The presentation format of balance sheet data that standardizes the first-year values to 1.0 and presents subsequent years’ amounts relative to 1.0 is a(n):

On a horizontal common-size balance sheet, the divisor is the first-year values so they are all standardized to 1.0 by construction. Trends in the values of these items as well as the relative growth in these items are readily apparent. A vertical common-size balance sheet expresses all balance sheet accounts as a percentage of total assets and does not standardize the initial year.