Abstract Public accountancy in Hong Kong may be divided into three major parts, auditing, taxation and costing. Costing is a special feature of public accountancy in Hong Kong. It is associated with exports under the Commonwealth Preference scheme. Auditing in Hong Kong may be either compulsory or voluntary. The proper title of a public accountant engaged in company auditing is the "authorized auditor," an official list is kept by the companies' registry and published yearly in the government's December gazette. The official accounting body in Hong Kong is the Authorized Auditors Board. The application of statistical techniques, sampling, probability control, etc., to auditing has not received enough attention, but the popular method of direct confirmation used in the United States is also widely accepted in Hong Kong. Income tax supplies the largest portion of the total Hong Kong revenue, although the rate is quite low. The standard rate of tax is now 12.5%, a rate unchanged since 1951. Profits tax is charged on every individual, partnership or corporation carrying on business in Hong Kong.

Abstract This article focuses on the implementation of uniform standards of reporting for national voluntary agencies. The purpose of this article is to point out some of the pitfalls that may be encountered in the development and implementation of uniform standards of reporting in voluntary agencies. Since the lack of adequate funds for accounting data is very apparent, a pooling of resources is necessary. This pooling, in the instant case, involved a research study and a development of a computer program, which, after the initial cost of the study and the development of the computer program, allows each individual agency to obtain the cost data it so desperately needs for a relatively low cost. It appears that the approach taken in this article may also be relevant to the study about to be undertaken by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and would allow them to develop a workable program which could be implemented without disturbing the underlying accounting records of each voluntary agency for which adequate, uniform data is required.

Reviews the book "Accounting Systems," by Cecil Gillespie.

Abstract A lot of the arguments concerning the relationship between depreciation and "funds" are due to definitional rather than substantive differences. This article attempts to clarify some major sources of either misconception or trouble that arise in discussions concerning fund statements. Some people wish to use the word "funds" in such a way as to include not only ready cash but also all the classifications included in net working capital, while others use the terms funds and cash as synonymous. There are cases, however, where the difficulty is caused by erroneous assumptions. One of such assumptions is that the undepreciated cost of assets sold is not a source of funds. The author shows that depreciation does not generate funds at the point of sale, no matter how "funds" are defined. However, at the point of production, depreciation generates working capital if it is incorporated into the inventorial product. Since most of the confusion involves issues associated with depreciation, it suggests that a definition of "funds" limited to "cash and cash equivalent" will eliminate a lot of the temptation to elevate mechanics to the status of principles.

Reviews the book "Management Uses of Accounting," by Ralph F. Lewis.

Abstract The article discusses the benefits of the statistical attributes of group depreciation. It has been argued in the article that the benefits of group depreciation go far beyond the bookkeeping simplification and its concomitant cost savings. Far more important are the statistical attributes of group depreciation that yield reliable information on the economic life of the assets included in the group. By means of finite Markov chains one can derive empirical probabilistic distributions of the age of the various assets, which should provide management with better data not only for asset depreciation, but also for maintenance, utilization and replacement of capital equipment. Once the transition probability-matrix is established and the initial aging of assets accomplished, data can be generated automatically for forecasts of retirements of assets, balances in the asset accounts and allowance for depreciation, as well as depreciation charges for each year over the forecasting horizon. The information generated can then be introduced and aid in the development of capital and cash budgets and forecasts.

Reviews the book "Introductory Accounting," by Ralph Dale Kennedy and Frederick Charles Kurtz.

Reviews the book "Accounting in Action: Its Meaning for Management," by Billy E. Goetz and Frederick R. Klein.