Statement of Retained Earnings
The Statement of Retained Earnings takes the beginning balance of Retained earnings (which is the same as the ending balance from the previous period), then adds net income and subtracts dividends paid to stockholders to arrive at the ending balance of Retained earnings. Dividends are distributions of money to shareholders. The Statement of Retained Earnings is for a period of time, and the period should be the same as that of the Income Statement. A dollar sign ($) is used for the first and last numbers, and the last number is double-underlined. Some people like to use a subtotal after net income, but this is not required.
A sample Statement of Retained Earnings is given in Figure 2-2.
Figure 2-2. Jeffry Haber ...
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