Knowledge that Transforms

Reviews the book "Applied Time and Motion Study," by Walter G. Holmes.

Reviews the book "Seidman's Legislative History of Federal Income Tax Laws, 1861-1938," by J.S.Seidman.

One of the important practical problems in governmental accounting is the preparation of reports the essentials of which can be understood by the reasonable informed portion of the public. There are two methods of approach to the problem of increasing the public's understanding of financial reports. One approach is through education, colleges and universities have been doing practically all the educating that has been done. Through the colleges, the courses of business administration have been sending forth each year a substantial number of people who, being fairly conversant with the various problems of municipal accounting, were in a position to understand the financial reports of their various communities if, as, and when presented to them. The second approach to the problem is in the presentation of municipal financial reports. Each report when issued might contain some explanation of the operation of the fund principle upon which the reports are prepared. Care must be exercised in the number of funds displayed in these columnar reports, and often combination of similar funds can properly be made for this columnar presentation. Certainly the report to be effective must make comparisons of the budgets with the actual performance. Each report requires careful study so that such budget comparisons may be informative without being so voluminous as to be confusing.

The allocation of income with respect to periods of time is of fundamental importance in both accounting and taxation. Under the accrual basis of accounting the sale is looked upon as one of the best evidences of realized income. However, the determination for Federal income-tax purposes of the time when income is realized from a sale gives rise to such questions, as: a) Is income realized when a contract of sale is entered into by the parties? b) Is there income to the seller when legal title passes? In this paper the time of income realization will be examined with reference to dispositions of personal and real property. The study is based upon reported cases of the Federal Courts and the Board of Tax Appeals. Although the subject of deferred payment sales will be discussed generally, a consideration of installment sales is excluded. In as much as the legal principles applied to sales of personalty in determining passage of title differ from those applicable to transfers of title to realty, the two types of transactions sales will be considered separately.

Reviews the book "Debts and Recovery: A Study of Changes in Internal Debt Structure From 1929 to 1937 and a Program for the Future," by Albert C. Hart.

Reviews the book "Accounting Manual for Counties of Tennessee," by W.H.Read.

Reviews the book "Solutions for Advanced Accounting Problems," by E.L. Kohler.

This article discusses various elements of accounting theory and practices which appear to be somewhat clarified when interpreted in terms of the transaction basis of internal accounting. This discussion has served to focus attention upon both the importance of accountancy and the extreme difficulty of many of the problems with which it must deal. It appears wholly unlikely that the various elements of accounting practice, as developed in separate business units, can ever be reduced to a single consistent body of principles. As all accounting is based upon the dual concept of property, which refers property as a thing of value to the business is an "asset", and property as an ownership right to such thing is an "equity." The amounts of the two are essentially equal, they are simply different aspects of the same thing. It is suggested that accounting assets and equities can respond only to the transaction flow of actual business properties and although the accounting equities may usually be summarized in terms of the legal equities, they cease to be accounting equities the moment they reflect legal rather than accounting changes in amounts if the two are in conflict. Thus there comes into existence a technical accounting concept embracing only the things, called assets; while simultaneously there comes into existence a second technical accounting concept embracing only the ownership claims to these things, called equities.

Reviews the book "Auditing," by Ernest C. Davies.

Reviews the book "Introduction to Business," ed. 2nd, by Edwin H. Spengler and Jacob Klein.