Accounting theory and practice, Volume 2 (of 3) : a textbook for colleges and…
CHAPTER XX
817 words | Chapter 113
FIXED LIABILITIES—BONDS AND MORTGAGES
Nature of Fixed Liabilities
Fixed liabilities, called also capital, bonded, long-term, and
funded liabilities or debts, comprise all debts of which the date of
maturity is some distance ahead and considerably longer than that
of current liabilities. Government regulating boards, for purposes
of standardization, may set a minimum life-period for this group of
liabilities and any kind of debt falling within the period is so
classified. Thus, the Public Service Commission for the First District
of the State of New York says: “Funded debt comprises all debt which
by the terms of its creation does not mature until more than one year
after date of creation.” Private undertakings do not need such exact
uniformity. Any debt the maturity of which extends beyond the period
adopted within that business for current liabilities will usually be
grouped with the fixed liabilities, there seldom being an intermediate
group.
Purpose of Fixed Liabilities
Fixed liabilities, as distinguished from current, are those issued
distinctively for the purpose of raising capital. Due to insufficient
original capitalization, funds may be needed for one or more of many
purposes. Working capital may be required; extensions of plant and
market may be desirable; additional equipment and improvement within
the plant itself may be advisable; the control of the plant of a
competitor may prove advantageous; it may be deemed wise to fund
floating liabilities; the refunding of liabilities soon to mature may
become necessary; the financial policy may dictate the unification of
several diverse forms of debt—these and other purposes may be served by
the assumption of long-term debts.
Corporation Bonds
The most common type of fixed liability is the bond. As an instrument
of credit the bond is limited almost exclusively to corporations. The
purchasing public, interested in securities of this kind, looks with
suspicion on a long-term promise to pay issued by either a single
proprietor or by a partnership. Such businesses are almost wholly
dependent on the health and ability of individual owners. During a
long period of years so many contingencies may arise and seriously
cripple the business that the long-term debts of a partnership or sole
ownership have no market, although isolated instances of such issues
exist. The corporation, however, has continuity of life, is not so
dependent on individuals, and therefore has avenues for the raising of
funds open to it which are closed to other types of organization.
Nature of Bonds
A bond may be defined as an instrument under seal promising to pay
a certain amount of money at a definite or determinable future time.
From a legal standpoint, a bond is a contract setting forth the terms
and conditions under which the obligation is assumed. Furthermore, it
is a negotiable contract transferable from hand to hand, though in
some cases registration is necessary to prove ownership in the eyes
of the issuing corporation. From a financial standpoint, a bond is
essentially a long-term promissory note. Bonds, as here used, are to
be distinguished from the old real estate bond and mortgage. Bonds are
usually secured by a lien on some definite property or prospect of
property, just as the real estate bond and mortgage. The corporation
bond, however, is a separate instrument, divisible into small parts,
whereas the bond and mortgage is not usually an instrument of that type.
Corporation bonds are also to be distinguished from the surety bonds
mentioned in the preceding chapter. These latter, as already noted, are
instruments whereby individuals, firms, or corporations bind themselves
as guarantors for the conduct of others or for the payment of sums of
money for which the guarantor is not directly liable.
Difference between Bond and Real Estate Mortgages
With regard to the mortgage covering the bond issue, points of
difference from the ordinary real estate mortgage are to be noted.
To the ordinary mortgage there are two parties, viz., the party
obligated and the party accommodated, the obligor and obligee. To the
bond mortgage, the obligee is a trustee standing in the stead of the
numerous bondholders who could not conveniently act individually.
In this trustee the title to the property liened is vested for the
benefit of the bondholders. The mortgage instrument itself is often
a model of completeness and comprehensiveness, defining with minute
care the relations, duties, rights, interests, and status of the
issuing corporation, the bondholders, and the trustee under present
circumstances and all possible future contingencies.
Kinds of Corporation Bonds
Since bonds were first issued, perhaps one hundred different kinds
have been placed on the market. They all have the same fundamental
characteristics but differ in minor particulars. No universally
recognized basis exists for their classification, nor is such a basis
possible, the use which they are to serve determining always the
basis of analysis into classes. Thus, in the opinion of a leading
authority[50] on the subject bonds may be classified under the
following heads, according to:
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