Abstract This article presents and interprets findings of a study in which several current textbooks in cost and managerial accounting were examined to determine the extent of reference to and coverage of the reporting guidelines accepted as given. It is suggested that accountants should be concerned about effectiveness of internal and external accounting reporting. In the said study, researchers have accepted as given several guidelines relating to effective internal reporting systems; these were assembled from an examination of the current literature in the fields of organizational behavior and communication. The guidelines that were identified are classified into two groups: preparation and reporting or feedback. According to preparation guidelines: objectives should reflect goal congruence; participants should help set goals and agree to selected measures of goal achievement; standards should be set with freedom for failure and changes; accountants should educate report recipients; and accountants should recognize the tendency to over- or underestimate plans. According to reporting guidelines: reports should be relevant to user needs and responsibilities; reports should be on a personal level; reports should include supportive comments; reports should be consistent; and that reports should be timely and regular.

Steven W. Dobson, Richard C. Sutch, David E. Vanderford, An Evaluation of Alternative Empirical Models of the Term Structure of Interest Rates, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Sep., 1976), pp. 1035-1065

Abstract The article focuses on the measurement and reporting of the total costs associated with an explicit warranty rebate program offered on repairable products. First, it develops the various model components which describe, as a function of time, rebate and nonrebate costs. These components then are integrated into a model to measure resulting costs of a warranty rebate program and to assign these costs to separable accounting periods. Rebate costs in general arise entirely at the discretion of the firm since they are associated with promises made to buyers at the option of the firm. Their specific amounts vary with the conditions of the warranty and the actual performance of the product. However, once issued expressed warranties give rise to manufacturers' liabilities associated with their promises that certain specified standards of product quality and/or performance shall accompany the product. Given the conditions of the warranty, including a schedule of benefits available to eligible claim holders, rebate costs are determined primarily by the quantity of product sold to consumers and by the frequency of product failures during the post-sale period.

Abstract From these results it can be inferred that self-paced instruction using audio-visual instruments is as meaningful a learning tool as the traditional lecture-discussion format. There were no significant differences between performances in the audio-visual sections and the students' performances in the traditional section. The progress of the students from the audio-visual sections in subsequent accounting courses currently is being monitored. Preliminary results, not reported here, indicate that students from these sections have performed as well in upper-level accounting courses as have students from the traditional sections. A second inference from our reported data is that the students' past performances, as measured by their GPA's, were correlated more highly to the students' performances in the audio-visual sections than they were in the traditional section. Informal discussions with individual students revealed that the better students, as measured by their GPA's, liked the freedom of getting the work done ahead of schedule, thus enabling them to concentrate on other courses. All students completing the course early were in the upper half of the overall GPA's and received grades of A or B in the course. The informal discussions also indicated that the lower GPA of the poorer students frequently was caused by a lack of motivation. Thus, the self-paced format with its stress on individual motivation may be more harmful to the poorer students than would be the traditional format.

Abstract Discusses the report of the Committee on Accounting for Social Performance of the American Accounting Association which explored the state of social accounting in the United States in 1975. Analysis of the practices in accounting and the reporting of corporate social performance; Investigation of corporate charitable contributions; Issues concerning the place of social accounting in accounting education.

Abstract Focuses on a project by the American Accounting Association's Committees on Professional Examinations which evaluated the professional examinations for accountants. Objectives of the project; Methodology of the projects; Comparison of examinations and accounting curricula; Recommendations.