Knowledge that Transforms

This article focuses on the integration of electronic data processing instruction in the first year introductory course in accounting principles. While accounting continues to be the language of business today, it is generally understood that computer communication is necessary to transform accounting input into the finished products of cost and financial statements in many organizations. This was recognized in the report of the 1964 American Accounting Association's Committee on courses and curricula-electronic data processing. The committee was of the opinion that a basic understanding of computer language can be taught in the elementary accounting laboratory sections without infringing on the teaching of accounting principles. To accomplish this in an elementary course, a number of modifications would have to be introduced in a teaching plan which customarily includes text coverage, chapter problems, and a laboratory solution of a manual practice set. The extent of such modifications would be predicated on the availability of a digestible computerized exercise which would require minimal equipment to process.

The article seeks to state a few provocative thoughts that may result in some stimulating and, hopefully, instructive ideas on this important topic. Scholarly interest in what the American Accounting Association calls "basic accounting theory" and one's own needs as a part-time investment analyst have led the author to continuing consideration of the feasibility of getting current-cost information for financial reports. Many accountants view getting current costs as a difficult, non-objective task. The author's first thought on the subject, however, is that there really is no need for discussion: simply use current practices for determining "market" under the lower of cost or market rule. Seriously, perhaps the main reason for discussing the controversial topic of current costs is that in the decade of the Sixties has had some important authoritative statements supporting the essential ideas of many thinkers. The goal of objectivity is an important one, but it is far from being achieved. For example, when a client's new auditor follows another auditor, he does not really find depreciation, bad debts, amortization of development costs, factory overhead allocations, and the like to be objective determinations.

Reviews the book "The Case for Marginal Costing," by S. Dixon.

Reviews the book "The Computer in Auditing: The Use of Test Data," by Gerald Wohl and Michael D'Angelico.

Presents views of the author on the future of teaching in accountancy. Criticism of clamor for recognition of accounting as a profession; Lack of sophistication in teaching of accountancy; Development of a design of annual report to encourage co-operation to build a favorable company image with the widest possible audience; Determination of range of information and level of details desired by each class of participants in business; Suggestion that relations with customers can be improved by including additional information in the customers' section of the annual report.

This focuses on a method which offered a supplementary approach to assist students in understanding the basic concept of process costing and provides a visual display of the interrelationships between physical data and cost data. The traditional approach to the determination of equivalent production, unit cost, and inventory valuation in process costing often gives a number of students difficulties. It is common to find some students at a complete or partial loss in solving a process costing problem because of the large number of variables involved in it. The method proposed in this paper offers a supplementary approach to assist students in understanding the basic concept of process costing and provides a visual display of the interrelationships between physical data and cost data. In process costing, each of the three elements of manufacturing costs--direct material, direct labor and manufacturing overhead--usually consists of two sets of data, physical data and cost data, each with its sub-categories or subsets.

Reviews the book "Business Research: Text and Cases," by Erwin E. Nemmers and John H. Myers.

This article presents information on the selection and appointment of accounting professors in several universities in the United States as of July 1967. John A. Tracy was appointed at the University of Colorado's Division of Accounting, Eldred C. Strobel was appointed at DePaul University in Illinois, Jean S. Goodman was promoted in the University of Maine, Geoffrey Beck of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, is a visiting assistant professor for the summer at the University of Florida. Lawrence L. Vance, Sidney Davidson, and Herbert E. Miller have appeared in recent months in the continuing series of Distinguished Lecturers presented to faculty and students. William J. Grasty has accepted an assistant professorship at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Keith Baker has accepted a position at the University of Michigan. Robert Meier was visiting professor at the University of Hawaii during the summer of 1966; he is serving as visiting professor at Northeastern University this summer. Neil C. Churchill has been appointed professor of business administration.

This article focuses on a study which developed a method for systematic investigation of accounting information systems as a major area of human activity. Accounting has reached a stage where the rate of progress in research and development of information systems will depend in part upon the degree to which we can develop a framework for the classification and analysis of methods of recording, processing, reporting, and using data. It is not usual for all parts of a field to be developed at an even pace. In the case of accounting systems, for example, some methods, such as those for the design of original evidences, are highly developed. Accounting information is defined to include all of the quantitative and qualitative information concerning economic values that is processed and reported by accounting information systems in external financial statements and internal operating plans and reports.

This article focuses on the computation of costs for a combination reduction of activities will not always indicate the minimum cost for a specified duration even if the computation provides a plan for the exact time duration required. Dynamic programming provides a method of dealing with this type of problem. The objective is to find the minimum cost for a given time. This schedule is a complete list of least cost plans. If the desired time does not coincide with a plan on the list the next plan with a shorter time may be chosen in the knowledge that excess time is not being bought. All alternatives have been considered in the computation, and those which have been rejected are inferior to those appearing on the final schedule.