Abstract Reviews the book "Retail Accounting and Financial Control," 4th ed., by Louis C. Moscarello, Francis C. Grau and Roy C. Chapman.

Abstract The article discusses the role of accounting in the development of emerging nations. The author also considers the relationship between the present low level of prestige enjoyed by the accounting professions of these nations and the low rate of their economic growth. The thesis advanced herein is that the strength and extent of the information system of a nation determines in large part the rate at which economic development will progress. In addition, the author observes that accounting and accounting systems thus assume an important role in the development of these nations.

Reviews the book "Executorship Accounts," by E. Bryan Smyth.

Abstract This article focuses on improvements in external reporting by use of direct costing. Financial statements are the final product of the accountant's efforts, and the effectiveness of the accounting profession may be measured by the adequacy with which these statements reflect a company's financial position and the results of a given period's operations. The need for adequate and informative financial statements has become accentuated by the rapidly changing value of the dollar, fluctuations in the economic pulse of the economy, rising tax rates, and widespread corporate ownership. The direct costing concept should not be confused with techniques such as marginal costing and differential costing. Marginal and differential costing, as commonly defined, are techniques primarily concerned with cost differences, such as the cost to manufacture a product at one level of activity as compared with the cost to manufacture the product at some other level of activity. Direct costing is a means of reporting on the overall effectiveness of a company's operations.

Abstract This article focuses on accounting for guaranteed wage plans. Most of the wage leveling plans are basically employee withholding plans whereby some of the earnings of the employee are withheld and are paid to him later when his earnings are low. The obvious disadvantage of this plan lies in the employee's reluctance to having part of his earnings withheld. The majority of wage leveling plans have therefore created little employee enthusiasm, for they are little more than savings plans, supervised by the company. A major difference between the leveling and the minimum-guarantee type of plan is the number of employees that are covered. Where the wage process is primarily one of leveling wages, there is no excessive cost to the employer for time not worked. One of the most complex accounting problems arising out of recent developments in guaranteed wage payments is concerned with the special exemptions allowed for the payment of overtime premiums under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The record-keeping process is further complicated if the company is to take advantage of the overtime premium relief provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Reviews the book "Fundamental Accounting Principles," by William E. Pyle

Abstract The article reviews the book "A Managerial Analysis of Federal Income Redistribution Mechanisms: The Government As Factory, Insurance Company and Bank," by Regina Herzlinger and Nancy M. Kane.

Abstract This article focuses on changes in accounting curricula at the university level in the U.S. The curricula is being modified to keep abreast of the profession's needs, but the full extent of that change and its impact upon other professional activities are difficult to measure. The purpose of this article is to identify several major trends presently manifested in university curricula, to relate these to major changes in staff training and professional development activities, and to suggest conclusions concerning the impact of one upon the other. A two-part study was undertaken to gather the data from which these conclusions are drawn. The first part of the study was a detailed analysis of the staff training programs and activities of 10 national public accounting firms, covering a 6-year period, 1966-72. The second consisted of an opinion survey of 150 leading college and university professors throughout the United States, undertaken in an effort to identify their perception of changes in accounting education.

Abstract The article focuses on recommendations made by the 1964 American Accounting Association Committee on Courses and Curricula--Electronic Data Processing. The committee recommended that at the undergraduate level, accounting students should be exposed to electronic data processing in stages. Added emphasis should be placed in the accounting systems course on logical information flows and on multi-dimensional information requirements rather than on the form and content of specific accounting records. At the master's degree level, the student must have at least the same proficiency as an undergraduate, but hopefully it will be at a more sophisticated level. At the doctoral level, accounting systems instruction is a distinct subject-matter area, as are accounting theory, internal accounting, taxes and auditing. A doctoral degree presumes at least a sound foundation knowledge in each of the broad accounting areas, with a high degree of expertise in the candidate's specialist area. The committee also recommended that substantial attention should be given both by individual schools and by the American Accounting Association, to the need for a re-orientation of accounting toward an analytical approach rather than one which is mainly descriptive.