Several surveys of inventory practices have been made. The N.A.C.A. Bulletin of March, 1937, showed that 87% of 197 companies used the rule of cost or market whichever is lower for raw materials in their balance sheets. A report of February 1938 by the National Industrial Conference Board analyzed 916 companies. The rule was applied to raw materials in 63% of the cases, to goods in process in 38% and to furnished goods in 40% of the cases. The research department of the American Institute of Accountants examined 500 annual reports for 1939. The figures tabulated in The Journal of Accountancy for October 1940 show that 56% followed this rule "or variations thereof." These surveys as samples of practice show that the rule is in general use. But a rule may be widely useful in business without having the character necessary to make it a fundamental proposition of accounting. If we wish to search out the character of this rule, if we would like to determine whether it is a convenient and expedient rule of thumb or a basic accounting idea, we might begin by looking up its ancestry.

The article focuses on questions on standards governing accounting. In an attempt to clarify some of the points raised by critics relating to accounting standards in the book, "An Introduction to Corporate Accounting Standards," the author has collected some questions from the correspondences and tried to answer them in his own views. To a question whether or not the phrase "measured consideration" is merely another way of saying money value and if there is any evidence to prove that the term "measured consideration" is more appropriate than the word "value" to indicate the subject matter of accounting, the author replies that he does not know of any evidence that could prove that one term was better than the other. He also comments that he is prejudiced against the use of the term "value" to indicate the subject matter of accounting. To a question why facts are more objective and verifiable now than they used to be before the author replies that modern complexities do seem to place difficulties in the path.