A statement of change in equity (also referred to as statement of retained earnings) is a business' financial statement that measures
the changes in owners’ equity throughout a specific accounting period. It covers the following elements: [Last updated in August of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
Owner's Equity Statements: Definition, Analysis and How to Create One
By Autumn Banks, TD In-Store Small Business Lead
Monté Foster, SVP, Retail and Small Business Banking
In simple terms, you can calculate owner's equity for your business by subtracting all your business liabilities from the value of all your business assets. When your business makes a profit, owner's equity is positive. When your business takes a loss, owner's equity is negative.
What is an owner's equity statement and what business types use one?
A statement of owner's equity is a one-page report showing the difference between total assets and total liabilities, resulting in the overall value of owner's equity.
Tracked over a specific timeframe or accounting period, the snapshot shows the movement of cashflow through a business. The owner's equity statement is one of four key financial statements and is usually the second statement to be generated after a company's income statement.
Sole proprietorships, partnerships, privately held companies and LLCs typically use the owner's equity statement – also known as statement in changes in owner's equity or statement of retained earnings. Corporations use a shareholder's or stockholder's equity statement, which are more complex and involve dividends and stock components.
What is the purpose of an owner's equity statement?
This important business tool determines overall financial health and stability of your business. The equity statement indicates if a small business owner needs to invest more capital to cover shortfalls, or if they can draw more profits.
Small business owners utilize this data when making business decisions, such as expansion and diversification. Positive equity is an indicator of financial soundness and the ability to cover liabilities. Negative equity could indicate potential bankruptcy or inability to cover costs and expenses. For example, if a business is unable to show its ability to financially support itself without capital contributions from the owner, creditors could reconsider lending the business money.
How is an owner's equity statement created?
First, create the statement heading
The heading of the statement consists of three lines:
- Name of the company
- Title of the statement
Sole proprietors would title the report as an Owner's Equity Statement, partnerships as Partner's Equity Statement and a corporation as Shareholder's Equity Statement - Period being reported
Business ABC
Owner's Equity Statement
Period ending December 31, 2020
What is the Statement of Changes in Equity?
The statement of changes in equity is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances in a company’s equity during a reporting period. It is not considered an essential part of the monthly financial statements, and so is the most likely of all the financial statements not to be issued. However, it is a common part of the annual financial statements. The statement starts with the beginning equity balance, and then adds or subtracts such items as profits and dividend payments to arrive at the ending ending balance. The general calculation structure of the statement is as follows:
Beginning equity + Net income – Dividends +/- Other changes
= Ending equity
Contents of the Statement of Changes in Equity
The transactions most likely to appear on this statement are as follows:
Net profit or loss
Dividend payments
Proceeds from the sale of stock
Treasury stock purchases
Gains and losses recognized directly in equity
Effects of changes due to errors in prior periods
Effects of changes in fair value for certain assets
Presentation of the Statement of Changes in Equity
The statement of changes in equity is most commonly presented as a separate statement, but can also be added to another financial statement. It is also possible to provide a greatly expanded version of the statement that discloses the various elements of equity. For example, it could separately identify the par value of common stock, additional paid-in capital, retained earnings, and treasury stock, with all of these elements then rolling up into the ending equity total.
Preparation of the Statement of Changes in Equity
To prepare the statement, follow these steps:
Create separate accounts in the general ledger for each type of equity. Thus, there are different accounts for the par value of stock, additional paid-in capital, and retained earnings. Each of these accounts is represented by a separate column in the statement.
Transfer every transaction within each equity account to a spreadsheet, and identify it in the spreadsheet.
Aggregate the transactions within the spreadsheet into similar types, and transfer them to separate line items in the statement of changes in equity.
Complete the statement, and verify that the beginning and ending balances in it match the general ledger, and that the aggregated line items within it add up to the ending balances for all columns.