A S the pages of this journal testify,' economists recently have displayed a lively interest in the trend of industrial concentration. Those fearful of increased concentration in years to come are likely to be particularly concerned over the implications of continued heavy defense outlays. Although the evidence is far from convincing, many believe that the World War II mobilization program intensified industrial concentration. The issue examined in this article is whether a particular mobilization measure, accelerated tax amortization, has contributed toward increased concentration in American manufacturing industries during the current defense build-up.

This article presents problems, which were prepared by the Board of Examiners of the American Institute of Accountants, and were presented as the first half of the Certified Public Accountants (C.P.A.) Examination in Accounting Practice on May 3, 1954. The candidates were required to solve problems 1, 2 and 3 and either problem 4 or problem 5. The total weight assigned to this section of the examination was 50 points. Weights were not assigned to the individual problems but a suggested time for each problem was given. The Bloom Florist Shops are owned and operated by Sumner Bloom in two separate locations. Mr. Bloom has called you in for assistance. He states that until two years ago he operated only a small card and flower shop in an adjoining town. At that time he opened a new and modern shop in the city and affiliated with the Florists Telegraph Delivery Association. Although he has had large gains in sales and profits in these last two years, Mr. Bloom has never effected any substantial improvement in his financial condition. He has looked into the problem from the personnel and physical standpoints and is satisfied with the honesty of the employees and the conformity of his product, service, and price with that of other florists. He asks that one look over the profit statement prepared for the prior fiscal year. It is his intention that this should be on a cash basis.

This article presents questions related to accounting and finance, that are of importance to students of the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) course. The following problems were prepared by the Board of Examiners of the American Institute of Accountants and were presented as the second half of the CPA Examination in accounting practice on May 19, 1955. The total weight assigned to this section of the examination was 50 points and the examiners point out that the suggested time allowances for each problem are closely proportional to the point values of the various problems. Each question has been assigned a time limit. Questions include preparation of journal entries for financial transactions, preparation of product warranty balances and estimation of insurance claims. There are also questions asking the examinee to criticize the system of overheads applied to direct labor cost by a heavy equipment manufacturing company; and another one demanding the preparation of a statement of cost for a steel company involving the value and composition of inventory of the company from given data.

Reviews the book "1955 U.S. Master Tax Guide."

The article presents the problems prepared by the Board of Examiners of the American Institute of Accountants that were presented as the second half of the certified public accountant examination in accounting practice of November 4, 1954. The first problem of the examination presents a case in which books are kept on a cash basis. An apartment house purchased for $75,000 in June 1937, was sold on February 28, 1954 for $135,000. On account books, the accumulated depreciation to the date of the sale was $32,500. The escrow statements applicable to the buyer and the seller are shown in the article. The student is required to Prepare a journal entry to record the transaction on the seller's accounts books, prepare a journal entry to record the purchase on buyer's books, and prepare a schedule showing the gain to be reported by seller for federal income tax purposes. Multiple-choice questions are also provided in the examination. The students are required to select one correct answer for each question and to indicate their choice by placing an X in the appropriate space on the printed answer sheet.

Public finance has been characterized as political economics. Its overall problem must be considered not only in the context of general economics, but also that of political science, public administration, accounting, and management. Among the most neglected of these fields is that of governmental accounting and financial control at the state and local level. As public authority in a democracy must stem from the people upward, the author of this article believes that there is a positive correlation between the availability of information about governmental operations and the quality of government performance. The citizens of a particular government should be able to ascertain where their public dollar comes from, how their officials handle it, and where it goes. They should be able to know how their municipality compares with others. Not only is it advantageous to compare cities, but also it is also beneficial to observe the total outlay of all municipalities for each of the significant functions of government.

Reviews the book "Australian Accountancy Progress," by K.C. Keown.

In recent years accounting literature has been replete with suggested modifications in accounting and financial reporting to overcome the effects of changing price levels. The tenor of most of such writings has been that "something must be done" to make accounting results more meaningful, more useful, and less misleading. There have been widely varying remedies suggested, from sweeping overhauls of fundamental approaches to adamant adherence to the status quo. This article makes an attempt to delineate the reasoning underlying the security analysts negative attitudes toward proposed price level adjustments to financial statements. When the price level was relatively stable, reported income was a meaningful mirror of overall increments in business resources. The price level dispute becomes the most vivid in the area of fixed asset accounting. It is self-evident that in capital goods industries depreciation is almost always a significant amount. But even where depredation is a small fraction of total expenses, it may be an important figure in comparison to net income.