CPA Exam Lab
Section 1: 30–40%1A4

Statement of Changes in Equity

Partnership accounting shows up less frequently than other topics, but when it does, it's almost always about allocating income or liquidating. The trap: candidates apply the wrong order during liquidation — safe payments must go to partners in the right priority sequence. Know your capital account adjustments cold, especially when a partner has a deficit balance.

What AICPA Wants You to Know

  • 1Identify the five components of stockholders' equity and their normal balances
  • 2Prepare or analyze a statement of changes in equity for a period
  • 3Explain how net income, OCI, dividends, and stock transactions affect equity components
  • 4Apply the accounting for stock dividends vs. stock splits and their equity impact
  • 5Record treasury stock purchases and reissuances using the cost method
  • 6Identify where prior period adjustments appear in the equity statement