Bhp
The company I am studying is BHP Billiton, the Australian mining company whose ADRs trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BHP. The following is an analysis of how its GAAP balance sheet would correspond to an economic balance sheet.
Cash, STI, Cash equivalents
Core Operations
Receivables
Core Operations
Inventories
Core Operations
Other Current Assets
Non-operating net assets
Net property, plant and equipment
Core Operations
Goodwill and other intangible
Non-operating net assets
Investments and advances
Non-operating net assets
Accounts receivable, non-current
Core operations
Deferred non-current accounts
Non-operating net assets
Other non-current accounts
Non-operating net assets
Payables
Debt claims
Long-term debt and capital leases
Debt claims
Deferred liabilities, non-current
Debt claims
Minority interest
Other capital claims
Provisions, long-term
Debt claims
Provisions, current
Debt claims
Current debt
Debt claims
The statements are published in Australian GAAP, not U.S. GAAP. To determine the differences would definitely require a keen understanding of Australian accounting principles and the differences between those and U.S. GAAP. Some potential issues arise with respect to the valuation of undeveloped holdings. In the mining business, there are challenges with respect to valuing properties, because the price paid and the economic output can be quite different from one another. Further, the economic output is usually not known until development has begun, yet mining companies often own properties that are not presently in development. Thus, valuing assets at different stages of development is a challenge.
Furthermore, BHP Billiton's income…
