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According to the full disclosure principle, all significant, relevant facts related
to the financial performance and fundamentals of a company should be
disclosed in the financial statements. A contingent liability threatens to reduce
the company’s assets and net profitability and, thus, comes with the potential
to negatively impact the financial performance and health of a company.
Therefore, such circumstances or situations must be disclosed in a company’s
financial statements, per the full disclosure principle.
2. Materiality Principle:
The materiality principle states that all important financial information and
matters need to be disclosed in the financial statements. An item is considered
material if the knowledge of it could change the economic decision of users of
the company’s financial statements. In this context, the term “material” is
basically synonymous with “significant”. A contingent liability can negatively
impact a company’s financial performance and health; clearly, the knowledge
of it might influence the decision-making of different users of the company’s
financial statements.
3. Prudence Principle
Prudence is a key accounting concept that makes sure that assets and income
are not overstated, and liabilities and expenses are not understated. Since the
outcome of contingent liabilities cannot be known for certain, the probability
of the occurrence of the contingent event is estimated and, if it is greater than
50%, then a liability and a corresponding expense is recorded. The recording
of contingent liabilities prevents understating of liabilities and expenses.
The level of impact also depends on how financially sound the company is. If
investors believe that the company is in such a solid financial situation that it
can easily absorb any losses that may arise from the contingent liability, then
they may choose to invest in the company even if it appears likely that the
contingent liability becomes an actual liability.
A contingent liability, unless very large, will not affect a company’s share price
in a major way if the company maintains a strong cash flow position and is
rapidly growing earnings. The nature of the contingent liability and the
associated risk play an important role. A contingent liability that is expected to
be settled in the near future is more likely to impact a company’s share price
than one that is not expected to be settled for several years. Often, the longer
the span of time it takes for a contingent liability to be settled, the less likely
that it will become an actual liability.
Recording
Per GAAP, contingent liabilities can be broken down into three categories
based on the likelihood of occurrence. The first category is the “high
probability” contingency, which means that the probability of the liability
arising is greater than 50% and the amount associated with it can be
estimated with reasonable accuracy. Such events are recorded as an expense
on the income statement and a liability on the balance sheet.
A “medium probability” contingency is one that satisfies either, but not both,
of the parameters of a high probability contingency. These liabilities must be
disclosed in the footnotes of the financial statements if either of the two
criteria is true.
Contingent liabilities that do not fall into the categories mentioned above are
considered “low probability.” The likelihood of a cost arising due to these
liabilities is extremely low and, therefore, accountants are not required to
report them in the financial statements. However, sometimes companies put in
a disclosure of such liabilities anyway.
Summary
Related Readings
Current Liabilities
Current Portion of Long-Term Debt
Accounting Cycle
Analysis of Financial Statements