ABSTRACT: Subsequent to the issuance of FASB Statement 19 mandating the adoption of successful efforts accounting in the oil and gas industry, a number of full cost companies appealed to the SEC to permit the continued use of full cost accounting. One of the primary arguments raised by these full cost companies was that companies using each alternative method are so different that dual accounting methods are appropriate. The full cost companies argued that they were more aggressive in exploration, newer, and in greater need of external funds than successful efforts companies. An analysis of data for companies using each method indicated that full cost companies were not more aggressive in exploration than their successful efforts counterparts. Full cost companies were more highly leveraged. This result indicates a relatively greater use of outside capital, but the cause of this greater use could not be determined.

This article describes a taxonomy of cognitive skills which has been designed by a group of educational psychologists and identifies the implications thereof for the development of accounting courses and the accounting curriculum. The taxonomy is designed to give precise direction to the learning process and is expressed in terms of expected student behavior at each level in the accounting program. The primary focus of this paper is on the financial accounting program. The taxonomy is relevant to the development of curriculum in that it reveals the elements in the learning process, orders them in an educationally logical sequence, and helps explain the interrelationships among them. It raises questions not only of what should be taught, but also of when and why it should be taught.