Common Preferred and Treasury Stock

When a company records issuance of common stock for cash, it credits the par value of the shares to Common Stock (CS). It records in a separate paid-in capital account the portion of the proceeds that is above par value. When no-par common stock has a stated value, the entries are similar to those for par value stock. When no-par common stock does not have a stated value, the entire proceeds from the issue are credited to Common Stock.
 Preferred stock has contractual provisions that give it preference or priority over common stock.  Preferred stockholders have a priority in relation to: (1) dividends and (2) assets in the event of liquidation.  Preferred stockholders generally do not have voting rights.  Accounting for preferred stock is similar to accounting for common stock.
 Treasury stock is the term that is used to describe shares of a company's own stock that it has reacquired (bought back). Companies generally use the cost method in accounting for treasury stock. Under this approach, a company debits Treasury Stock and credits cash for the for the cost of the shares acquired.