When the Balance Sheet Finally Clicks
- James C Foo Leong
- Apr 21
- 2 min read
What Happens When the Balance Sheet Finally Clicks
For a long time, I thought I understood the balance sheet.
I could recite the formula— Assets = Equity + Liabilities—no problem.
But it didn’t mean anything.
It was just something I knew. Not something I saw.
Then one day, while reflecting on how to explain it better, I saw something.
It reminded me of Lego.
Because with Lego, you don’t need to be an architect to understand what’s taking shape.
You just need to see how the pieces fit— And feel that satisfying click when they do.
That image changed the way I explain finance.
That’s what Chapter 1 of Once Upon a Balance Sheet is really about.
It’s more than a mere formula.
It’s the structure behind the numbers.
The story behind the structure.
And the clarity that emerges when you stop memorising and start building.
When it finally clicks— you don’t just understand the balance sheet… You see it.
Finance often feels like a foreign language because it’s taught as one.
We’re given rules, ratios, acronyms.
We’re told what to look for, but not what we’re looking at.
And the result?
So many smart, capable people feel stuck—blocked by a wall of numbers that never quite connects.
But what if it’s not about knowing more?
What if it’s about seeing differently?
Imagine walking into a business and asking three simple questions:
What does this business own? (Assets)
Where did the money come from to pay for it? (Equity and Liabilities)
And how do those sources shape the story of the company?
Suddenly, the numbers become human.
You start to notice how much is tied up in inventories…
How little is funded by owners…
How heavy the debt really is.
And all of that—every insight—starts from just one equation: A = E + L.
It’s the foundation that makes the whole structure click into place.
In this chapter, we unpack:
What assets, equity, and liabilities really mean—not just by definition, but by function
How this simple equation reveals the financial shape of a business
Where the money came from—and where it’s tied up
We break it down, not to simplify it… But to reveal it.
Because clarity isn’t just about making things smaller.
It’s about making things visible. It’s about making them click.
If you’ve ever felt like finance is something you "should" understand by now…
If you’ve ever sat in a meeting, nodded at the balance sheet, and quietly hoped no one would ask what you thought…
This chapter is for you.
You don’t need a new qualification.
You don’t need more technical training.
You just need to see how the pieces fit— Brick by brick.
Click by click.
And once they do…
You’ll never see finance the same way again.
James The Financial Storyteller
Ready to turn financial confusion into clarity?
👉 If Once Upon a Balance Sheet resonates with you, we can change the way you see numbers.
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