Pasivo vs. obligación
In Spanish accounting, both pasivo and obligación refer to monies owed, but they differ in scope. Pasivo is a broad, technical term for total liabilities, while obligación refers to a specific, individual debt.
Pasivo
B2The word pasivo is the formal accounting term for total liabilities. It represents the entire section on a balance sheet that lists all of a company's debts and financial obligations combined.
Para conocer la salud financiera de la empresa, analizamos el activo y el pasivo.
(To understand the company's financial health, we analyze the assets and the liabilities.)
El pasivo de la compañía incluye préstamos bancarios, deudas con proveedores e impuestos por pagar.
(The company's liabilities include bank loans, debts to suppliers, and taxes payable.)
Una buena gestión financiera busca reducir el pasivo a largo plazo.
(Good financial management aims to reduce long-term liabilities.)
El patrimonio neto se calcula restando el pasivo total del activo total.
(Net worth is calculated by subtracting total liabilities from total assets.)
Los auditores revisaron cada cuenta que compone el pasivo corriente.
(The auditors reviewed every account that makes up the current liabilities.)
Obligación
B1The word obligación refers to a single, specific debt, duty, or commitment to pay. It is one of the individual components that, when added together with others, make up the total pasivo.
El pago de la nómina es una obligación mensual ineludible.
(Paying the payroll is an unavoidable monthly obligation.)
Tenemos la obligación de liquidar la factura con nuestro principal proveedor.
(We have an obligation to settle the invoice with our main supplier.)
La empresa emitió bonos para financiarse, creando una nueva obligación con los inversores.
(The company issued bonds to finance itself, creating a new obligation to investors.)
Ese préstamo hipotecario es la obligación financiera más grande que tenemos.
(That mortgage loan is the largest financial obligation we have.)
Cada impuesto pendiente de pago constituye una obligación fiscal para la empresa.
(Each outstanding tax payment constitutes a fiscal obligation for the company.)
Summary
In essence, the relationship is one of whole vs. part. Pasivo is the whole; it is the total sum of all debts and the official accounting category. An obligación is a part; it is a single, specific debt that contributes to the total pasivo. You can think of pasivo as the "Liabilities" folder on a computer, and each obligación is an individual document inside that folder.