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The tenth annual meeting of the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting was especially noteworthy because of the able papers given on the subject "Research Work in Universities." Inspired by these papers the present writer decided to ascertain approximately what graduate work in applied economics the American universities were doing. As there were no data available on this subject, a survey was started. This paper is the result of the survey conducted by the Association. The basic courses in commercial law are so fundamental that practically all graduate schools of business offer them. The commercial law courses are 8.4% of the total applied economic courses in non-urban schools and 6.2% in urban schools. This variation is due to the difference in the total number of courses offered in non-urban and urban schools as the number of commercial law courses offered is practically constant. The unusual number of commercial law courses offered at American University and Pennsylvania University is doubtless due to local conditions, the excellent standing of the graduate law school at the former and unusual complexities of the State law code at the latter. Business management ranks first or is tied for first among the applied economic groups in five out of the twenty-seven schools.

This article presents information on public rules for private accounting in France in 1673 and 1807. As per the rules of Ordinance of 1673 some designated classes of `business men were required to "keep books." Public regulation, "on paper" at least, extended to the making of rules as to the books to be kept, forms to be observed in the making of entries, authentication by a public official as a means to the prevention of the crudest kind of falsifications, the making of periodic inventories, and the preservation of correspondence. The rules for authentication of the books of exchange dealers and bankers pear a little more strict than those for the authentication of the books of tradesmen and merchants. However as per the accounting rules of commercial code 1807 every business man was required to have a journal which presents day by day his accounts receivable and payable, the operations of his business, acceptances and endorsements of commercial paper, and in general everything which he receives and pays, under whatever head it may be.

In almost all German corporations it is at present customary to check up all accounting statements especially the annual balance sheet and profit and loss statement. This work is done by separate auditors or auditing companies. The law, however, does not as yet require an audit. According to the law at present the Supervisory Council as the controlling agent of the corporation is required to supervise all phases of the business including the examination of the financial statements and annual closing entries in order to report thereon at the general stockholders' meeting. The audit function is, therefore, in accordance with the present German law, included in the general control function of the Supervisory Council. The appointment of separate auditors is according to law necessary only in special cases. The Board of Directors in the cases under Section 266, is to allow the auditors to examine the books and papers of the company and also the cash, securities, and goods as well.

The title of this paper, College Education As a Requirement for Public Accountants in New York State, is rather ambiguous. It suggests that all public accountants practicing in New York must meet certain scholastic requirements. Of course, this is not true. There is no law in New York State restricting the practice of public accounting to certified public accountants (CPA). The college education requirement mentioned in the title refers to the New York CPA law which became effective from January 1, 1938. This law specifies that candidates for the examination leading to certification must be graduates of colleges or schools of accountancy registered by the State Education Department as maintaining satisfactory standards. To meet satisfactory standards, a school must offer a four-year course, or its equivalent, in cultural and business subjects including 24 hours of accounting, 8 hours each of business law and finance, and 6 hours of economics. This law, which for the first time set minimum scholastic requirements at college level, did not become effective until January 1, 1938.

The article focuses on the formats of certified public accountants (CPA) commercial law examination. The author suggests that the examination should be designed to evaluate the candidate's analytical ability to recognize legal problems, his knowledge and understanding of basic rules of law, and his ability to express his reasoning and conclusions in clear and concise language. Two times each year, in May and November, prospective candidates take the uniform examinations for the designation of Certified Public Accountant. One of the five examinations given is in commercial law. The author recommends that the commercial law paper should be strictly composed of a series of six to eight essay questions, secondly, the design and format would consist of four to six factual problems in each question. These problems would deal with the various areas of law in which the accountant is faced on an everyday basis. Third, the candidate would not be told what the problems are. He would therefore be required to first analyze the facts to determine the problem and then to write a clear and concise reasoning, using basic rules of law in arriving at a logical conclusion.

The article presents a discussion on the topic, College Education As a Requirement for Certified Public Accountants, The New York Experience. This is the second time that the author has been invited to present a study related to the topic. He discusses the result of the examination of 180 candidates from fifteen schools in several states of the U.S. and of ten times as many from New York State schools. This convinces the author, that students who have spent four years in the day classes or six years in the evening classes in the schools have been exposed to a quantity and quality of instruction which should have prepared them for the examinations in Commercial Law, Theory of Accounts, and the theoretical parts of auditing. The author does not believe, that schools were or could be prepared to teach successfully the subject of Practical Accounting or the practical part of auditing. A high school diploma does not insure that the holder has satisfactorily completed a four year course in that school.

As the orthodox realization and liquidation account does not adequately present the affairs of a company under liquidation in bankruptcy or one being reorganized under a receiver, repeated attempts have been made to improve the reporting for such concerns, as of January 1946. Some of these attempts have adapted the ordinary interim work sheet by inserting additional columns so that the trading transactions may be distinguished from the non-trading transactions. The other method of attacking the problem adapts the principles of the articulation statement in that the money amounts involved are sorted into columns according to the types of transactions and sorted to lines according to the titles of the accounts affected. The article presents some general rules for the preparation of columnar realization and liquidation statements. First rule is to classify transactions according to the columnar headings and determine whether the entries should be recorded as debit or credit according to the effect the transactions have in the accounts named on the lines. Also, record all cash collections as realizations of assets and all cash disbursements as payments of liabilities.

In this article, the author analyzes some of the unique accounting practices in foreign countries. A study of international accounting practices reveals an array of methods and procedures. Some nations still use the primitive accounting techniques which most industrialized nations considered outmoded fifty years ago; on the other hand, a number of nations now employ the most advanced accounting methods, supported by up-to-date laws. International accounting is important because it gives us the opportunity to study historical accounting methods supported. More than that, however, one can learn from the failures and successes of nations that have applied accounting methods different from ours to solve many of the same problems now facing people. The relative merits of flexibility as compared with uniformity of accounting principles, procedures and methods have been under much discussion in the United States. Although there is no space here for detailed investigation, it is interesting to note that there are still three nations in which complete or partial uniformity was or is still required by law.

By Act No. 3329 of February 1955 the "Institute of Sworn-in-Accountants" was founded, in pursuance of Article 1 of the said Act its object is "to supervise audits of Greek financial organizations of whatever nature." More specifically than Article 37, Article 39 prescribes what persons may be appointed auditors if a request for an audit has been lodged. These persons may be prominent bank executives or government officials. They may be in active service or be superannuated. The Minister of Economic Affairs makes a choice from a list compiled by the various Ministries. The "auditors" thus appointed must be sworn. During the check they are considered to be government officials. The amount of their remunerations is also fixed by the Minister of Economic Affairs after the check. It is also important to state that at the moment when the limited liability companies officially listed at the Stock Exchange were obliged to allow audits by a member of the Institute, there were over 100 limited liability companies officially listed. After publication of the ministerial decision approximately 40 companies discontinued their quotations.

This article focuses on the role of certified public accountants (CPA) in management services. Demands on businesses have multiplied over the years as a result of the changing nature of competitive markets, rapid developments in technology of production equipment, availability and increased use of high-speed computers, expansion of knowledge in almost every field of learning, and a constant increase in the number, variety, and complexity of laws affecting business operations. Yet, in spite of all the encouragement given by professional organizations, the cries of business managers for more help and the cold statistics on the volume and lucrative rewards of the consulting business, many CPA have apparently not entered this field nor are they relatively frequently called upon by firms seeking consulting services. Some CPA firms are very active in rendering management services, but the number of firms who are is quite small. Further- more, revenue received by a CPA for management services is a very small portion of the total annual fees of $550 million paid by businesses for consulting work, as well as a small percentage of the total revenues realized by a CPA.

One advantage of taking a CPA Review course from an experienced instructor is that it provides the inexperienced candidate with an over-view of the types of questions and subjects most apt to be touched upon. The candidate needs to acquire perspective. Many students taking the examination immediately upon finishing their university training, do not know whether three hours spent in a review of process costs will be as valuable as three hours' review of the break even point or perhaps the subject of joint ventures. A thorough application of the principles of commercial law is useful in recognizing accounting consequences of legal documents such as contracts for the sale of merchandise, bills of lading, underwriting contracts, stock option agreements, pension plans, and employee profit-sharing plans. Careful attention must be directed to outlining the special rights, privileges, and priorities of various classes of common and preferred stock. Restrictions on dividends resulting from long-term bond indentures must be properly explained. These are just a few of the items encountered.

The creation of the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government by authority of the Congress of the United States is but one of many attempts to reorganize extensively the Executive Branch of the United States Government. The Commission is composed of twelve members representing the President of the United States, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. While the General Accounting Office is an agency of the Legislative Branch, it is impossible to disregard its functions in any study of accounting in the Executive Branch of the government, especially as to the placement of certain responsibilities and avoidance of duplication of effort. The suggestion has just been made that the powers of prescribing methods of accounting disallowing expenditures do not properly pertain to auditing. It is desired also to make certain comments with respect to the audit responsibilities of the General Accounting Office in part from the standpoint of the placement of responsibilities between the Legislative and Executive Branches and in part from the standpoint of indicating that greater benefits may be obtained from independent auditing.

The article discuss recent developments in the statistical utilization of accounting data by the federal government. In particular, attention will be focused on the statistical utilization of accounting information for what may be called top-policy purposes. Most accountants are familiar to some extent with the utilization of accounting data by various federal agencies for direct administrative purposes. In the administration of tax laws and for regulatory bodies, accounting data have proved indispensable for handling individual cases. Moreover, most accountants are probably familiar with the fact that individual case information is frequently compiled into statistical information as a means of orienting agency policy, setting standards, and serving as a basis for recommendations to the U.S. Congress. In a sense various recent developments in business financial statistics represent extensions of accounting to new areas of great importance. These extensions require the development of new techniques and point of view, and it is hoped that the instrumentalities of classification and analysis made possible by accounting will gain in the process. Full utilization of the potentialities of accounting will occur, however, only if accountants can be persuaded to take a continuing interest in these developments and to acquire the necessary familiarity with the problems involved to adapt their techniques to the requirements.

Almost all the states at present require examination in the subjects of accounting theory, accounting practice, auditing, and law. In some states separate examinations are given in each subject. In many others accounting theory and practice are combined as one for grading purposes even though the examination is given in two parts. In still other states, subject matter from all these fields is included in the examination given, although not separately listed in the same four divisions. A few states give examinations in these subjects and additional examinations in other subjects. Since forty-six of the fifty-two states and territories use the American Institute of Accountants' examination questions, it may be said that the stated objective with reference to subject matter is now substantially reached. Laws and regulations, however, do not reveal the extent to which uniformity actually exists. Reference to the four general subjects is made either by law or regulation (mainly in the law itself) in forty-six states. Many refer to the combination of accounting theory and practice as one subject; a few refer to the use of American Institute examination questions; some list the four major subjects and also state that other subjects will be covered if deemed necessary or desirable by the board.

The article focuses on business-law training for students of accounting. Faced with the ever increasing complexities of modem civilization, society has relied very largely on the device of specialization for the solution of its problems. This specialization has given rise to a problem of its own, and without in any way detracting from the splendid achievements of specialists, venture to suggest that there is a serious need in the social organization of today for the coordination of the activities of the various specialists. The respective problems of the legal and accounting professions indicate the author's point, and because of the close relationship between the two professions in certain lines of endeavor, it is essential that the respective viewpoints of the two professions be coordinated. This necessity has been universally recognized in the inclusion of law study in the curricula in the schools of business administration, and recognize to a certain extent by a display of interest on the part of law schools in the teaching of accounting.

The article attempts to stimulate a more systematic method of evolving standard, but evolutionary, rules of accounting. The conclusion follows from two premises. First, rules of accounting have become, in large measure rules of law. Second, that the present methods by which accounting theory is translated into the accounting rules or, if one chooses, into accounting practices, which thus enter the legal system, are not wholly satisfactory, especially in view of the results which now follow from that translation. By consequence, the task of developing a systematic yet flexible means of arriving at and recording the sound doctrine as it appears in the light of the knowledge of the day, takes the foreground as a major problem in the profession of accounting. Economist John Bauer, indicated that accounting development had paralleled, roughly, the enormous growth of business over the past half-century; and he concluded by insisting, also accurately, that the growing control of government over business furnished a powerful spur toward extending the best private practice to all business units in similar fields.

The article focuses on defining the concept of goodwill. Initially goodwill was defined as nothing more than the probability of old customers returning to the old place. In one instance, goodwill has been defined as an intangible property which, in the nature of things, can have no existence apart from a business of some sort that has been established and carried on at a particular place. Goodwill is the favor which the management of a business wins from the public and the probability that all customers will continue their patronage. It is the general public patronage and encouragement which a business receives from its customers on account of its local position; that is the subject of value and price and of bargain and sale, though intangible. In this definition, the patronage concept is dominant, although its dependence upon location is still mentioned. In general, it may be stated that the emphasis upon the local aspect of goodwill has declined gradually, although there has been considerable overlapping of views in point of time.

The relation of accounting to economics has been the subject of discussion a number of times, but no program devoted to accounting relationships would seem complete without some expression on the subject of economics. The economist and the accountant have been members of the same family for a number of decades, since the early period in which economics permitted this fledgling to enter the liberal arts colleges under the shadow of its protecting wing. They later became chief partners with business law in the organization of curricula in business and schools of business. However, there are many indications that the two fields are coming closer to a mutual understanding. Economics is developing most rapidly in the field of statistics and statistical method and in this type of study is reaching more and more into fields hither-to largely the habitat of the accountant. Also, finance and marketing, among others, are studying problems closely connected with accounting and in which the accountant is apt to contribute much of the useful material.

In 1669 the merchants of Paris, feeling the need of an improved body of commercial law, applied to the king, Louis XIV, for constructive action. The commercial law which the Ordinance of 1673 established in France was from this time on founded on bases so solid and usages so broad and so rational that not only did the Ordinance suffice up to the end of the old regime for the affairs which it controlled, but also the "Code de Commerce," which was promulgated in 1807 and which, with the exceptions of certain parts such as the chapter on failures and bankruptcies, is still in force, made very numerous borrowings from it and even often textually reproduced its articles. The Ordinance of 1673 dealt with the topic "Des Sociétez" in Title IV, which contained fourteen articles. Individuals at an early period in European business history grouped themselves together for collective trading in the fields of banking, tax farming, ordinary trade or trade overseas. The Roman law had established the principle that any partner acting as such within the limits of the legitimate objectives of the enterprise might bind the society.