Knowledge that Transforms

Reviews the book "Hotel Administration--Accounts and Control," by David J. O'Brien and Charles B. Couchman.

Courses in accounting occupy a distinctive place in the curriculum of every collegiate school of business. The particular location in the course of study, however, differs quite widely between the various institutions. Furthermore, the character of the subject matter taught under the title of accounting means different things in the several schools. In view of the fact that professional schools of business are still in the early developmental stage, one can hardly hope for anything approaching standardization in curriculum making. Annual revision of courses will continue until the various professional business occupations become more clearly defined than they are at present. One of the chief difficulties encountered in attempting to generalize on this subject is the number of different types of institutions offering collegiate instruction in business. There are the four-year schools which admit students directly from high school, the two-year courses to which students are admitted who have completed either two or three years in an arts college, and the graduate schools which offer instruction only to those who have completed a full four-year academic course. In addition to these, there are the schools, which have specialized in certain fields such as retailing, and personnel administration. Each of these institutions is attempting to adapt its course requirements to meet the demand for technically trained men in business.

Reviews the book "The Behavior of Prices," by Frederick C. Mills.

Reviews the book "Finance," by Charles L. Jamison.

Presents a letter to the editor about the missing addresses of Association members published in the December 1928 issue of the journal "The Accounting Review."

Reviews the book "How to Understand Accounting," by Howard C. Greer.

Back in 1917 and 1918 at the time that invested capital propositions were worrying the taxpayer, the country was full of clerks who thought they were bookkeepers; it was also full of bookkeepers who thought they were accountants; and then there were a number of actual, honest-to-goodness accountants, but the number was limited. The U.S. Internal Revenue Bureau needed accountants and many of them. The real accountants were already employed in the commercial world at salaries, which did not make government stipends look alluring to them. Some very able accountants came into the service but the number of those that came was so small compared to the needs that something had to be done to augment the force of accountants quickly. The income tax law as it was framed in 1917 and 1918 brought into existence a new profession. Proficiency in this new profession required knowledge of two subjects-accounting and tax law, and the two had to be merged. It not only required knowledge of accounting but it required knowledge of accounting from the viewpoint of the tax law and the Treasury Department. To create members of this new profession was the work of the Training Section.

Reviews the book "Corporation Secretary's Guide," by William H.Crow.

Reviews the book "Industrial Credits," by Robert Young.

Obsolescence is an investment in future and better operations. This article is concerned with obsolescence which occurs only from time to time in any ordinary business. It may be, that the more extensive and often cataclysmic obsolescence, which often presents itself in special industries such as public utilities, may deserve different treatment, under those conditions it may be impossible to make future operations the basis for its absorption. Additional capital may have to be called upon to take care of the situation, that fact however, in itself, would indicate as investment in obsolescence, or in progress. The new capital stands in place of the new equipment and the obsolescence created thereby. In connection with this proposition of obsolescence, as well as with other things, the writer has often wondered whether accepted accounting practices are not being influenced by certain opportunistic factors, of which Federal Income Tax legislation is doubtless one. Unfortunately, many sound principles are often discarded, or denied, when dollars are involved.