balanseførte

Balansføre, or balanseførte in its past tense form, is a term used in Norwegian accounting to describe the act of recognizing an item on a company’s balance sheet. The expression indicates that an asset, liability, or equity component has been recorded as part of the financial position rather than being expensed in the income statement. Items described as balanseførte have a carrying amount on the balance sheet, referred to as balanseført verdi.

In practice, balanseføring depends on accounting standards and recognition criteria. Costs are not automatically balanseført; they must meet criteria to be recorded as assets (for example, property, plant and equipment, or intangible assets) or as liabilities (such as borrowings) or as components of equity. The standards guiding this process include IFRS, NGAAP, or other national regulations, which specify when and how items may be balanseført and at what amount.

Examples of balanseført items include a purchased machine balanseført at its cost and subsequently depreciated, or a loan balanseført as a liability. Development costs may be balanseført as an asset if criteria are met, while other expenditures are expensed. The term also relates to the concept of carrying value, or balanseført verdi, which reflects the asset’s or liability’s amount recognized on the balance sheet after any depreciation, amortization, impairment, or revaluation.

Overall, balanseføring is a fundamental mechanism in financial reporting that affects how a company’s financial position is portrayed to stakeholders, including liquidity and solvency assessments.