The article presents a report from the President of American Institute of Accountants. The annual convention of the Association was held on the campus of the University of Washington, Seattle. The prestige of the Association rests heavily on "The Accounting Review." This quarterly is generally recognized as one of the best publications in accountancy. One of the major objectives of the Association is the promotion of research. One of the features of the annual convention in recent years has been the presentation of the Alpha Kappa Psi Award. Due to the continuing growth of the Association and the increasing burden of work on the Executive Committee, it was decided that an additional vice-president would facilitate the operations of the Association. At the annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, a special committee report adding a fourth vice-president to the Executive Committee was approved. This expansion in the membership of the Executive Committee will be made at the next annual election.

The article presents the subject classification and previous published lists of research projects in accounting. The various subjects listed include, income determination, price level changes, inventory pricing and valuation, fixed asset valuation and depreciation, investments, current and fixed liabilities, and capital stock and surplus, under theory of accounting. History of accounting, reports and statements, public accounting, accounting for industrial, mercantile and financial enterprises, non-profit enterprises, legal and governmental aspects of accounting, reorganization and liquidation, and education are also included in the list. Some of the projects listed in the article are "Accounting Period--Theory and Analysis," by Colin Park, "Relevance to Income Determination of Present and Period Analyses of Enterprise Activities," by William J. Schrader, "Adjusting Financial Statements For Changes in Price Level," by Virgil Boyd, "Depreciation Based on Replacement Costs," by William David Tuxbury, etc.

The article focuses on accounting research. In the October, 1954 issue of the journal "The Accounting Review," the first collection of 'framed' research problems in accounting was published. The real objective of this project, as stated in this initial listing, was to expose real research needs in accounting to the large research potential represented by the great number of college and university teachers and graduate students of accounting. In an attempt to insure the worthwhileness and practicality of the projected problems, it was hoped that most of them could be gleaned from industry and public practice. All of the following research problems were contributed by those engaged in research in national accounting organizations, by public accountants, or by regulatory commissions. There is little question that these problems represent 'felt needs' and are therefore profitable areas in which to expend research effort. If the value of research in accounting is to be realized by the profession, the results is that research must receive publicity.

The article focuses on accounting research. The first of four stated purposes of the American Accounting Association is to promote research in accounting. Although much has been done to further this objective, a great deal more must be done if the Association is to be counted among the leading contributors to effective research. Currently, research is being carried on under the auspices of the Association by economist Ralph C. Jones and his associates, who are working on the Price Level Project. Research by the Committee on Concepts and Standards in its continuing search for effective statements of concepts and standards in the area of financial accounting. Another is the research by the Committee on Cost Accounting Concepts and Standards and by the several task committees on education. The tremendous research potential represented by the thousands of college and university teachers and graduate students of accounting needs to be tapped if the research program is to be enlarged to keep up with the growing needs for the application of the scientific method to the problems facing accountancy.

For some years there has been a growing recognition by both educators and the profession of accountancy that one of the major problems in accountancy education is the difficulty of keeping the teaching staff abreast of the practical problems in the field. Generally, practical experience is one of the requirements before a permanent teaching appointment is secured. Of necessity this experience can be only for a few years and needs to be reviewed from time to time. In addition, many universities have had the experience of sending out promising young men to secure needed practical experience with the expectation that they would return to their teaching assignment. Almost without fail this expectation has not materialized, because by the time the young man has received adequate experience his value to the profession is such that the university is unable to compensate him sufficiently to secure his return to the classroom. The American Institute of Accountants has recognized this need in education and has begun to set up faculty residences or internships so that faculty men, in very limited numbers, may secure six months to a year's valuable experience in the offices of a public accounting firm. This is a fine step in the right direction but, it is believed, will operate very slowly and will not meet the needs of education fast enough.

This article focuses on the policies and procedures of American Accounting Association Committees. To a considerable extent, these regulations represent the rules under which the present and previous Executive Committees have operated. They are not intended to bind future Executive Committees, since each succeeding Executive Committee has the right to determine the rules under which it, the officers, and Association committees will operate, within the by-laws. The President may be given the authority to create new education task committees with the advice of the Joint Committee on Education. It is recommended that the chairmen of the underlying task committees be ex-officio members of the Joint Committee on Education. With the exception of the Director of Research, a person should be limited to membership on one committee, in addition to membership on the Joint Committee on Education, the Membership Committee, the Nominations Committee, and the Executive Committee. Only members of the American Accounting Association should be appointed, committees may have non-member consultants, however, if the Executive Committee approves the idea and the consultant.

We review research that measures time preferences-i.e., preferences over intertemporal tradeoffs. We distinguish between studies using financial flows, which we call "money earlier or later" (MEL) decisions and studies that use time-dated consumption/effort. Under different structural models, we show how to translate what MEL experiments directly measure (required rates of return for financial flows) into a discount function over utils. We summarize empirical regularities found in MEL studies and the predictive power of those studies. We explain why MEL choices are driven in part by some factors that are distinct from underlying time preferences.

The article presents a report of the Committee on Educational Standards. The purpose of accounting education is to prepare students for careers in accounting and in related fields and to prepare them to deal effectively with problems they will face as practicing members of their profession and as responsible citizens of the social and economic community in which they live. In recent years, the pattern of collegiate education for business in the U.S. has received considerable attention. The resulting re-examination of objectives, evaluations of course content, and revisions of curricula have had a major impact on accounting education as an element in the business school program. As the accounting function in modern society grows, the role of the accountant inevitably becomes larger and more important. The demand for well-educated accountants is currently high and promises to remain strong in the foreseeable future. The purpose of this study is to formulate some guidelines pointing to the educational standards that should prevail in any institution of higher education that offers degree programs involving a major in accounting, to the end that one or more degrees in accounting will indicate a standard of educational background and qualification for a professional field.