The Sources of War Finance in The German War Economy Get access H. W. Singer H. W. Singer Manchester Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 10, Issue 2, Summer 1943, Pages 106–114, https://doi.org/10.2307/2967427 Published: 01 July 1943

Introduction: importance of recognizing the relative nature of "truth, " 1. — I. Historical interrelationships between economic thought concerning competition and the social environment, 3. — II. Emergence of theories of imperfect (or monopolistic) competition, 8. — Danger that these may also present a distorted picture of reality, 9. — Their relation to empirical investigation, 10. — Other limitations on their direct usefulness, 12. — The nature of "scientific method, " 12. — III. Relation of the new theories to public policy toward business, 14. — Need for humility, 16. — IV. Impact of this aspect of theory upon the social environment, 18. — The New Deal, 18. — Danger in short-run political expediency, 21. — V. Conclusions, 22.

The article focuses on the importance of the knowledge of general economics for an accountant. It is insisted in this article that students of accountancy should do more work in general economics, and in advanced economics courses which are not very directly related to the field of accountancy, than they now do. Many accountants argue that economic principles and theories depend upon a great number of assumed conditions, many of which exist most imperfectly, in actual economic life, these principles and theories therefore seem to apply to some other world than this one and seem to have little significance for practical men who must concern themselves with economic life as it actually exists. According to the author this attitude toward economic theory, probably results from inadequate teaching in theory courses, poor textbooks, or some deficiency on the part of the students themselves. Economic theory is, of course, interested in the general aspects of economic phenomena and their typical relationships, properly and necessarily abstract and deductive.

Reviews the book "Auditing Theory and Its Application," by Arthur Warren Hanson.

In 1887 the Interstate Commerce Commission, was established by act of U.S. Congress. The railroad problem was not new in 1887, nor were attempts to solve it unknown. The Congress and the courts had long been troubled by the contentions of railroad companies and the complaints of shippers. It was hoped that by setting up a permanent administrative body with suitable powers the regulatory intent of the Congress might be accomplished more reasonably and effectively. In this way began the experiment with the commission as a device for dealing with economic situations and procedures which are thought to call for government control. The establishment of the Federal Trade Commission in 1913 seemed to indicate that the type of agent to exercise governmental control in the various fields of business would take the form of a Federal commission. Federal commission as the principal agency for the regulation of business, and that any extension of government control of business is likely to result in the granting of new powers to old commissions or in the creation of new commissions. The problems involved in the relation of the commissions to the courts have given the commissions a legalistic procedure which, if undesirable, is still inescapable. The strength of the commission system lies in an adequate and competent staff. It is likely that in the future relationships between commissions will be more important than in the past. That is, the commissions are likely to become a regulatory network rather than simple, unrelated adventures.

This article focuses on the recent accounting publications by the U.S. Government. Some of the published books are "Municipal Budget Procedure and Budgetary Accounting," "Work Measurement in the City of Los Angeles Building and Safety Departments," "Governmental Cost Accounting in the Los Angeles Area" and "Cost Accounting and Work Measurement in the Federal Government." Most of the text is devoted to a discussion of budgeting for the general fund. However, budgeting for the other usual municipal funds is treated briefly with a three page discussion being given to capital budgeting in the first book. General fund budgeting is presented in the traditional three phases, namely, preparation, adoption, and execution. In the three chapters devoted to budget preparation the importance of the work program as being the basis of expenditure estimates is well brought out. A model work program is presented in the appendix. Most works on budgeting recommend the "accrual basis." Others advocate the "cash basis." This bulletin not only describes detailed procedures under both of the traditional bases but presents a very practical method of budgeting revenues on a "cash basis" and expenditures on an "accrual basis."