Chapter 11 - Reporting and Interpreting Owners’ Equity
11. The two basic requirements to support a cash dividend are: (1) cash on hand or the
ability to obtain cash sufficient to pay the dividend and (2) a sufficient balance in retained earnings, because the dividend represents a return of earnings to the stockholders. A cash dividend reduces both the assets of a corporation and stockholders’ equity by the amount of the dividend. 12. Cumulative preferred stock has a dividend preference such that, should the
dividends on the preferred stock for any year, or series of years, not be paid, dividends cannot be paid to the common stockholders until all such dividends in arrears are paid to the preferred stockholders. Noncumulative preferred stock does not have this preference; therefore, dividends not paid in past periods will never be paid to the preferred stockholders. 13. A stock dividend involves the issuance to the stockholders of a dividend in the
corporation’s own stock (rather than cash). A stock dividend is significantly different from a cash dividend in that the corporation does not disburse any assets, while in the case of a cash dividend, cash is decreased by the amount of the dividend. A cash dividend also reduces total stockholders’ equity by the amount of the dividend. In contrast, a stock dividend does not change total stockholders’ equity. 14. The primary purposes for issuing a stock dividend are: (1) to maintain dividend
consistency; that is, to pay dividends each year either in cash or in capital stock, and (2) to capitalize retained earnings; that is, a stock dividend requires a transfer from the Retained Earnings account to the permanent contributed capital accounts for the amount of the dividend. Although this transfer does not change stockholders’ equity in total, it does cause a shift from retained earnings to contributed capital. 15. When a dividend is declared and paid, the three important dates are:
Declaration date—the date on which the board of directors votes the dividend. In the case of a cash dividend, a dividend liability comes into existence on this date and must be recorded as a debit to Retained Earnings and as a credit to Dividends Payable.
Date of record—this date usually is about one month after the date of declaration. It is the date on which the corporation extracts from its stockholders’ records the list of individuals owning shares. The dividend is paid only to those names listed on the record date. No entry in the accounts is made on this date.
Date of payment—the date on which the cash is disbursed to pay the dividend. It follows the date of record as specified in the dividend announcement. The entry to record the cash disbursement for the dividend is a debit to Dividends Payable and a credit to Cash.