When net income is transferred to retained earnings the expenses and revenue summary is
Definition of Retained EarningsRetained earnings is the cumulative amount of earnings since the corporation was formed minus the cumulative amount of dividends that were declared. Retained earnings is the corporation's past earnings that have not been distributed as dividends to its stockholders. Show
Are Retained Earnings an Asset?The amount of a corporation's retained earnings is reported as a separate line within the stockholders' equity section of the balance sheet. However, the past earnings that have not been distributed as dividends to the stockholders will likely be reinvested in additional income-producing assets or used to reduce the corporation's liabilities. Where do Retained Earnings Come From?At the end of an accounting year, the balances in a corporation's revenue, gain, expense, and loss accounts are used to compute the year's net income. Those account balances are then transferred to the Retained Earnings account. When the year's revenues and gains exceed the expenses and losses, the corporation will have a positive net income which causes the balance in the Retained Earnings account to increase. (If the corporation's revenues and gains for the year are less than the expenses and losses, the result is a net loss that reduces the normal credit balance in the Retained Earnings account.) The balance in the Retained Earnings account is also decreased when the corporation declares a cash dividend. What is the Normal Balance in the Retained Earnings Account?The normal balance in a profitable corporation's Retained Earnings account is a credit balance. This is logical since the revenue accounts have credit balances and expense accounts have debit balances. If the balance in the Retained Earnings account has a debit balance, this negative amount of retained earnings may be described as deficit or accumulated deficit. To update the balance in the owner's capital account, accountants close revenue, expense, and drawing accounts at the end of each fiscal year or, occasionally, at the end of each accounting period. For this reason, these types of accounts are called temporary or nominal accounts. Assets, liabilities, and the owner's capital account, in contrast, are called permanent or real accounts because their ending balance in one accounting period is always the starting balance in the subsequent accounting period. When an accountant closes an account, the account balance returns to zero. Starting with zero balances in the temporary accounts each year makes it easier to track revenues, expenses, and withdrawals and to compare them from one year to the next. There are four closing entries, which transfer all temporary account balances to the owner's capital account.
Closing entry 1: The lawn cutting revenue account is Mr. Green's only income statement account with a credit balance. Debit this account for an amount equal to the account's balance, and credit income summary for the same amount.
Closing entry 2: Mr. Green has eight income statement accounts with debit balances; they are all expense accounts. Close these accounts by debiting income summary for an amount equal to the combined debit balances of all eight expense accounts and by crediting each expense account for an amount equal to its own debit balance.
Closing entry 3: The income summary account's $61 credit balance equals the company's net income for the month of April. To close income summary, debit the account for $61 and credit the owner's capital account for the same amount.
In partnerships, a compound entry transfers each partner's share of net income or loss to their own capital account. In corporations, income summary is closed to the retained earnings account. Closing entry 4: Mr. Green's drawing account has a $50 debit balance. To close the account, credit it for $50 and debit the owner's capital account for the same amount.
In a partnership, separate entries are made to close each partner's drawing account to his or her own capital account. If a corporation has more than one class of stock and uses dividend accounts to record dividend payments to investors, it usually uses a separate dividend account for each class. If this is the case, the corporation's accounting department makes a compound entry to close each dividend account to the retained earnings account. Is net income transferred to retained earnings?Each period, net income from the income statement is added to the retained earnings and is reported on the balance sheet within shareholders' equity. Retained earnings are a key component of shareholder equity and the calculation of a company's book value.
How do you transfer revenue and expenses to retained earnings?Debit all revenue accounts and credit the income summary account, thereby clearing out the balances in the revenue accounts. Credit all expense accounts and debit the income summary account, thereby clearing out the balances in all expense accounts. Close the income summary account to the retained earnings account.
What accounts are transferred to retained earnings?All temporary accounts must be reset to zero at the end of the accounting period. To do this, their balances are emptied into the income summary account. The income summary account then transfers the net balance of all the temporary accounts to retained earnings, which is a permanent account on the balance sheet.
What is the journal entry for transfer of revenue to income summary?First, all revenue accounts are transferred to income summary. This is done through a journal entry debiting all revenue accounts and crediting income summary. Next, the same process is performed for expenses. All expenses are closed out by crediting the expense accounts and debiting income summary.
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