Summary
Long-term liabilities are debts and obligations that a company expects to satisfy in more
than one year or beyond its normal operating cycle, whichever is longer. GAAP requires that
long-term liabilities be recognized when an obligation occurs. On the balance sheet,
long-term liabilities are generally valued at the amount of money needed to pay the debt or
at the fair market value of the goods and services to be delivered. Extensive disclosures in
the notes to the 1nancial statements are often required for long-term liabilities because of
their complexities.
Bonds payable are the most common type of long-term debt. Long-term notes payable
are evidenced by a promissory note to a bank or other creditor that is due in more than one
year. A mortgage is a long-term debt, usually payable in equal monthly installments, that is
secured by real property. When a mortgage payment is made, both Mortgage Payable and
Mortgage Interest Expense are debited, and Cash is credited. Each month, the interest
portion of the payment decreases, and the principal portion of the payment increases.
A lease is a contract that allows a business or an individual to use an asset for a speci1c
length of time in return for periodic payments. An operating lease is a short-term lease
under which the risks of ownership remain with the lessor; it should be recorded only as a
rent expense for each period the asset is leased. A capital lease (as determined by certain
criteria) is in substance a sale and should be recorded as an asset (to be depreciated) and a
related liability by the lessee.
Pension liabilities arise from a contract that requires a company to pay bene1ts to its
employees after they retire. Bene1ts to retirees are usually paid out of a pension fund.
Pension plans are classi1ed as either de1ned contribution plans or de1ned bene1t plans.
Other post-retirement benets, such as for health care, should be estimated and accrued
while the employee is still working (in accordance with the matching rule).
Deferred income taxes may appear as a long-term liability on the balance sheet if
di(erent accounting methods are used to calculate income taxes on the income statement
versus income tax liability on the income tax return.
The following journal entry is introduced in this section:
Mortgage Payable XX (principal)
Mortgage Interest Expense XX (interest)
Cash XX (monthly payment)
Relevant Examples and Exhibits
Exhibit 1 Monthly Payment Schedule on a $100,000, 9 Percent Mortgage
Example: Mortgages Payable
Teaching Strategy
Explain that two sources of long-term funds are the issuance of common stock and the
issuance of long-term debt. Identify the forms that long-term debt may take: bonds, notes,
mortgages, and leases. Discuss reasons why a business may prefer to issue common stock.
Then identify advantages long-term debt has over common stock. Ask students to identify
reasons for this variability. Ask students to discuss the riskiness of carrying a large amount
of debt.