Which components are included in a balance sheet?

A balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a snapshot of a company's financial position at a specific point in time. It is structured around the accounting equation, which states that assets equal liabilities plus shareholders' equity.

The components included in the balance sheet are assets, which represent resources owned by the company; liabilities, which reflect obligations owed to outside parties; and shareholders' equity, which represents the owners' residual interest in the company's assets after liabilities have been settled. This triad of components gives a complete overview of what the company owns, what it owes, and the net worth of the owners in relation to those assets.

Other options, while relevant to financial statements, do not fit the definition of what is included on a balance sheet. Revenue, expenses, and net income are found on the income statement, which assesses performance over a period; cash flows, operating income, and dividends pertain to the cash flow statement, which details cash inflow and outflow; and investments, current assets, and long-term debt are subcategories of the primary components listed in the correct answer rather than main categories themselves.