Abstract A graduate seminar conducted by several prominent accountants invited from industry, government, and public accounting has proved to be a worthwhile addition to the curricula at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. Time is also allotted for private student consultations. Students participate in the course by responding to and questioning the discussion leader, by summarizing the informal discussions for publication and by writing technical papers on related topics. Development of abilities to recognize; define, and analyze current accounting problems is an important part of any graduate program in accounting. The ability to write clearly, logically and forcibly comes mainly from disciplined practice under the guidance of a critical audience. While many courses in the accounting curriculum may offer the opportunity to practice writing, all too few provide critical guidance to point the way for improvement. The success of the program depends to a large degree upon the calibre of the guest speakers and the novelty and significance of the message they have to deliver.

Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine the meaning or meanings of the term, cost, in a comprehensive way, with the objective of providing an interpretive framework to assist in communicating cost information with greater precision and, thus, to assist in utilizing cost information more effectively. Such an interpretive framework should be useful to accountants charged with the responsibility of compiling and communicating cost information, and to the users of cost information whose conclusions and/or decisions depend at least partly upon an interpretation of this information. Accounting measurements of cost are used in manifold ways to express different aspects of enterprise operations. These uses for cost measurements frequently require different interpretations of cost, and it is in this regard that confusion may arise. For the purpose of planning and as a basis for identifying waste and inefficiency, anticipated costs are needed. In most regards concepts underlying anticipated costs are the same as those previously discussed in relation to historical and current costs.

Reviews the book "Financial Statement Analysis, Principles and Techniques," 2nd ed., by John N. Myer.

Abstract The article critically examines the aspects of direct costing. It discusses the development of the principle of burden application as the antecedent of direct costing. The article discusses the thinking of the absorption costing school as opposed to the ideas of direct costing which led to refinement involving the rate of activity in computing burden taxes, measurement of burden variances and use of separate burden rates for allocating fixed and variable portions of overhead. In contrast, direct costing school proposes an almost complete overthrow of the burden application principle. The article then describes the differences between direct costing and marginal costing, scrutinizing the techniques involved in obtaining both costs. The article then illustrates the shortcomings, discussing in length the instability of direct costing and the necessity of foresight into the future. The possibilities of direct costing in multi-product plant operations and its contribution to product pricing has been discussed in length. Restriction on cost and product flexibility, a result of too much reliance on differential cost analysis for price-output decisions and the factors involved in making long run price-output decisions by a firm operating within an oligopolistic market are detailed.

Reviews the book "Cost Accounting Principles and Managerial Applications," by Gerald R. Crowningshield.