Limitations of Retained Earnings

Retained Earning has the following limitations:

  • Dissatisfaction: In cases of excessive ploughing back of profits, i.e., where a major portion of the profits has been kept in the form of reserves, the shareholders might be disappointed by the lower amounts of dividends paid to them.
     
  • Uncertainty: Retained earnings are a highly uncertain method of raising funds since the profits of a business are always fluctuating.
     
  • Opportunity Cost: The opportunity cost associated with the usage of retained profits is often overlooked or sometimes, not even recognized by a lot of firms, which leads to sub-optimal usage of the funds.

Retained Earnings : Meaning, Features, Advantages and Limitations

Similar Reads

What are Retained Earnings?

Retained Earnings are that part of the profits of an organisation, which remains with it after meeting all its operating expenses and paying out dividends to all the shareholders. The organization intends to keep this surplus amount with itself in the form of reserves and surplus to meet any contingency, carry out research work, expansion projects, etc....

Features of Retained Earnings

The features of Retained Earnings are as follows:...

Advantages of Retained Earnings

The advantages of Retained Earnings are as follows:...

Limitations of Retained Earnings

Retained Earning has the following limitations:...

Contact Us