Many contingent liabilities do not appear in the balance sheet and instead are just disclosed in the footnotes to the financial statements. Research one public companys current financial statement and locate the footnotes on contingent liabilities.

The company analyzed for this purpose is Pfizer for the year 2016.In annual report of Pfizer, one of the note to the balance sheet (Note 17 Commitments and Contingencies), there are various items of contingent nature are disclosed. One item is the legal proceeding against the company. The company expects that the probable loss and it has estimated the loss from the legal proceeding. It has also accrued the liability in the accounts. (Note 17A1. Commitments and Contingencies: Legal ProceedingsPatent Litigation. For information on risks related to patent protection and intellectual property claims by third parties, see "Risks Related to Intellectual Property" in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors in our 2016 Form 10-K.)

Provide an explanation of the types of contingent liabilities included in the footnotes. What is the GAAP accounting rule in order for a liability to be actually recorded and included in the balance sheet section? Why arent the liabilities y from the footnotes included in the liability section of the balance sheet? Why is it important for users of financial statements to read the footnotes and pay attention to the contingent liability section?