We address the issue of contingent liabilities in greater detail in Chapter
10. Our primary interest in this exercise is to engage students in a
discussion regarding the general nature of the financial statement
elements (assets, liabilities, equity, revenues and expenses).
(a) By taking out the bank loan your friend has incurred a liability. You do
not have a liability unless your friend defaults, or unless it becomes
(b) Accounting standards have specific requirements regarding account–
ing for situations where there is uncertainty regarding whether a liability
has been incurred. Those standards require an evaluation of the pro–
bability of an amount being owed. Without going into detail regarding
(c) Losing your job would not create a financial liability, although it would
most certainly reduce your revenues. You are obviously concerned that
you might lose your job, but you don’t have specific information that