ch as cash, securities, accounts receivable, inventory, or other investments that are
likely to be able to be converted to cash within one year. Liabilities are outstanding
obligations of the firm. Current liabilities are debts of the firm that will be due within
one year. Liabilities that are not due until the passage of a year or more are characterized as long-term debt. For a quick check of a firm’s short-term financial health,
examine its working capital (the firm’s current assets minus current liabilities). If
working capital is only marginally positive, or negative, the firm will likely have trouble
meeting its short-term obligations. Alternatively, if a firm has a large amount of current
assets, it can sustain operational losses for a period of time.