Liability

Liability
A company's legal debts or obligations that arise during the course of business operations. Liabilities are settled over time through the transfer of economic benefits including money, goods or services.

Recorded on the balance sheet (right side), liabilities include loans, accounts payable, mortgages, deferred revenues and accrued expenses. Liabilities are a vital aspect of a company's operations because they are used to finance operations and pay for large expansions. They can also make transactions between businesses more efficient. For example, the outstanding money that a company owes to its suppliers would be considered a liability.

Outside of accounting and finance this term simply refers to any money or service that is currently owed to another party. One form of liability, for example, would be the property taxes that a homeowner owes to the municipal government.

Current liabilities are debts payable within one year, while long-term liabilities are debts payable over a longer period.


Investment dictionary. . 2012.

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  • liability — li·a·bil·i·ty /ˌlī ə bi lə tē/ n pl ties 1: the quality or state of being liable 2: something for which one is liable: as a: a financial obligation: debt tax liability the bonds …   Law dictionary

  • LIABILITY — (Torts). Every person of full mental capacity, male or female (BK 15a), when causing injury to another person, is liable to the injured party for any damage which his negligent conduct causes the latter to suffer (see torts ), even a husband to… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Liability — Li a*bil i*ty (l[imac] [.a]*b[i^]l [i^]*t[y^]), n.; pl. {Liabilities} ( t[i^]z). [1913 Webster] 1. The state of being liable; as, the liability of an insurer; liability to accidents; liability to the law. [1913 Webster] 2. That which one is under …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • liability — [n1] answerability, responsibility accountability, accountableness, amenability, amenableness, arrearage, blame, burden, compulsion, culpability, debt, duty, indebtedness, obligation, onus, owing, subjection, susceptibility; concept 645 Ant.… …   New thesaurus

  • liability — liability. См. подверженность. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • liability — Any legal obligation for which a person is responsible. (Dictionary of Canadian Bankruptcy Terms) United Glossary of Bankruptcy Terms 2012 …   Glossary of Bankruptcy

  • liability — 1790, originally a term in law; condition of being legally liable; see LIABLE (Cf. liable) + ITY (Cf. ity). General sense is from 1809; meaning thing for which one is liable is first attested 1842. Related: Liabilities …   Etymology dictionary

  • Liability —   Liability is usually, a legal obligation to pay a definite or reasonably certain amount at a definite or reasonably certain time in return for a current benefit. Some of the criteria are not met by items classified as liabilities where there… …   International financial encyclopaedia

  • liability — /ingl. ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ s. f. inv. passività, passivo …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • liability — *debt, indebtedness, obligation, debit, arrear Antonyms: asset (or plural assets) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • liability — ► NOUN (pl. liabilities) 1) the state of being liable. 2) a thing for which someone is liable, especially a financial obligation. 3) a person or thing likely to cause one embarrassment or put one at a disadvantage …   English terms dictionary

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