Abstract The article presents information on accounting in the war program. War demands have made necessary central planning and control for the materials of war. Intelligent planning and control are dependent on accounting data. To obtain accounting data, recourse has been had to formal reports, questionnaires, surveys, telephone calls and conferences. Information secured has covered production, stocks, consumption, population and labor figures, costs and other financial and accounting statistics. In the stabilization and procurement programs, many new applications of accounting techniques have been devised. It is the purpose here to review a number of the more important accounting developments in the war program and to consider some of the possible long-range effects, particularly the use of accounting in establishing social controls. There have been long-standing requirements for accounting reports in income tax laws and various regulatory enactments. In addition, permissive legislation such as the Federal Trade Commission Act 2 demonstrates that Congress years ago had become aware of the necessity of financial reporting in the establishing of even the most general business controls.

Abstract The article presents information on the contractor's organization for terminations. The past several months have seemed to me very much as the pre-invasion months must have seemed to some of the officers and men charged with the responsibility of preparing for the Allied invasion of France. The constant planning and the uncertainty of the exact date when we would be called upon to test our plans have created a feeling of tension quite unlike anything the author has ever experienced before. In great measure, our success in handling contract terminations will depend upon how well we have laid our plans and what we have learned from the little experience afforded us so far. From the observations that most of us have made, it must appear inevitable that the capitulation of Germany will result in drastic cutbacks and cancellations. It will do little good for us to yell and howl that our contracts should not have been canceled. We entered into these contracts. They specifically provided for termination at the convenience of the government- not at our convenience.

Abstract It is generally agreed nowadays- among both teachers of accounting and professional accountants-that "accounting is based on cost." The significance of this proposition, however, has not been adequately clarified. It certainly does not mean that accounts and financial statements continuously show the total acquisition costs of the various factors listed in such statements; absorption of costs through depreciation, depletion and amortization is a major feature of the normal process of accounting. It does not mean that shrinkage in value of inventory items must be ignored; recognized inventory methods provide for appropriate write-down in the case of damaged or obsolete elements and for absorption of costs considered to be nonrecoverable and hence not assignable to future revenues-as a result of changes in prices. It does not preclude partial or complete write-off of assets such as investments when there is convincing evidence of permanent impairment, or total disappearance, of value (although not all accountants would take the position that partial write-off prior to disposition is required). It does not overlook the fact that conventional cost procedures result in cost compilations that are nothing better than reasonable estimates of allocated costs incurred to date, especially in the case of work in process and finished goods.

Abstract Reviews the book "Production, Jobs and Taxes: Postwar Revision of the Federal Tax System to Help Achieve Higher Productivity and More Jobs," by Harold M. Groves.

Abstract The article presents a discussion of cost accounting, the pricing system, and the management factor. It preaches to the conclusion that the cost accounting has an important position in these activities. At the same time, it is not all-important. Judgment and discretion in the use of cost data are necessary to deal successfully with the pricing system. The pricing system itself is in some respects a fetish, especially under the conditions that industry is about to encounter. The ability of management to adapt itself to the conditions it meets and to use its ingenuity and resourcefulness in operating under those conditions leads to the most prosperous and profitable results. In the exercise of that ability of management, cost accounting furnishes data that if used wisely and judiciously, greatly expand the opportunities of the manager. Cost accounting at best can be only a tool of management. The skill with which the tool is used is the deciding factor in dealing with pricing situations. It is the man in management that is the truly important factor.

Abstract Reviews the book "Corporation Accounting," by William T. Sunley and William J. Carter.

Abstract Looking at the question of desirable education from the standpoint of employers, accountants find many accounting practitioners who prefer employees with a liberal arts background. Some of these employers have stated that philosophy, history language, sociology, and physical science are useful to accountants in their work. Others have pointed out that emphasis on business and accounting courses in college frequently precludes an adequate program of cultural training. Accountancy needs men with varied talents and varied educational programs. It is also apparent that some accounting firms may require a few specialists in mathematics, statistics, English, economics, and possibly certain technical fields other than accounting. There are a considerable number of outstanding schools of business, and there is no question as to the advantage of college study of accounting and the related subjects of business law, economics, finance, and business. Especially is this true if the specialized study is preceded by a two-year study of liberal arts. Practitioners would do well to have a substantial proportion of their employees with this kind of technical training. The profession, by carefully selecting college-trained men, has a means of controlling standards, which is more effective than legislative requirements alone.

Abstract The system of examinations in Canada is an attempt to attain a substantial degree of uniformity within the bounds of a federal constitution, and to retain the practical viewpoint of the profession in various provincial institutes in combination with the centralized administration of a Dominion Association office. The Canadian constitution sets up a federal system under which education, as well as other matters deemed of a local or private nature, is assigned to the provinces. The Dominion Association of Chartered Accountants was incorporated by special act of the federal parliament in 1902, but in its earlier years it was active only to the extent of bringing together those members of the provincial institutes who volunteered to take an additional membership in the federal body. On the whole accountants feel that in Canada they have attained a fair degree of uniformity consistent with the constitutional limitations, and that they reasonably combine the practical viewpoint of those practicing the profession throughout the country with the convenience of a centralized office.

Abstract The article presents information on the role of the public accountant in contract termination. The settlement of terminated contracts involves many problems other than accounting, such as the physical handling and disposal of inventories and equipment. However, there can be no lack of emphasis on the accounting phases of such settlements. The Contract Settlement Act of 1944 has as its purpose the standardization and so far as possible, the simplification of procedures in arriving at such settlements. Although the Act provides for settlement by agreement or negotiation, a careful reading will indicate that accounting is generally considered essential to such settlements. The basis of a settlement by agreement is the contractor's proposal for settlement, which must be prepared and submitted to the proper governmental agency. It should be apparent that such proposal must be based upon a reasonable accounting foundation in order to negotiate a settlement an any basis other than a purely arbitrary one. Provisions of the Contract Settlement Act of 1944, imposing severe penalties in case of fraud or misrepresentation in the settlement proposal, make reliable accounting data equally important for the contractor's own protection.

Sarah C. Gillespie, K. W. Rothschild; Migration and the Distributive Trades, The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 13, Issue 2, 1 January 1945, Pages 81–8