Which financial ratio assesses an organization's ability to meet short-term obligations?

The liquidity ratio is a key financial metric that evaluates an organization's capacity to fulfill its short-term obligations, such as debts and other liabilities, that are due within a year. This ratio provides insights into the organization's financial health and ability to maintain sufficient cash flow to meet its current liabilities.

Liquidity ratios, such as the current ratio and quick ratio, specifically measure the relationship between an organization’s liquid assets and its current liabilities. A higher liquidity ratio indicates that an organization is in a better position to easily convert its assets into cash to settle short-term debts, which is crucial for maintaining operations and avoiding financial distress.

In contrast, profitability ratios focus on an organization's ability to generate profit relative to its revenue, expenses, or equity. Coverage ratios measure the ability to service debt through earnings, and activity ratios assess how efficiently an organization utilizes its assets. While all of these ratios provide valuable insights, they do not specifically address short-term financial obligations as the liquidity ratio does.