____is an account that consists of a company's cumulative net income less any losses and dividends declared since its inception.

The cumulative net income of a corporation that is kept by the corporation at a specific moment in time, such as at the conclusion of the reporting period, is referred to as retained earnings (also known as plowback). The net income (or net loss) at that time is transferred from the profit and loss account to the retained earnings account at the conclusion of the period.
If the retained profits account has a negative balance, it may also be referred to as having an accumulated deficit, accumulated losses, or another similar word. Any portion of a credit balance in the account may be capitalized by the issuance of bonus shares, and the remaining portion is carried over to the following period.
The balance may then be used to distribute dividends to shareholders. Dividends must only be paid out of the retained earnings account's positive balance at the time of payment, according to some legislation, notably those of the majority of US states. This safeguards creditors from a company's dividend-based liquidation.
This safeguards creditors from a company's dividend-based liquidation. However, a few governments let a corporation's accumulated deficit to keep growing when dividends are paid. A liquidating dividend or liquidating cash dividend is what this is.

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