Abstract In discussing the role of accounts in the administration of the affairs of the United States Government, the author talks about the history and development of accounts and the relation of Federal accounting to business accounting. It is indeed encouraging that the President of the United States and the Director of the U.S. Bureau of the Budget are committed to a comprehensive program of placing the accounts of the Federal Government upon a sound basis, which would compare favorably with those of commerce and industry. It is the author's fervent hope that the program will so commend itself to the U.S. Congress during the coming session that the Legislative branch of the Government will give its support and encouragement to those officers in the Executive branch who are desirous of providing the Congress and the American people with more informative over-all financial statements relating to the operations and condition of the Government. The author commends to readers thoughtful consideration a careful examination of the basic principles prescribed in Executive Order No. 8512, and would welcome their suggestions with respect to their application to the accounting and reporting procedures of the Federal Government.

Abstract The article focuses on the accounting and other financial reporting practices in some large financial companies. In particular, the methods employed by finance companies in recognizing income on loan transactions have come under dose scrutiny. Financial analysts and investors have become perplexed by the wide range of procedures for recognizing income which are accepted by the accounting profession. This article the more common income-recognition procedures used by finance companies is briefly outlined. In the second section the conformity of these procedures with conventional income measurement theory is considered. Finally, in a concluding section the impact of the income recognition alternatives upon reported income under varying conditions has been examined through the use of computer simulation models. The most important conclusion flows from the effort to test hypothesis. The simulation analysis revealed that differences in income recognized, among the methods commonly used in the industry, were not as great as industry analysts would predict.

Abstract Reviews two books "New Auditing Techniques" and "Audit Programs and Working Papers," by Maurice E. Peloubet.

Abstract The article focuses on acceptance sampling plans for auditing. The interest in statistical sampling among accountants has become more pronounced and has broadened from problems of acceptance sampling to include techniques of statistical estimation. The paper contains a brief review of concepts, design and construction of both single sampling plans (SSP) and sequential sampling plans and presents a new cost optimization model with illustrative results for selection of the least-cost sampling plan. Throughout the paper, authors assume that the population is large relative to the sample size. Acceptance sampling consists of drawing samples or groups of samples from a population, examining these for properties of interest and finally, reaching some decision based upon the sample results. Elements of an acceptance-sampling plan are the method of sampling, the sample sizes and the appropriate decision rules for reaching some decision. The simplest acceptance sampling plan, an SSP, consists of the selection of a random sample of N items; the determination of the number of errors or defectives; and comparison of this quantity, with a previously determined acceptance number, or rejection number.