Reviews the book "Bank Frauds: Their Detection and Prevention," 2nd ed., by Lester A. Pratt.

Reviews the book "Corporate Policy and the Investment Community," by Martin Zausner.

Reviews the book, "Depreciation Accounting and Economic Analysis," by Shinkichi Minemura.

Reviews the book, "Business Schools and the Challenge of International Business," edited by Stephen A. Zeff.

Reviews the book "The Federal Income Tax--Its Sources and Applications," by Clarence F. McCarty, Billy M. Mann, Byrle M. Abbin, William H. Gregory, and John P. Lindgren.

The typical Federal tax course can be made more meaningful with an introduction which emphasizes the social, economic and political aspects of any taxation system. Once the student appreciates these influences on a tax structure, he will then be in a better position to understand and evaluate the current tax system as he learns some of its details. A tax system game, presented here in the article, is designed to give the student insight into the philosophies, practicabilities, conflicts, and compromises of taxation. Its two major objectives are, to develop a systematic way of thinking about taxation and to see why society develops the tax system as it does. A sixty-member class was subdivided into groups of six to eight students to encourage discussion and interaction. Each student received a copy of the game which, as may be noted, has very little formal structure and acts instead merely to set the stage. The study groups worked for three periods and then submitted reports outlining the tax systems that they had developed along with the reasons for their choices. During the discussion of the proposals, the students discovered that the theoretical tax systems which they had designed tended to protect and benefit their own present position.

The American Accounting Association Committee to Prepare a Statement of Basic Accounting Theory recommended that current-cost data be presented in financial statements in addition to historical-cost figures. There are some who have raised their doubts over the usefulness of these current-cost data, particularly where extended to include long-lived assets. This article attempts to expand the previously made arguments that current-cost data should not be presented in the financial statements. While the "objectiveness" of current-cost data may still be questioned, the arguments made here are not addressed to this issue by assuming that the figures can be objectively determined. The primary purpose of financial statements is to present information that will assist in estimating the value of the firm. Because it is impossible to estimate the value of a firm without, at least implicitly, evaluating the firm's management, and vice-versa, it can be said that for financial statement information to be relevant, and thus useful, it must aid the firm valuation/management evaluation process.

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are aptly referred to as "disdosure" statutes. This early, major New Deal legislation was enacted in the aftermath of the stock market "crash" of 1929 and in the depths of the Great Depression, as a remedy to the faults that many believed characterized the stock markets. Considering the current possibility that the SEC will require more disclosure from conglomerates and the 35 years that have elapsed since the Acts were enacted, people should examine whether or not the legislation was, in fact, justified and what its impact has been. This examination is limited to the accounting disclosure requirements of the Securities Acts. While the Acts include provisions for regulating the operation of stock exchanges, registration of brokers, etc., the required disdosure of financial accounting information by corporations is of primary importance. This study sought to answer several questions related to the impact of the SEC's accounting disclosure requirements. The author found that there was little evidence of fraud related to financial statements in the period prior to the enactment of the Securities Acts. Nor was there a widespread lack of disclosure. A considerable number of corporations traded on the New York Stock Exchange disclosed at least sales, gross profit, and depredation and almost all reported net income and detailed balance sheets with current assets and current liabilities given. Investors who wanted accounting data had many investment opportunities available. Hence, the author conclude that there was little justification for the accounting disclosure required by the Acts.

Despite the considerable successful effort which has been expended in improving graduate education and education in pursuit of a doctorate in the field of accounting, too little attention has been given the fact that in an undergraduate school the majority of business students terminate their formal educational efforts with graduation. In this interim of one's total educational experience, comparatively little attention is given to the relevance of accounting in a socio-economic environment. In the Fall of 1962, at La Salle College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania decided to recognize this deficiency in its accounting curriculum. After having studied this problem, in the Spring of 1963 the author and his colleagues inaugurated a seminar in accounting, a required course for all graduating seniors, a seminar designed to coordinate accounting and business courses from a purely conceptual point of view. In fashioning the seminar, cognizance was given the fact that knowledge is limited in value unless it can be communicated, either orally or in written form.

Reviews the book "The Management of Capital Expenditures," by Robert G. Murdick and Donald D. Deming.