The article discusses the role of accountants in social accounting or social reporting. Based on accounting literature, accountants can and should contribute to the efforts directed towards enhancing methods of evaluating the state of society and social programs, and the application of evaluative procedures in the allocation of resources to efforts to enhance social well-being. The functions of social accounting include the assessment of the state of society, assessment of the performance of a social program, and indication of control mechanisms.

Presents a reply to a comments made on the research paper "The Conceptual Foundations of Absorption Costing," which was published in an earlier issue of the journal "The Accounting Review." Statement that to argue that linking fixed costs to production neglects the time element is fallacious; Argument that given the dynamic nature of business it is foolish to assume that fixed assets always lack alternative uses; Misunderstanding of the exact nature of economic theory by the reviewers.

The article presents a reply to a comment on the use of historical records in accounting education. In no way, the author expects students in elementary courses to dissect the technological intricacies of medieval accounts. That level of approach is, of course, reserved for the graduate courses in accounting history where one customarily deals with these technical matters. It has been the author's experience that bright undergraduates very quickly gain an appreciation for the antiquity of some of the basic accounting ideas, and also derive intellectual excitement from the notion that accounting reports often give clues to some of the characteristics of the society or social unit which produced them. This historical approach, even at the beginning of accounting studies, often provides a lingering perspective which helps students "put it all together." It would be equally interesting for students to have available accounting reports drawn from the American Colonial and post-revolutionary periods.

Reviews the book "Fundamental Accounting Principles," First Canadian Edition, by William W. Pyle, John Arch White and Michael Zin.

This article presents information on an empirical study designed to provide additional evidence about changes in accounting methods. The primary responsibility for effecting accounting changes currently rests with the management of a reporting firm. This results from a structure of accounting authority which leans heavily upon "general acceptance" of accounting practices among statement issuers and which allows flexibility for managers to tell their story as they see it. As long as this framework prevails, the primary pressure point for effecting changes in reporting practices will continue to be the management of the reporting firm. One can define an innovation as an idea perceived as new by the individual even if, in fact, it is not new. Diffusion is the process by which adoption of the innovation spreads. In terms of primary emphasis, this view differs substantially from that reflected in the diffusion of innovation studies which suggest that accounting change behavior is related primarily to the characteristics of the innovative accounting methods themselves, rather than to the behavioral set of the changer. Accounting change behavior is a complex phenomenon which is probably influenced to some extent both by the behavioral set of potential changers and by the characteristics of the particular changes as well as by other factors.

The article discusses a study on the measurement of the attitudes of students towards selected financial reporting practices. Results indicated that students are more familiar with concepts such as generally accepted accounting principles, comparability, consistency and uniformity. This is because of the students' academic preparation and exposure to the professional literature. However, the findings of the study raised doubt with regard to the effectiveness of the use of students as surrogates for businessmen in research.

Reviews the book "Mathematics of Finance," Fourth Edition, by Robert Cissell and Helen Cissel.