A balance sheet is made up of a company's assets, liabilities, and equity, which are arranged in either an account form (horizontal) or report form (vertical) presentation.

When you use total assets in the denominator, look at each balance sheet item as a percentage of total assets. For example, if total assets equal $500,000 and receivables are $75,000, receivables ...

The report form balance sheet is presented in a vertical orientation, and is essentially one column that spans the entire width of a page. Starting with assets, the report form balance sheet ...

The article How to Interpret the Vertical Analysis of a Balance Sheet and Income Statement originally appeared on Fool.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days .

The article How to Interpret the Vertical Analysis of a Balance Sheet and Income Statement originally appeared on Fool.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days .