At December 31, 2016, the records of Hoffman Company reflected the following balances in the shareholders equity

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At December 31, 2016, the records of Hoffman Company reflected the following balances in the shareholders’ equity accounts:

Common shares: par $12 per share; 40,000 shares outstanding
Preferred shares: 8 percent; par $10 per share; 6,000 shares outstanding
Retained earnings: $220,000


On January 1, 2017, the board of directors was considering the distribution of a $62,000 cash dividend. No dividends were paid during 2015 and 2016.


Required:

1. Determine the total and per-share amounts that would be paid to the common shareholders and to the preferred shareholders under two independent assumptions:

a. The preferred shares are non-cumulative.

b. The preferred shares are cumulative.

2. Briefly explain why the dividends per common share were less for the second assumption.

3. What factors would cause a more favourable dividend for the common shareholders?

Distribution
The word "distribution" has several meanings in the financial world, most of them pertaining to the payment of assets from a fund, account, or individual security to an investor or beneficiary. Retirement account distributions are among the most...
Dividend
A dividend is a distribution of a portion of company’s earnings, decided and managed by the company’s board of directors, and paid to the shareholders. Dividends are given on the shares. It is a token reward paid to the shareholders for their...
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Related Book For  answer-question

Fundamentals of Financial Accounting

ISBN: 978-1259269868

5th Canadian edition

Authors: Fred Phillips, Robert Libby, Patricia Libby, Brandy Mackintosh

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