Inventory (redirected from inventories)

Inventory

For companies: Raw materials, items available for sale or in the process of being made ready for sale. They can be individually valued by several different means, including cost or current market value, and collectively by FIFO (First in, first out), LIFO (Last in, first out) or other techniques. The lower value of alternatives is usually used to preclude overstating earnings and assets. For securities firms: Securities bought and held by a broker or dealer for resale.

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inventory

The amount of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods being held for sale at a given time. Diamonds held by a jeweler, engines owned by General Motors, and canned and frozen foods in a grocery store chain's warehouse are examples of inventory. Inventory is generally the least liquid item listed by a firm in the current asset account of its balance sheet. See also beginning inventory, ending inventory.

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Inventory

For income tax purposes, inventory consists of items acquired for sale to customers in the regular course of a taxpayer's trade or business.