Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the progress made by the Accounting Principles Board in attempting to solve the reporting problems of the accounting profession, up to and including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant (AICPA) Council action noted above and to speculate upon the future status of the profession. In order to put the problem in perspective, the origins and history of the Accounting Principles Board are briefly presented. Then, certain implications of the October, 1964, AICPA Council action are discussed. Finally, some speculations are advanced concerning necessary steps to be taken in the future. The Accounting Principles Board had its origins in the report of a Special Committee on Research Program of the AICPA, rendered in September 1958 and unanimously adopted by the AICPA Council in April 1959. This committee was appointed in December 1957 to consider a new approach to the means whereby accounting research should be undertaken, accounting principles should be promulgated and adherence to them should be secured.

Abstract This article focuses on controversies regarding the construction of financial statements. One of the primary areas of controversy revolves around a misunderstanding as to who should be expected to use financial statements or, stated differently, to whom the statements should be directed. Many people, both accountants and others, seem to be concerned with the notion that financial statements frequently are not clear and comprehensible to the "man on the street" or the uninformed layman. On the other hand, accountants certainly should strive to improve the usefulness of their statements to informed, qualified users. Such techniques as the use of charts and graphs to supplement conventional statements, the use of comparative statements, and the constant search for more meaningful accounting terminology serve as examples of this type of worthwhile endeavor. Equally clearly, the accounting profession has a concurrent duty to educate the public in the proper use of financial statements.

Abstract At the May, 1961 meeting of the South-eastern Section of the American Accounting Association, it was the author's privilege to participate in a panel presentation entitled "Teaching Current Accounting Theory at the Undergraduate Level." The discussion centered around the inclusion in accounting curricula of topics receiving current attention in accounting literature, such as accounting for long-term leases, "direct" costing, and "deferred" income tax liability. This paper represents a distillation of some of the more important ideas presented and discussed at that session. There was general agreement as to the propriety of including current topics in college and university accounting programs. The study of current accounting topics certainly has a place in college and university accounting curricula. Treatment of these topics in a separate course is feasible only in institutions with broad, diversified accounting programs. Even in such schools, the desirability of such a course is open to question. The approach to teaching current accounting topics depends in large part on the basic objectives of the accounting program in each college and university.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to relate the accumulation and presentation of costs and revenues, both historical and projected, to three basic managerial functions: planning, motivation of employees, and control. Two major problems arise in this connection. First, accounting information must be presented according to the management function which it is to assist. Thus the accountant may find himself confronted with the necessity of compiling cost and revenue data in several different classifications. Secondly, the budgeted figures must be set at the level appropriate to each function: expected costs and revenues for planning, desired goals for motivation, and ideals for control. This problem indicates the use of separate budgets for separate purposes. Both of these problems are discussed in this paper in relation to planning, motivation, and control. Each of the three functions of management discussed requires cost and revenue data compiled and presented according to the purpose for which it is to be used. Correspondingly, each function requires budgets set at different levels of costs and revenues. The planning function is served by a coordinated master budget, which is composed of a number of subsidiary budgets, all set at the level of expected results. Incentives to employee performance indicate the use of fragmentary budgets set at the level of short-range goals. Flexible departmental budgets which compare ideal and incurred costs serve the purpose of control.

Reviews the book "Introductory Accounting," by Ralph Dale Kennedy and Frederick Charles Kurtz.

Reviews the book "Towards a General Theory of Accounting," by R.J. Chambers.