Accounting for Companies, Shares and Dividends WACE Year 12 Accounting and Finance
“Record the issue of shares for cash, the declaration and payment of interim and final dividends, transfers to reserves, and prepare the equity section showing share capital and retained earnings”
When a company issues shares for cash, it debits Cash (Bank) and credits Share Capital. Dividends distribute profit to shareholders: an interim dividend is paid during the year, a final dividend is declared after year-end. Declaring a dividend debits Retained Earnings and credits a Dividend Payable liability; paying it debits the liability and credits Bank. Equity is presented as Share Capital plus Reserves plus Retained Earnings.
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What this dot point is asking
SCSA wants you to journalise share issues and dividends, distinguish interim from final dividends, account for transfers to reserves, and present the equity section of a company Balance Sheet correctly.
Recording a share issue for cash
When investors subscribe and pay in full for shares, the company receives cash and increases its contributed equity.
Share capital is the amount contributed by shareholders in exchange for ordinary shares. It is a permanent part of equity and is not normally reduced except through a formal capital reduction or buy-back.
The entry to issue 100 000 ordinary shares at $2.00 each, fully paid on application:
- Debit Bank $200 000
- Credit Share Capital $200 000
This raises both an asset (Bank) and equity (Share Capital) by $200 000, keeping the accounting equation in balance.
In Australia, ordinary shares are issued under a no-par-value regime, so the whole amount received goes to a single Share Capital account; there is no separate "share premium" to split off, unlike some overseas systems. For WACE you record share issues at the price actually received and credit it in full to Share Capital. The cash and equity both rise by the same figure, which is why a share issue never touches profit; it is a contribution from owners, not income earned by the business.
Why a share issue is not income
It is worth being precise about why issuing shares does not create profit. Income is defined as an increase in equity other than contributions from owners. A share issue is the textbook example of a contribution from owners, so although equity rises, it is excluded from income by definition. The matching effect on the asset side (cash received) confirms the accounting equation stays balanced without any revenue being recognised. This is the same logic that keeps a bank loan out of income: both increase assets but neither is earned.
Dividends: interim and final
A dividend is a distribution of profit to shareholders. There are two timing types.
- Interim dividend: declared and paid by the directors during the financial year. Because it is paid immediately, no payable is needed at year-end.
- Final dividend: recommended by directors after the year-end profit is known. When the company has a present obligation to pay, it is recognised as a liability (Dividend Payable) and reduces Retained Earnings.
Dividends are an appropriation (distribution) of profit, not an expense. They never appear in the Income Statement. They reduce Retained Earnings directly and are shown in the Statement of Changes in Equity.
The two-step nature of the final dividend matters for the exam. Declaring it (debit Retained Earnings, credit Dividend Payable) is the event that reduces equity and creates the obligation; paying it later (debit Dividend Payable, credit Bank) merely settles the liability and reduces cash. A common task is to record one without the other, so be clear about which event the question describes. If the year end falls between declaration and payment, the Dividend Payable sits on the Balance Sheet as a current liability.
Transfers to reserves
Directors may set aside profit into a reserve, such as a General Reserve, to signal funds retained for future needs. The transfer debits Retained Earnings and credits General Reserve. It moves an amount within equity and does not change total equity or cash.
A reserve is best understood as an internal earmarking of accumulated profit, not a pile of cash. The General Reserve does not hold money; the business may have spent its cash on assets. The transfer simply tells readers that the directors do not intend to distribute that slice of retained profit as dividends in the near term, perhaps because it is needed for expansion or asset replacement. Because both Retained Earnings and General Reserve sit inside equity, total equity is untouched and the accounting equation still balances. A later transfer back from the reserve to Retained Earnings reverses the earmarking and makes the amount available for dividends again.
Presenting the equity section
The equity section of a company Balance Sheet lists:
- Share Capital (issued and paid-up ordinary shares)
- Reserves (for example General Reserve)
- Retained Earnings (accumulated undistributed profit)
Westpoint Ltd begins the year with Share Capital $200 000, General Reserve $10 000 and Retained Earnings $40 000. During the year it earns a profit of $60 000, pays an interim dividend of $8 000, declares a final dividend of $12 000, and transfers $5 000 to the General Reserve.
Step 1: Identify movements in Retained Earnings
Retained Earnings starts at $40 000 and is increased by the $60 000 profit for the year. It is then reduced by three appropriations: the $8 000 interim dividend paid in cash during the year, the $12 000 final dividend declared at year end (which creates a Dividend Payable liability), and the $5 000 transfer to the General Reserve. Each of these deductions leaves Retained Earnings and either flows to owners or moves to another equity account.
Step 2: Calculate closing Retained Earnings
Adding the profit and subtracting all three appropriations:
The $5 000 transferred to the General Reserve lifts that account from $10 000 to $15 000, so the total equity is unchanged by that transfer: what leaves Retained Earnings enters the reserve.
Step 3: Present the equity section
The equity section lists each component at its closing balance. The $12 000 declared but unpaid final dividend no longer sits in Retained Earnings; it has moved to a current liability called Dividend Payable, which will be settled in the next period.
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Share Capital | $200 000 |
| General Reserve | $15 000 |
| Retained Earnings | $75 000 |
| Total equity | $290 000 |
Final answer: Closing Retained Earnings is $75 000, General Reserve is $15 000, Share Capital is $200 000, and total equity is $290 000. The $12 000 final dividend also appears as a current liability, Dividend Payable, until it is paid next period.
A common error is to subtract dividends when calculating profit, or to list them as an expense. Profit is calculated before any distribution. Dividends are deducted only afterwards, inside the Statement of Changes in Equity, when working out the closing Retained Earnings balance.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of SCSA exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
WACE 2021-style8 marksMarra Ltd issues 150 000 ordinary shares at $2.50 each, fully paid on application. During the year it pays an interim dividend of $20 000 and at year end declares a final dividend of $30 000. Record the share issue and both dividends in general journal form, and state how each affects the equity section of the Balance Sheet.Show worked answer →
An 8 mark response needs the share issue entry, both dividend entries, and the equity effect.
Share issue. . Debit Bank , credit Share Capital . This raises both an asset and contributed equity by .
Interim dividend (paid in cash during the year). Debit Retained Earnings , credit Bank . No payable is needed because it is paid immediately.
Final dividend (declared, unpaid at year end). Debit Retained Earnings , credit Dividend Payable . This creates a current liability and reduces Retained Earnings.
Equity effect. Share Capital rises by ; Retained Earnings falls by the total dividends; the declared final dividend also sits as a current liability until paid. Markers reward the correct cash amount, dividends debited to Retained Earnings (not expensed), and the payable for the declared dividend.
WACE 2023-style5 marksExplain why a dividend is not treated as an expense in the Income Statement, and distinguish an interim dividend from a final dividend in terms of when each is recorded.Show worked answer →
A 5 mark response needs the appropriation argument and the timing distinction.
Not an expense. A dividend is a distribution (appropriation) of profit already earned, not a cost incurred in earning that profit. Profit is calculated first; dividends are then deducted from Retained Earnings afterwards in the appropriation of profit. Putting a dividend in the Income Statement would understate profit and misrepresent a return to owners as an operating cost.
Interim versus final. An interim dividend is declared and paid by directors during the financial year, so it is recorded as a reduction in Retained Earnings and an outflow of cash with no year-end liability. A final dividend is recommended at year end once profit is known; when the company has a present obligation it is recognised by debiting Retained Earnings and crediting a Dividend Payable liability, settled in the next period. Markers reward the expense-versus-appropriation point and the timing of recognition for each type.