Note 11 to MWW’s financial statements (page A-56) provides information on MWW’s commitments and contingent liabilities. A contingent liability is a liability that may arise in the future if certain future events occur and a commitment is an executory contract.

a. Describe the commitments and contingent liabilities that MWW has.

b. Why is the information supplied in this note useful to users? Include in your answer a discussion of the relevant accounting assumptions, qualitative characteristics, and measurement conventions that were raised in this chapter.