我最近在看CFA Level One，也遇到这个问题。
从书上看，Debt 和 Liability 是不一样的。 debt 一般指 interest-bearing liability。也就是说debt 是 liability的一种，也就是需要支付利息的负债。另外 Schweser Note Book 3 第152页明确指出： total debt 的算法是多种的，每个分析师都不一样。在CFA中给的是 长期负债加需要支付利息的短期负债。long-term debt plus interest-bearing short-term debt. 那也意味着total debt 在这里是不含应付的 accounts payable。

但是另外就是在165页计算 leverage ratio （asset to equity）的时候，他是直接用1 - debt-to-asset 来得出的。这也意味着此处 equity + debt = asset。 好像有点不对。 理论上 equity + liability = asset
而 liabilty = debt + others payable (例如应付账款，应付工资等等)。

总的来讲，感觉cfa的书中 有时候 debt 等于 liability， 有时候又分得很清，是两回事。
我也是新手，希望高手能够解释下。

Difference Between Liability and Debt

Liability and debt are related concepts that are important to understand. At a personal level, an individual may take a loan from a bank to construct a home for his family or to buy a car. He repays this money in installments, and this loan is considered a debt of the person. He also has liabilities towards his family members such as kids and wife as well as aged parents whose requirements he needs to fulfill. At first glance both debt and liability appear to be same, but if you take a closer look, there are many differences that will be enumerated in this article, particularly in respect of businesses and companies where these terms are commonly used in financial statements.

As described above, if a company has taken loans from banks or individual investors in the form of bonds or mortgages, these are considered as debts that need to be repaid along with interest. The liabilities of a company also need to be serviced, but they are not just debts. A liability is something that a company owes to someone like accounts payable. If a company buys raw material and has to pay pack the supplier in 30 days, it is the liability of the company as the company has received the benefit (raw material) and has to pay for it. At a personal level, paying your tutor for all the coaching he has given in a month is your liability. At a psychological level, looking after emotional, physical and material needs of your spouse are your liabilities.

In a company, expenses that have accrued are also considered a liability. Your employees have worked for a month, and it is your liability now to pay their monthly salaries. Unearned revenues are another example of liability. The best example of this kind of liability is prepaid card for a mobile where you pay in advance when you buy a recharge coupon and it is the liability of the company to provide your mobile services for the period for which the coupon is valid.

Liability is a past event that is likely to result in a cash outflow in near future from a business. There are many types of liabilities as described above, and debt is certainly one of them.

What is the difference between Liability and Debt?

• Debt is a sub category of liabilities.

• Debt is always in the form of money, whereas liability is anything that costs a business money

• Debt is always more serious than liability

• All debts are liabilities, but not all liabilities are debts

好深奥！

Nice...

学习了

A = L + E where A is Asset, L is liability, E is equity.
L = A/P + Short-term debt + long-debt
Debt<>Liability
Liability > Debt

真的吗？突然解决了我好多问题！！

同求解，概念有点不清楚。