For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has worked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online. He is the sole author of all the materials on AccountingCoach.com.
Author:
Harold Averkamp, CPA, MBA
A memorandum entry is a short message entered into the general journal and also entered into a general ledger account. It is not a complete journal entry because it does not contain debit and credit amounts.
The following entry for a stock split is an example of a memorandum entry:
“On June 7, 2023 a 2-for-1 stock split was declared for the common stockholders of record as of the end of the day on June 28, 2023. The stock split will result in the number of issued and outstanding shares of common shares increasing from 200,000 shares to 400,000 shares.”
Since a stock split does not change the balance in the Common Stock account, a complete journal entry was not required. The memorandum entry merely notes for future reference that the number of shares of stock has changed.
