But the balance sheet provides you with financial and accounting data at a specific moment. You conduct vertical analysis on a balance sheet to determine trends and identify potential problems.

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 .

Learn financial statement analysis techniques, including horizontal, vertical, and ratio analysis, to assess company ...

Fundamental Elements of an Excel Balance Sheet Virtually all balance sheets follow a relatively similar layout format – assets go in the left-hand column and liabilities display in the right column.

A vertical analysis is used to show the relative sizes of the different accounts on a financial statement. For example, when a vertical analysis is done on an income statement, it will show the ...