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What is the effect of declaring a cash dividend on the following financial statement items?

A. Net working capital (NWC) - Increase.
B. Net working capital (NWC) - Decrease.
C. Current liabilities (CL) - No change.
D. Stockholder's equity - Increase.

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Declaring a cash dividend decreases net working capital (NWC) and stockholder's equity, and may increase current liabilities if declared but not yet paid.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a company declares a cash dividend, this has specific effects on its financial statements. Declaring a cash dividend would result in a decrease in net working capital (NWC) since there is an outflow of cash, leading to either a reduction in current assets or an increase in current liabilities, depending on how the dividend is financed. Additionally, the payment of a dividend leads to a decrease in stockholder's equity because it represents a distribution of company’s earnings to shareholders, reducing retained earnings within equity. There is generally no immediate change to current liabilities unless the dividend is declared but not yet paid, in which case dividends payable would increase, becoming a current liability.

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