Due liabilities

Due liabilities (passif exigible) refer to a company's obligations that have become due and payable — debts whose maturity has been reached and which must be settled immediately. They are distinguished from total liabilities by their immediacy: a company may have substantial long-term debt without being in a liquidity crisis, but become insolvent when short-term and immediately payable obligations exceed available liquid assets. In financial due diligence, the analysis of due liabilities helps assess immediate liquidity risk, the risk of hidden commitments and the company's compliance with financial obligations at the date of acquisition.

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Example: due diligence on a French services company reveals CHF 420,000 of liabilities that are overdue by more than 60 days, including CHF 180,000 owed to a key supplier. The overdue status of this obligation risks triggering a supply disruption post-acquisition — a critical operational risk that leads the buyer to require an escrow of CHF 500,000 at closing to cover immediate payment obligations.

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Hectelion analyses due and overdue liabilities in every financial due diligence to assess immediate liquidity risk and hidden payment obligations.