When we talk about the net worth of an individual or company, we refer to the value of the assets a person or corporation owns, deducting the liabilities they owe. It is an important standard or basis to gauge a company’s health, providing a valuable snapshot of its current financial position. Net worth relates to people or organizations in terms of quantity, it is able to compute the value of an entity and can apply to individuals, corporations, sectors, and even countries. Net worth provides an overview of an entity’s current financial position. In business, net worth is called the book value or shareholders’ equity as well. People with significant net worth are called high-net-worth individuals (HNWI).

Net Worth & Its Significance

Net worth can be categorized as either positive or negative, positive net worth means that assets surpass liabilities and negative net worth means that liabilities exceed assets. Net worth is not just of individuals, it can be applied to companies, sectors, and even countries. Positive and increasing net worth stipulate a good financial health. Dropping net worth, on the other hand, is cause for concern as it might indicate a decrease in assets with regard to liabilities.

A high net worth indicates well-off financial strength and eventually provides a good credit rating of an individual or a company. In the same way, a decreasing or negative net worth signal towards a weaker financial strength and a lower credit rating, thereby directly impacting the individual’s or the company’s capability to raise funds from the market. Net worth is basically a tool to be aware of one’s financial value. The net worth of any entity can be calculated as the sum of its assets minus the sum of its liabilities.

Net worth is also known as book value or shareholders’ equity when talking about the net worth in business terms. The balance sheet is also referred to as the net worth statement.

The difference between the value of total assets and total liabilities is the value of a company’s valuation. It is important to keep in mind that the values on a company’s balance sheet highlight historical costs or book values, and not the current market values.

A company that has been noticing consistent profits will note a rising net worth or book value as long as these profits are not completely distributed to shareholders as dividends. When talking about a public company, it is important to note that a rising book value will often be accompanied by a surge in the value of its stock price.

To calculate the net worth of a particular person, you need to first make sure that you have complete information about your assets and liabilities which are the key factors in determining your net worth.

To start with, you will first need to list all your assets which would include the value of your home, the value of any real estate property, the value of vehicles like cars, and the value of your business (if a businessperson). Then, you need to list all your liquid assets, which refers to the assets that can be easily, securely, and quickly exchanged for legal tender. The examples of liquid assets—things you can quickly convert to hard cash are your inventory accounts receivable, and stocks. Now, add all your assets which will conclude with your total assets.

After calculating your assets, start listing down all your liabilities, which include all your major outstanding liabilities like the balance on your mortgage or car loans. List these loans with their current balances along with all your personal liabilities like credit cards, education, or student loans, or any other debt you may owe.

The next step is to add all liabilities that you have listed, this represents total liabilities.

Now, just put your values to the net worth formula irrespective of how big or small the number is. The positive or negative number will now represent your total net worth.

You can repeat this process once a year and compare it with the previous year’s number to find out if you are making profits or you are getting behind on your goals.

It is important to calculate our net worth as all of us have our own long-term or short-term financial goals which we wish to fulfill, like owning a home, paying for children’s education fees, retirement, and financial independence, etc. These financial goals can only be known by increasing net worth. If the net worth calculation is eventually increasing every year then you know that you are on the right path whereas if it is declining or is holding steady you must start identifying the loopholes, causes and know how you can work on the betterment of your financial condition.

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