Английски за счетоводна дейност

Talking About Liabilities

Hello again, everyone, and welcome to Unit 3.2 – Talking About Liabilities.

Now — liabilities don’t sound very exciting at first, right? It’s basically money we owe. But here’s the trick: in English meetings, people rarely just read numbers from a balance sheet. They discuss liabilities — explaining why they changed, what they mean for the business, and how to manage them.

So today, instead of only giving you definitions, we’ll step into a real meeting scenario. You’ll hear colleagues talk, we’ll pause, and I’ll explain the phrases. You’ll even practice responding like you’re really there.

It’s Monday morning. You’re at the monthly finance review. Your manager looks at you and says:

 ‘Let’s move on to liabilities. Can you walk us through our current obligations and any significant debts?’

Already here, we’ve met two important words:

• liabilities = пасиви, задължения. These are all the things the company owes.
• obligations = задължения, ангажименти. This word is a little broader. It can include legal duties, promises, or commitments outside the balance sheet.

 Bulgarian note: В счетоводен контекст „liabilities“ винаги значи задължения в баланса, докато „obligations“ може да е и по-широко.

You reply:

‘Our current liabilities total four hundred fifty thousand euros, mostly accounts payable and short-term loans. Non-current liabilities are just under two million euros, mostly a long-term bank loan and lease obligations.’

Pause. Let’s break it down:

• current liabilities – due within 12 months (краткосрочни задължения)
• non-current liabilities – due after 12 months (дългосрочни задължения)
• accounts payable – задължения към доставчици
• short-term loan – краткосрочен заем
• lease obligations – задължения по лизинг

 Quick tip: In English meetings, people rarely say short-term obligations. They say current liabilities. That’s the phrase you need.

In real meetings, you don’t just say ‘Here are our liabilities’. You add details:

• ‘Our liabilities increased due to higher purchasing volumes.’
  (Задълженията се увеличиха заради по-големи покупки.)
• ‘We’ve reduced our short-term debt by repaying a supplier loan.’
  (Намалихме краткосрочния дълг като погасихме заем от доставчик.)
• ‘The main obligation this quarter is the final lease payment on our old headquarters.’
  (Основното задължение този период е последното лизингово плащане за старата сграда.)

Bulgarian note: Due в счетоводството = с падеж.
Example: ‘The loan is due in March’ = ‘Заемът е с падеж през март.’

Back in our meeting, your colleague speaks:

 ‘Our accounts payable have gone up because we’ve extended payment terms with some suppliers.’

Here’s the new phrase:

• extend payment terms – удължавам сроковете за плащане.
  This can improve cash flow now, but it increases liabilities in the short term.

Then the CFO adds:
 ‘We also have a significant tax payable for Q3, which will be settled in November.’

New terms:

• tax payable – задължения за данъци.
• to settle – уреждам, изплащам.

 Imagine explaining this in Bulgarian-English mix: ‘Имаме значителни задължения за данъци, които ще уредим през ноември.’ Very natural.

Now, accountants love collocations — fixed word combinations. Let’s practice a few.

• incur a liability – поемам задължение.
  Example: ‘We incurred a liability when we signed the new supply contract.’
• meet an obligation – изпълнявам задължение.
  Example: ‘The company met all its debt obligations on time.’
• service a debt – обслужвам дълг.
  Example: ‘We’re servicing the bank loan monthly.’
• default on a loan – не погасявам заем.
  Example: ‘The risk is that the client may default on the loan.’
• reduce exposure – намалявам риска/задълженията.
  Example: ‘We reduced our exposure by renegotiating the loan terms.’

Quick activity: I’ll say the Bulgarian phrase, you try to say the English one:
Обслужвам дълг → ? (Service a debt!)

Now let’s role-play. Imagine your manager is asking you directly.

You:
 ‘Our current liabilities are slightly higher due to increased accounts payable and an upcoming tax payment.’

Manager:
 ‘What’s the status of our non-current liabilities?’

You:
 ‘They remain stable at one point eight million euros, mostly the long-term loan from ABC Bank and lease obligations for the new factory.’

 Bulgarian note: Remain stable = остават непроменени.

Let’s finish with a few classic pitfalls:

1. Mixing liabilities and debts. Debt is part of liabilities, but liabilities also include things like taxes payable, accrued expenses, lease obligations.
2. Articles: Remember ‘a liability’ (едно задължение) vs ‘liabilities’ (категория).
3. Numbers: Say ‘1.8 million’, not ‘one million and eight hundred thousand’ — that sounds awkward in business English.

So, what did we do today? We didn’t just memorize terms.
We actually sat in a meeting, heard real lines, and learned how to respond.

Key points:

• Current vs non-current liabilities — short-term vs long-term.
• Common items: accounts payable, loans, lease obligations, tax payable.
• Phrases and collocations like service a debt, meet an obligation, reduce exposure.

Next time you’re in a meeting, you’ll be able to explain liabilities naturally — not just translate from Bulgarian.

Until next time!