insolvency

This term describes a financial state where liabilities exceed assets or cash flow is insufficient to meet immediate debt obligations. It carries a heavy legal and professional weight, often serving as the technical precursor to bankruptcy. While bankruptcy is a legal process or a court-ordered status, insolvency is the actual financial condition of being broke.

In a corporate context, the word implies a systemic failure of liquidity or solvency. It is typically used in formal financial reporting, legal proceedings, and accounting audits to signal that an entity is no longer viable without external intervention or restructuring.