Final answer:
An accounts receivable is not the business's promise to pay a debt, but the acknowledgment that the business is owed money by its clients for services or products provided.
Step-by-step explanation:
An accounts receivable does not represent a promise by the business to pay a debt, rather it is the other way around. It signifies the amount that is owed to the business by its customers for goods or services that have been delivered or used but not yet paid for. When a business issues an invoice to a client for products or services, this creates an accounts receivable, indicating that the client owes the business money. By definition, accounts receivable is money due to a company and is recorded as an asset on the company's balance sheet.