Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help!
  Advanced
Register  |  Log in  
   Ask    
 Answer  
  Help  

Ask QuestionsprogressAnswer QuestionsprogressBuild ReputationprogressBecome an Expert
 
Free Answers in 3 Easy Steps

Register Now		 3 Steps

At Ask Me Help Desk you can ask questions in any topic and have them answered for free by our experts. To ask questions or participate in answering them you must register for a free account. By registering you will be able to:
  • Get free answers from experts in any of our 300+ topics.
  • Accept money for answers that you provide.
  • Communicate privately with other members (PM).
  • See fewer ads.

Home > Business & Careers > Accounting   »   Retained Earnings = Earnings less dividends

Answer this Question Ask about Accounting
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Question
 
 
#1  
Old Apr 9, 2008, 05:24 PM
tonie
New Member
tonie is offline 		 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 12
tonie See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
Retained Earnings = Earnings less dividends
Could someone confirm that's the correct definition of R.E.? I thought R.E. is net not pay out dividend but my professor has in his note as "Retained Earnings = Earnings less dividends"

Reply With Quote
 
     

Answers
 
 
Old Apr 10, 2008, 04:23 AM   #2  
Arts & Small/Home Business Expert
Clough is offline
 
Clough's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Rock Island, IL
Posts: 13,555
Clough See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.Clough See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.Clough See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.Clough See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.Clough See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.Clough See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.Clough See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
According to the following definition from the following site, Smallbusinessdictionary.com - A Small Business Dictionary of Business Planning Terms: Part of the SMBTN™ Network

Quote:
Retained Earnings

Net profits or earnings retained by the company rather than disbursing to the shareholders in the form of dividends. Retained earnings are used to improve the business through development programs, promotion, R&D, etc.
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Apr 10, 2008, 07:10 PM   #3  
Finance & Accounting Expert
CaptainForest is offline
 
CaptainForest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 3,672
CaptainForest See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.CaptainForest See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.CaptainForest See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.CaptainForest See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
Opening RE + Net Income – Dividends = Closing RE

Retained Earnings is where all the profit of the company goes. Dividends decrease the equity of a company, so it comes out of RE.
  Reply With Quote
 
     
 
 
Old Apr 12, 2008, 06:05 PM   #4  
Accounting Expert
morgaine300 is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,396
morgaine300 See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonie
I thought R.E. is net not pay out dividend
Are you trying to say the net of what is not paid out in dividends? If so, that's actually correct, except that you're leaving out net of what. i.e. it's the net left over of earnings that was not paid out in dividends, but accumulated over the years. (i.e. not just this year)

Every definition you've been given is saying the same thing in different ways.
  Reply With Quote
 
     
Answer this Question Ask about Accounting

Bookmarks

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Thread Tools
Display Modes
Linear Mode Linear Mode

 
Similar Sponsors

Similar Threads
Question Asker Forum Answers Last Post
earnings per share and retained earnings tdjohnson Finance & Accounting 2 Mar 20, 2008 03:22 PM
corporation.dividends,retained earnings lara12 Accounting 1 Jan 17, 2008 11:05 AM
Corporations: Dividends, Retained Earnings, and income reporting mvruiz Accounting 0 Nov 14, 2007 05:12 PM
Dividends/Capital Stock or Retained Earnings amcmahon Accounting 1 Sep 6, 2007 05:26 AM
earnings and dividends jharri15 Finance & Accounting 0 Jul 16, 2006 01:44 PM




Copyright ©2003 - 2007, Ask Me Help Desk.
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 07:41 PM.