The article seeks to illustrate a functional approach to those relationships with which accounting is involved. One application of functionalism as a theoretical and analytical approach is that which has been utilized mainly by certain influential sociologists. A wide range of data has been subjected to functional analysis. A basic requirement is that the object of analysis stand for a standardized feature of a social system or subsystem, such as roles, institutions, norms, and organizations. The properties that receive emphasis when systems are viewed functionally are integration, adaptation, contribution, and maintenance. The parts of the system must be aligned with each other and with their goals or ends, and the variables must be adjusted towards the maintenance of the system, even in a changing environment. A measure of the importance of a part, as well as a means of identifying it, is the contribution that it makes to the total of system activities. Functional analysis bears on the structural activities within a system. This being the case, a functional approach to accounting should provide an understanding and improvement in the relationships among accounting and other information or facilitative agencies.

Reviews the book "The Financial Manager: Basic Aspects of Financial Administration," by Jerome B. Cohen and Sidney M. Robbins.