The article reviews the book "Writing the Doctoral Dissertation," by Gordon B. Davis and Clyde A. Parker.

Reviews the book "Accounting for Leases," by David M. Hawkins and Mary M. Wehle.

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.

This article presents information on the validity of the 1966 tax model and its effectiveness as a research tool. The Internal Revenue Service expects that the 1966 Model will aid researchers in measuring the impact of proposed changes code. The description manual accompanying the model states that, the Individual Tax Model is primarily a research tool that will accurately test hypotheses regarding income, deductions, tax base, tax rates, or any combination of these factors. This paper reports on a validity check on the data underlying the tax model. Specifically, they were concerned with concurrent validity, that is, investigation of the relationship of one set of data to an alternate accepted contemporary measure of the same underlying phenomenon. Tax researchers often desire data on the average dollar amount of an informational item categorized by Adjusted Gross In come (AGI) class. For example, researchers may be interested in the average amount of salaries and wages, dividends, property taxes and so forth, for categories of taxpayers broken down by AgI classes.

The article discusses the practical implications of accounting knowledge. Accounting is not a static field; on the contrary, it is continually evolving in reflection of underlying changes in the dynamic economy. Yet accounting textbooks too often are reluctant to introduce change once a subject becomes part of the "accepted body of knowledge." Much of the information contained in current accounting textbooks bears no relationship to current accounting – thought or practice. Advanced textbooks all introduce bankruptcy procedures by way of a discussion of a Statement of Affairs, which purportedly is used to disclose the financial condition of an insolvent business. Practitioners should make some effort to audit theft academic brethren. All new textbooks should be reviewed by one competent to appraise the validity of the text material. Clear misstatements of fact should be brought to the attention of the author. In this regard, authors must make a more complete effort to insure the authenticity or relevance of the material CPA Examination question and described in most texts misrepresents fact.

In 1964 Myron Gordon hypothesized that business managers can be expected to select those measurement and reporting rules which smooth periodic net income. Normal income and smoothed earnings were defined with considerable rigor. The smoothing hypothesis was tested by considering whether an accounting measurement rule was selected which tended to: adjust the firm's percentage change in earnings per share to the average percentage change in the industry or smooth the firm's earnings per share toward a normal value or smooth the firm's rate of return on common stockholders' equity. The dividend-income basis is particularly open to manipulation. Parent company management may wait until the very end of an accounting period, approximate the size of the parent's earnings, and then arrange to have the subsidiary declare or pass dividends in such magnitudes as to move reported net income in some sired direction. Management's ability to manipulate reported parent profits in this situation is eliminated under two alternative accounting methods for recording subsidiary operations. These methods are consolidated reporting and unconsolidated reporting under the equity method.

Observation error, Observation Bias, Accounting research

Auditing, Substantive test, Sampling, Accounting population

This article presents comments on students as subject in behavioral business research in accounting in the U.S. It has raised some provocative questions about attitudinal research in general and about the relationship between attitudes and surrogates in particular. The introduction of the three aspects of attitude which are affective, cognitive, and conative into the accounting literature may set future accounting researchers along productive paths. Others interested in the relationship between attitude and the prediction of behavior may very well be stimulated to implement a model in an accounting context.

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.