The Improve Your English Thread v4.

[ccollinsmith]

Wow. That is a great question. I think, though, that it's more an accounting/business question than an English language question.

From what I gather from the Investopedia, tangible assets and physical assets both are defined in opposition to intangible assets. Most of what is listed under "physical assets" is also listed under "tangible assets" with the exception of cash-on-hand. I'm not sure if cash is included under tangible assets (it's not listed).

It's possible that the two terms are synonymous. I think an accountant could do a better job of answering this question though.

[Tenshi]

Yeah, I think we need someone with business knowledge. From what I understood are tangible assets part of physical assets, but I am not really sure. Those accounting terms are so confusing.

[canismajoris]

Originally Posted by Tenshi

Yeah, I think we need someone with business knowledge. From what I understood are tangible assets part of physical assets, but I am not really sure. Those accounting terms are so confusing.

My understanding is that tangible assets reflect all of the assets which have as you say a physical form. Facilities, equipment, inventory, etc.

[BrianTung]

Investopedia does not yield a difference between "tangible asset" and "physical asset," so whatever the difference might be, it doesn't appear to be universally perceived.

Before I looked it up, I imagined that tangible asset might include anything that could be valued, but it turns out that intangible assets like "goodwill" can be valued, too.