Giancarlo was just hired to revive an ailing publishing company. he would like to see a financial picture of the company at this time, including an itemized listing of assets, liabilities, and stockholders’ equity. giancarlo needs to look at a(

balance sheet

Explanation:

A balance sheet is one of the most essential financial statements that helps accountants and managers grasp the financial structure of the company, at a certain point of time.

The balance sheet clearly states the company's assets, liabilities and stockholders' equity, rigorously adhering to the basic accounting equation:

Assets = Stockholder's Equity + Liabilities

The equilibrium of the equation above is non-negotiable; it relies on common sense too. Every company owns things - assets, which were obtained with the aid of a e.g. bank loan - liability, or investor money - stockholders' equity.

These three groups can be further itemized into smaller, concrete accounts. Also, the liquidity principle is applicable in terms of ordering the items in an increasing liquidity order.

The time context is also an important distinction of this specific financial statement. While statements such as the P&L statement refer to a specific time interval (year, quarter...), the balance sheet reflects a specific point of time.