A balance sheet shows all of a company's income, property and other value (listed under "Assets") and all of its debts and expenses (listed under "Liabilities"). A balance sheet has two parts: assets, which comes first and lists cash, cash equivalents, investments, equipment, inventory and accounts receivable; and liabilities, which lists expenses, accounts payable, loans and other debts, taxes and shareholder equity.
Locate the "Liabilities" section on the bottom half of the balance sheet.
Look at the first line titled "Accounts payable and accrued expenses" to find the business's current expenses. This line represents money that should be spent in the very short-term.
Check the "Total current liabilities" line to see how much money the business should spend in the reporting period. While not everything under "Total current liabilities" represents a business expense (for example, the number includes taxes), it gives a better idea of the amount of money that goes out of the business.
Tip
Depending on the reason you are looking at total expenses, you may want to take a look at the cash flow statement. The cash flow statement reconstructs how the business spends its money and separates out operating, investing and financing activities.
