What is the difference between a current and long-term liability in final accounts preparation? (2024)

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Current liabilities

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Long-term liabilities

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The difference

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Balance sheet presentation

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Liquidity and solvency analysis

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Interest expense calculation

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Here’s what else to consider

When you prepare your final accounts, you need to classify your liabilities as either current or long-term. This affects how you report them on your balance sheet and how you measure your liquidity and solvency. But what is the difference between a current and long-term liability, and how do you decide which one to use? In this article, you will learn the definitions, examples, and implications of these two types of liabilities.

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  • Bamidele MSc, FCCA, CPA, CGA Chartered Accountant, Team Lead Trade Finance Operations

    What is the difference between a current and long-term liability in final accounts preparation? (3) 1

What is the difference between a current and long-term liability in final accounts preparation? (4) What is the difference between a current and long-term liability in final accounts preparation? (5) What is the difference between a current and long-term liability in final accounts preparation? (6)

1 Current liabilities

Current liabilities are obligations that you have to pay within one year or within your normal operating cycle, whichever is longer. Examples of current liabilities include accounts payable, short-term loans, accrued expenses, taxes payable, and dividends payable. Current liabilities are important for your cash flow management, as they indicate how much money you need to raise or generate in the short term to meet your obligations. Current liabilities also affect your current ratio, which is the ratio of your current assets to your current liabilities. A higher current ratio means you have more liquidity, or the ability to pay your debts as they become due.

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    Current liabilities are short-term obligations that a company expects to settle within one year, such as accounts payable and short-term loans. Long-term liabilities, on the other hand, are obligations extending beyond one year, like long-term loans and bonds payable. Both types of liabilities are reported in the balance sheet during final accounts preparation, providing insights into a company's short-term and long-term financial obligations.

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2 Long-term liabilities

Long-term liabilities are obligations that you have to pay after one year or beyond your normal operating cycle, whichever is longer. Examples of long-term liabilities include long-term loans, bonds payable, deferred taxes, pensions, and leases. Long-term liabilities are important for your capital structure, as they indicate how much debt you have taken on to finance your assets and operations. Long-term liabilities also affect your debt-to-equity ratio, which is the ratio of your total liabilities to your total equity. A higher debt-to-equity ratio means you have more leverage, or the use of borrowed funds to increase your returns.

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3 The difference

The main difference between current and long-term liabilities is the time frame in which you have to pay them. Current liabilities are due within one year or within your normal operating cycle, while long-term liabilities are due after one year or beyond your normal operating cycle. This difference has implications for your balance sheet presentation, your liquidity and solvency analysis, and your interest expense calculation.

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4 Balance sheet presentation

On your balance sheet, you have to separate your current and long-term liabilities into two categories. Current liabilities are listed first, followed by long-term liabilities. This helps you and your users to see how much of your liabilities are due in the short term and how much are due in the long term. It also helps you to calculate your working capital, which is the difference between your current assets and your current liabilities. A positive working capital means you have enough current assets to cover your current liabilities, while a negative working capital means you have a liquidity problem.

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5 Liquidity and solvency analysis

Another difference between current and long-term liabilities is how they affect your liquidity and solvency analysis. Liquidity is the ability to pay your debts as they become due, while solvency is the ability to pay your debts in the long term. Current liabilities are more relevant for your liquidity analysis, as they indicate how much cash you need to generate or raise in the short term to meet your obligations. Long-term liabilities are more relevant for your solvency analysis, as they indicate how much debt you have taken on and how it affects your equity and profitability. You can use various ratios to measure your liquidity and solvency, such as the current ratio, the quick ratio, the debt-to-equity ratio, and the interest coverage ratio.

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6 Interest expense calculation

The last difference between current and long-term liabilities is how they affect your interest expense calculation. Interest expense is the cost of borrowing money, and it is calculated based on the interest rate, the principal amount, and the time period of the loan. Current liabilities usually have higher interest rates than long-term liabilities, as they are more risky for the lenders. However, current liabilities also have shorter time periods than long-term liabilities, which means you pay less interest in total. Long-term liabilities usually have lower interest rates than current liabilities, as they are more secure for the lenders. However, long-term liabilities also have longer time periods than current liabilities, which means you pay more interest in total. Therefore, you have to consider both the interest rate and the time period when comparing the interest expense of current and long-term liabilities.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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  • Bamidele MSc, FCCA, CPA, CGA Chartered Accountant, Team Lead Trade Finance Operations

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    A point to note is that Long term liabilities sometimes have an element of current liabilities when it has to be paid within the current period i.e. a long term liability could have a portion of the obligation due in the current financial year e.g. if any portion of a long-term liability is due within the next 12 months, it is listed with current liabilities.They are sometimes called the current portion of long-term debt and need to be paid with cash or liquidity in the current year. Examples are long term loans due for part payment in the current financial year.

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    What is the difference between a current and long-term liability in final accounts preparation? (23) 1

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    In financial reporting, distinguishing between current and long-term liabilities is crucial. Current liabilities are obligations due within one year, such as accounts payable or short-term loans. They impact short-term liquidity and working capital. Long-term liabilities, on the other hand, are obligations payable beyond one year, like long-term loans or bonds. Differentiating them is essential for assessing a company's liquidity and solvency. For instance, if our company has a short-term loan of $50,000 due in six months, it's classified as a current liability, while a 10-year bond worth $1 million is a long-term liability, impacting our long-term financial health and stability.

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What is the difference between a current and long-term liability in final accounts preparation? (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a current and long-term liability in final accounts preparation? ›

Current liabilities are short-term obligations that a company expects to settle within one year, such as accounts payable and short-term loans. Long-term liabilities, on the other hand, are obligations extending beyond one year, like long-term loans and bonds payable.

What are the current liabilities in final accounts? ›

Current liabilities are a company's short-term financial obligations that are due within one year or within a normal operating cycle. An operating cycle, also referred to as the cash conversion cycle, is the time it takes a company to purchase inventory and convert it to cash from sales.

Which of the following is the distinction between a current and long-term liability? ›

Long-term liabilities are typically due more than a year in the future. Examples of long-term liabilities include mortgage loans, bonds payable, and other long-term leases or loans, except the portion due in the current year. Short-term liabilities are due within the current year.

What is the difference between a current liability and a long-term liability quizlet? ›

Current liabilities are liabilities that are payable within one operating cycle. A long-term debt is due in more than one year from the date of the balance sheet.

What is the difference between current and long-term debt? ›

The current portion of long-term debt is the amount of principal and interest of the total debt that is due to be paid within one year's time. This is not to be confused with current debt, which is debt with a maturity of less than one year.

What are long-term liabilities on a balance sheet? ›

Long-term liabilities, also called long-term debts, are debts a company owes third-party creditors that are payable beyond 12 months. This distinguishes them from current liabilities, which a company must pay within 12 months. On the balance sheet, long-term liabilities appear along with current liabilities.

What are five examples of long-term liabilities? ›

Here are several examples of long-term liabilities that you may see on your balance sheet:
  • Long-term loans.
  • Bonds payable.
  • Post-retirement healthcare liabilities.
  • Pension liabilities.
  • Deferred compensation.
  • Deferred revenues.
Feb 12, 2024

What is the difference between current liability and a long-term liability? ›

Businesses sort their liabilities into two categories: current and long-term. Current liabilities are debts payable within one year, while long-term liabilities are debts payable over a longer period. For example, if a business takes out a mortgage payable over a 15-year period, that is a long-term liability.

Can you also explain the differences between current and long term and how these concepts relate to the elements in the financial statements? ›

Current assets will include items such as cash, inventories, and accounts receivables. Non-current assets are long-term assets that have a useful life of more than one year and usually last for several years. Long-term assets are considered to be less liquid, meaning they can't be easily liquidated into cash.

Why are liabilities separated into current and long term? ›

Answer and Explanation:

It is important to separate the current and the non-current liabilities to enable the management to know the liabilities that are due within one year and those that will be around for longer than one year.

What is the difference between a current and a long-term liability provide an example of each in the healthcare sector? ›

Liabilities are also classified as either current or long-term. Current liabilities might include accounts payable, taxes owed or loans due within a year. Long-term liabilities might include issued bonds or loans not due within a year.

What distinguishes a current liability from a long-term liability How is this information used in decision making applications? ›

One way to distinguish between current liabilities and long-term liabilities is by the time frame in which they are due. Current liabilities are debts that need to be paid within a year, while long- term liabilities are debts that can be paid over an extended period (Hayes, 2023).

Do long-term liabilities eventually become current liabilities? ›

2) This statement is True. A long-term liability becomes a current liability when the liability becomes due within a 12-month period.

What is the difference between a currant and a long-term liability? ›

The main difference between current and long-term liabilities is the time frame in which you have to pay them. Current liabilities are due within one year or within your normal operating cycle, while long-term liabilities are due after one year or beyond your normal operating cycle.

What is the difference between current liabilities and total liabilities? ›

A liability requires a future, specified payment at specified dates. Total liabilities are a combination of short-term and long term debt. Short-term, or current liabilities, are to be paid within a fiscal year, whereas long-term, or non current, debt is payable beyond one year.

What is the difference between a current liability and a fixed liability? ›

A fixed liability is a debt, bond, mortgage or loan that is payable over a term exceeding one year. Such debts are better known as non-current liabilities or long-term liabilities. Debts or liabilities due within one year are known as current liabilities.

What are the current accounts liabilities? ›

Current liabilities are listed on the balance sheet and are paid from the revenue generated by the operating activities of a company. Examples of current liabilities include accounts payables, short-term debt, accrued expenses, and dividends payable.

How to find current liabilities? ›

You would use the following formula (or some variation of it):Current liabilities = notes payable + accounts payable + short-term loans + accrued expenses + unearned revenue + current portion of long-term debts + other short-term debtsFor example: A coffee shop owner owes $300 in accounts payable, $500 in accrued ...

What are the final total liabilities? ›

Total liabilities are the combined debts that an individual or company owes. They are generally broken down into three categories: short-term, long-term, and other liabilities. On the balance sheet, total liabilities plus equity must equal total assets.

What are current liabilities on income statement? ›

Common examples of current liabilities include regular accounts payable and business taxes due (or anticipated) but not yet paid. This includes any income tax or insurance a business pays on behalf of its employees. If a business has declared a dividend but not yet paid it, this will also be a current liability.

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