THE CONCEPT OF EARNED SURPLUS.
Abstract This article focuses on the author's view about earned surplus. The author says that the general course of the reasoning which led to the final definition will prove to be of even greater interest than the expected applications of the definition. The Committee on the Definition of Earned Surplus, reappointed hopefully each year by the president of the organization American Institute of Accountants, faced a task of no mean proportions. First was the obstacle that many common terms in use in the world of business, especially terms appearing on financial statements, have no fixed meaning, and can be made intelligible only through the aid of explanatory phrases. Second was the apathy, if not the actual resistance of business itself, toward more exact usages. The astonishing growth of interrelations between business enterprises has prevented the precise formulation of the scientific truths that are presumed to underlie the various manifestations of economic endeavor. Third was the multiplicity of state laws and court decisions bearing on the questions of dividends and maintenance of capital.
- DOI
- 10.2308/tar-8594646
- Volume
- 6 (3)
- Pages
- 206-217
- Language
- en
- Export
- BibTeX
- Sources
- openalex crossref