Abstract The article focuses on determining the current financial position of a city. Most of the expenditures of a municipality are inevitable and must be met. A city could not do without police and fire protection, sanitary and health service, relief, etc., even for a short time. It is also essential either to make cash provision through sinking funds for meeting long-term debt, or to retire serial bonds. These expenditures and provisions are just as much a demand upon current resources as are current liabilities. On the other hand, the listed current resources are not the only means of satisfying these demands. Some incomes, such as tax levies, fines, etc., are certain to bring cash into the treasury in the immediate future. They are a logical offset to current expenditure requirements and current liabilities. It is proposed, then, to regard the financial condition of a city as referring chiefly to its ability to meet all current requirements in the form of expenses, current liabilities, and provisions for meeting long-term indebtedness. Current financial position will be regarded as the ability of the city to meet its financial requirements in the immediate future. Particular emphasis should be placed upon the next year inasmuch as requirements are customarily determined for a period of a year.

Abstract In government accounting, the two major classes of problems — classification and valuation — are not of the same relative importance as they are in the accounting for private industry. Emphasis swings heavily toward the former group. Reasons are readily perceived. In ascertaining the financial condition of a government, little significance is attributed to the value of its fixed assets, for rarely are they used to secure debt. Future taxing possibilities take their place as security. Furthermore, the operating statements are not concerned with reductions in value of fixed assets, through depreciation or otherwise, except for costing purposes. On the other hand, many restrictions placed on expenditures cause their classification to become more difficult. Hence, while valuation recedes into a minor role, classification moves forward into a peculiarly dominating position. This importance attached to classification is reflected upon the chart of income and expense accounts, the accounting framework used as a guide in classifying.

Abstract The article focuses on cost accounting and the classification of municipal expenditures. According to the author, financial accounting relates the expenditures to the various activities. Cost accounting goes further. It relates the expenditures to the amount of work done. Each activity is divisible into operations which, in turn, are measurable. The costs are first allotted to the activities or operations. The direct costs are chargeable directly; the indirect costs are necessarily apportioned to arrive at the true costs as accurately as careful estimation makes possible. The specific uses or purposes of municipal cost accounting help to indicate its nature. The information used in cost accounting comes for the most part from the general accounts. So intimately are they related that the cost accounting may and usually should be "tied in" with the general accounts. For the activities to which cost accounting is being applied, it is convenient to locate the detailed classification of expenditures by object in the cost accounts rather than the general accounts.

Reviews the book "Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting."

Abstract It is relatively short time since university and college courses in accounting began to include theoretical and controversial aspects of the subject in their curricula. Many such institutions still provide only the briefest of introductions to matters of this nature, and very few questions on marginal issues are to be found in the professional examination papers. Where the attempt has been made to extend courses of study beyond the traditional technical boundaries the need must have been felt for a text which deals adequately with the assumptions and concepts of accounting. In the second place, accounting on a cash basis receives only the briefest notice. Yet entities which keep accounts in this way are by no means insignificant. On the one hand are administrative governmental departments and agencies, the transactions of many of these exceed the transactions of most business corporations. On the other hand are large numbers of small business firms, possibly the majority in number of all business units.

Reviews the book "Fundamentals of Governmental Accounting," 2nd ed., by Lloyd Morey and Robert P.Hackett.

Abstract Reviews the book "Standard Practice in Municipal Accounting and Financial Procedure."