To mitigate asset over-accumulation, which approach should a business take?

• A. Lease Equipment / Rent Buildings
• B. Purchase more assets
• C. Sell all assets
• D. Ignore

Answer: (A)

When a business has too many non-current assets, its asset base becomes bloated and cash is tied up in owning things rather than being available for other uses. The best way to avoid this is to access assets through leasing or renting rather than purchasing. Leasing equipment or renting buildings lets a company use the needed assets without committing large sums of capital to buy them. This keeps the asset base smaller on the balance sheet, preserves cash for other needs, and offers flexibility if needs change or technology updates. Lease arrangements can also simplify budgeting since payments are often treated as operating expenses, though it’s important to watch long-term costs and the commitment involved. Buying more assets would worsen over-accumulation, selling all assets would cripple operations, and ignoring the issue means cash and flexibility aren’t preserved.