0 Asset characteristics

Assets have three essential characteristics:

The probable future benefit involves a capacity, singly or in combination with other assets, in the case of profit oriented enterprises, to contribute directly or indirectly to future net cash flows, and, in the case of not-for-profit organizations, to provide services;
The entity can control access to the benefit;
The transaction or event giving rise to the entity's right to, or control of, the benefit has already occurred.
It is not necessary, in the financial accounting sense of the term, for control of assets to the benefit to be legally enforceable for a resource to be an asset, provided the entity can control its use by other means.

It is important to understand that in an accounting sense an asset is not the same as ownership. In accounting, ownership is described by the term "equity," (see the related term shareholders' equity). Assets are equal to "equity" plus "liabilities."

The accounting equation relates assets, liabilities, and owner's equity:

Assets = Liabilities + Owners' Equity
The accounting equation is the mathematical structure of the balance sheet.

Assets are usually listed on the balance sheet. It has a normal balance, or usual balance, of debit (i.e., asset account amounts appear on the left side of a ledger).

Similarly, in economics an asset is any form in which wealth can be held.

Probably the most accepted accounting definition of asset is the one used by the International Accounting Standards Board [1]. The following is a quotation from the IFRS Framework: "An asset is a resource controlled by the enterprise as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the enterprise."

Assets are formally controlled and managed within larger organizations via the use of asset tracking tools. These monitor the purchasing, upgrading, servicing, licensing, disposal etc., of both physical and non-physical assets.

0 Asset

In business and accounting, assets are everything owned by a person or company (all tangible and intangible property) that can be converted into cash [1]. Since this includes intangible valuables such as stocks and accounts and notes receivable, whose cash value is not clear until they are sold, assets can also be defined as a probable future economic benefit obtained or controlled by a person or company as a result of a past transaction or event.

0 Unsecured loan

An unsecured loan is a loan that is not backed by collateral. Also known as a signature loan or personal loan.

Unsecured loans are based solely upon the borrower's credit rating. As a result, they are often much more difficult to get than a secured loan, which also factors in the borrower's income. An unsecured loan is considered much cheaper and carries less risk to the borrower.[1] However, when an unsecured loan is granted, it does not necessarily have to be based on a credit score. For example, if your friend lends you money without any collateral, meaning something of worth that can be repossessed if the loan isn't repaid, then your credit score has zero to do with it, but rather the value of your friendship is at stake. Therefore the real meaning of an unsecured loan is that it is not backed by any object of value and is lent to you based on your good name. For financial institutional purposes, they may want to look at your credit score because they are not your friend and it is strictly a business transaction, therefore your good name may be associated with your historical payment history on prior debt, reflecting in your credit score. There are three types of unsecured loans. First there is a personal unsecured loan, meaning a loan that you individually are responsible for the repayment of, second is an unsecured business loan which leaves the business responsible for the repayment, and finally there is an unsecured business loan with a personal guarantee. With the latter, although the borrower is the business, you as an individual will be the payer of last resort if the business defaults on the loan

0 Debt consolidation vs loans

The multiple options available to consolidate ones debts can be quite confusing, credit counseling programs, debt settlement, debt consolidation loans, bankruptcy are just a few options available today. Trying to find the best option to suit your current financial situation can be a difficult task.

Typically, debt consolidation programs are debt repayment programs. They can consolidate most types of unsecured debts from major credit cards to personal and student loans. You choose the accounts you want to enter into the program when joining. Once enrolled, the company will contact your creditors to negotiate more favorable repayment terms on your accounts and possibly reducing your interest rates and it may even elimination late fees. You will then send that company one lump sum payment monthly which they will disperse to the creditors you enrolled on your account when joining.

Most so called debt consolidation loans are just home equity loans in disguise. They use the equity built up in your current home loan and use it to repay all of your unsecured debts. These types of loan options usually come with heavy application fees and can greatly extend the amount of time it will take you to pay off those debts. These loans also convert all of your current unsecured debts into a secured debt which is now backed by your home. If you fall behind on your payments you could risk losing your property.

0 Debt consolidation

Debt consolidation entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This is often done to secure a lower interest rate, secure a fixed interest rate or for the convenience of servicing only one loan.

Debt consolidation can simply be from a number of unsecured loans into another unsecured loan, but more often it involves a secured loan against an asset that serves as collateral, most commonly a house. In this case, a mortgage is secured against the house. The collateralization of the loan allows a lower interest rate than without it, because by collateralizing, the asset owner agrees to allow the forced sale (foreclosure) of the asset to pay back the loan. The risk to the lender is reduced so the interest rate offered is lower.

Sometimes, debt consolidation companies can discount the amount of the loan. When the debtor is in danger of bankruptcy, the debt consolidator will buy the loan at a discount. A prudent debtor can shop around for consolidators who will pass along some of the savings. Consolidation can affect the ability of the debtor to discharge debts in bankruptcy, so the decision to consolidate must be weighed carefully.

Debt consolidation is often advisable in theory when someone is paying credit card debt. Credit cards can carry a much larger interest rate than even an unsecured loan from a bank. Debtors with property such as a home or car may get a lower rate through a secured loan using their property as collateral. Then the total interest and the total cash flow paid towards the debt is lower allowing the debt to be paid off sooner, incurring less interest.

Because of the theoretical advantage that debt consolidation offers a consumer that has high interest debt balances, companies can take advantage of that benefit of refinancing to charge very high fees in the debt consolidation loan. Sometimes these fees are near the state maximum for mortgage fees. In addition, some unscrupulous companies will knowingly wait until a client has backed themselves into a corner and must refinance in order to consolidate and pay off bills that they are behind on the payments. If the client does not refinance they may lose their house, so they are willing to pay any allowable fee to complete the debt consolidation. In some cases the situation is that the client does not have enough time to shop for another lender with lower fees and may not even be fully aware of them. This practice is known as predatory lending. Certainly many, if not most, debt consolidation transactions do not involve predatory lending


Source By :-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_consolidation