But that has all changed. Venice is now more than just a beach town, more than just a tourist attraction. Venice is a brand. Or as Ernest, a man I met outside the Oakwood Community Center (he smoked a hand-rolled cigarette and declined to give me his last name), puts it: This used to be a community.
The retained earnings general ledger account is adjusted every time a journal entry is made to a revenue or expense account. Retained Earnings. Retained earnings are reported at the end of an accounting period as the accumulated amount of a company's prior earnings, net of dividends. They can show a positive earnings accumulation or can turn negative and have a deficit if a current period's net loss exceeds the period's beginning retained earnings.
Companies generate revenues and expenses, which result in either a net profit or a net loss, all shown on the income statement. At the beginning of the next accounting period (which, for public companies, is either one quarter or one year), that net profit or loss rolls over to the balance sheet into retained earnings. Most corporations record any dividends that the company distributes to shareholders as a reduction in retained earnings.