The article comments on the use of fourteenth-century financial statements for teaching accounting. Historical source materials have long been recognized and appreciated as a learning tool in the social sciences. They help to explain the development of concepts, the reasons for their development, and alternative solutions to a variety of problems. Furthermore, the traditional emphasis on skill training in American accounting education left little room for and did not encourage experimentation with historical materials for educational purposes. The term "reserve" itself, is used rather loosely as an expense on the Profit and Loss Statement and as a liability on the Balance Sheet, leading to the conclusion that it means no more than an estimated amount; it is not used here as a precise technical term for an account with a specific function within a double entry framework. Although the pool of ready-to-use source materials is still somewhat restricted, there are books available containing anthologies of limited scope from which materials can be drawn for classroom use. Quite obviously there is some work to be done; but there is also an opportunity for extending the scope and for enriching the quality of accounting education.

Comments on the research paper entitled "The Need for and Scope of the Audit of Management: A Survey of Attitudes," which was published in the April 1972 issue of the journal "The Accounting Review." Opinion on the work of independent certified public accountants who are engaged by clients to perform audit work; Expansion of the work of the auditor in government operations beyond fiscal and accounting matters; Information on the importance of reliable financial records and reports on the handling of public funds in assuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Reviews the book "Taxation of the Closely Held Corporation," by Theodore Ness and Eugene L. Vogel.

This article presents information on the feasibility of utilizing the conference call technique in accounting and related courses at the University of Texas in Austin. The failure of teachers effectively to utilize the services of practitioners can be ascribed to at least two difficulties. First, classroom visits are expensive. A one hour visit to a classroom would normally take up several hours of a guest speaker's time. If extensive travel is required, then the time factor becomes even more significant. Persons in high-level positions may be unable to give even an hour or two of their time. In addition, travel costs themselves may make visits impractical. Second, an instructor may find it unprofitable to devote an entire session to a guest speaker. He might wish to ask questions which would take but a short time to answer, but it is hardly reasonable to expect a visitor to put in a ten-minute appearance. One efficient means of introducing the views of practitioners into the classroom is the use of conference telephone calls. The feasibility of utilizing the conference call technique was recently demonstrated at The University of Texas at Austin.

Reviews the book "Accounting and Administration," by William A. Paton and William A. Paton Jr.

Reviews the book "The Role of Private Placements in Corporate Finance," by Eli Shapiro and Charles R. Wolf.

The article reviews the book "Translation of Foreign Currencies," by R. MacDonald Parkinson.

Reviews the book "An Introduction to Taxation," 2nd ed., by Ray M. Sommerfeld, Hershel M. Anderson and Horace R. Brock.

Reviews the book "Accounting: Socially Responsible and Socially Relevant," edited by Richard G.J. Vangermeersch.

The proposed course constitutes an introduction to the discipline of accounting as a whole, and has a concentration in financial accounting (meetings 6–24 and 26–32). All parts contain conceptual, mechanical, analytical (quantitative and qualitative) and evaluative emphases, and the course is also somewhat issue oriented. Coverage of social and management segmentations in addition to financial accounting, serves the purpose of introducing the student to the whole discipline. Coverage of financial accounting is not as intensive nor extensive as some aspects of the traditional introductory course, but includes an evaluative dimension in the form of various valuation methods, as well as coverage of the final stage in the communication process (attest function). This specific coverage taken together with the different manner in which all aspects of the financial accounting function are introduced, provides an appropriate perspective of the financial accounting segmentation.