Sec. 451.176. Liability

(a) An amount owing by one person (a debtor) to another (a creditor), payable in money, or in goods or services; the consequence of an asset or service received or a loss incurred or accrued; particularly, any debt:

(1) due or past due (current liability);

(2) due at a specified time in the future (e.g., funded debt, accrued liability); or

(3) due only to failure to perform a future act (deferred income, contingent liability).

(b) The title of the credit half of a balance sheet, often including net worth as well as obligations to outsiders; when thus used, the inference is that the organization reflected in the balance sheet has a status independent of both its creditors and its owners—to whom it must account in the amounts shown.