Turn to the annual report of a listed company which you have used for activities in previous chapters. Find every item of information about liabilities. (Start with the financial statements and notes but look also at the operating and financial review, chief executive's review and other non-regulated information about the company.)
As a group, imagine you are the team of fund managers in a fund management company. You are holding a briefing meeting at which each person explains to the others some feature of the companies in which your fund invests. Today's subject is liabilities. Each person should make a short presentation to the rest of the team covering:
(a) The nature and significance of liabilities in the company.
(b) The effect on profit of a 10% error in estimation of any one of the major categories of liability.
(c) The company's comments, if any, on its future obligations.
(d) The risks which might attach to the liabilities of the company.
(e) The liquidity of the company.
(f) The trends in liabilities since last year (or over five years if a comparative table is provided).
(g) The ratio of current assets to current liabilities.