer term.