Financial Accounting For Dummies

Chapter 8

Digging for Debt in the Liabilities Section

In This Chapter

Discovering how a company raises cash

Identifying current liabilities

Learning about long-term debt

Knowing when loss contingencies are reportable

Accounting for bonds

Part III of this book is all about the financial statement called the balance sheet, which reports a company’s assets and the claims against those assets. In Chapter 7, I walk you through the assets part of the equation. This chapter is all about the claims, or debts, which in accountant-speak are liabilities.

Nobody likes debt, but it’s often an inevitable part of a company keeping its doors open for business. In this chapter, I cover both current and long-term debt. You find out what types of current liabilities help a business manage its day-to-day operations, and you learn about long-term debt obligations that businesses use to acquire assets. I discuss basic long-term debt such as mortgages and notes payable, and I also discuss bonds, focusing ...