Reviews the book "The Role of Sampling Data as Evidence in Judicial and Administrative Proceedings," by Joel Dean, W. Edwards Deming.

The accounting systems of business have traditionally provided much of the financial data and much of the analysis of that data applicable to decision-making purposes. Today, however, there are symptoms of management dissatisfaction with current accounting systems. Accounting for decision-making involves a particular way of viewing the decision-making, or managing process in business. Choice of a best alternative requires criteria against which to judge various possibilities. Choice requires information concerning the various alternatives, information cast in a form consistent with the criteria. It has been assumed that the decisions to he made by an organization must first he specified before an intelligent design of the information flow is possible. Determination of the decisions to be made comes properly before specification of the data which should be supplied. An organization which does not recognize that it has a poor system for routine inventory decisions will suffer reduced profits. Accounting has an obligation to take a significant part in the development of new quantitative information systems. Accounting must divert itself from its preoccupation of the past with fiduciary and stewardship responsibilities.

The article discusses the application of statistical methods to accounting, auditing, and management control problems. It is part of a study in this area by a small group in Pittsburgh. The group, consisted of accountants and statisticians who reflect both academic and practicing points of view. The article reports on the progress of the work, and invites suggestions and appraisals from members of the accounting profession. The article focuses on the organization and general approach of the research, studies completed or under way, together with results achieved, and possible directions for future work. The significant points include the importance of the team approach, the need for obtaining guidance from fundamental requirements of accounting and auditing, and the necessity for proceeding in a fashion which protects the professional integrity of the statistician, as well as that of the accountant. The more rapid progress achieved in the areas of accounting procedures and management control devices, as contrasted with purely audit problems, has been specifically noted.

This article presents a bibliography on the application of statistical methods to accounting and auditing. Section I includes articles, books and papers which have been published up to November 30, 1953, and which relate specifically to the application of statistical techniques to accounting and auditing problems. Section II includes unpublished papers on the subject of the application of statistical methods to accounting and auditing. Section III lists a number of statistical texts, reference works, and tables which may be helpful to the accountant interested in going deeper into the field of statistical theory or in making specific applications. In section IV this section are listed a limited number of articles and papers which are generally more technical and which relate to specific areas of statistical applications. This bibliography was prepared in connection with a broad study of the application of statistical techniques to accounting and auditing problems being carried in some colleges of the U.S.