Which type of account generally represents future obligations within a COA?

Liability accounts are specifically designed to reflect future obligations that a company owes to outside parties. This includes debts, loans, and any other financial commitments that the entity is required to pay in the future. For example, accounts like accounts payable and long-term debt fall into this category, indicating that the company has an obligation to settle these debts in the future.

In contrast, asset accounts represent resources owned by the company, equity accounts reflect the owner’s residual interest after liabilities are subtracted from assets, and revenue accounts capture the income generated from sales or services provided. Therefore, while these other types of accounts are vital to a complete understanding of financial statements, they do not specifically represent future obligations, making liability accounts the correct choice for this question.