Asset&liabilities

An asset is something that:

1) Arose from a past transaction,
2) Is presently owned by the company, and
3) Will provide future benefit to the company,
Note that there are three time periods in this definition – the past, the present and the future.

A liability is something that:

1) Arose from a past transaction,
2) Is presently owed by the company, and
3) Will lead to a future economic outflow from the company.
There are the same three time periods in this definition as in assets – the past, the present and the future.