The Accounting Review Vol. 31 No. 1 1956
BENCHMARKS AND BEACONS.
Abstract
This article presents information on the accounting. Accounting as an art, accounting as a public service, and accounting as a social force, have undergone great changes during the past four decades. The place of accounting in business was very different from the one it occupies today. In the earlier era, most people thought of accounting as an individual and personal record of accomplishment and position, designed exclusively for the enterprisers concerned. The problem of the accountant was how to best meet the needs of owners and managers. The corporation accountant was a little like an actor, playing a part for the benefit of a small and select audience. For many years, public accountants denied the necessity of a code of principles or standards, formulated by anyone. The entire business and financial community took a long time to become accustomed to the new order, which was then coming into being. The New Deal, for all the egregious follies and iniquities of its implementation, did signalize the emergence of a social conscience with respect to the conduct and reporting of business affairs.
- DOI
- 10.2308/tar-7056926
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-14
- Language
- en
- Sources
- openalex crossref