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As a service to the forty-eight states and four territories which use the examinations prepared by the American Institute of Accountants the Institute will grade the candidate's papers and recommend grades to be granted there on by the local boards involved. Papers from some fifty-five hundred candidates were graded by the Educational Director's office in connection with a recent examination. The very weight and volume of this number of papers is imposing. The significance of the resultant grades to the candidates and to the profession of public accounting makes the grading process most important. The methods used to secure uniform and reliable results in this work will be of interest to those concerned with methods of testing and passing upon the qualifications of candidates for the CPA certificate. Under the grading system used by the Institute in Auditing, Theory and Law, where the grading is on a positive basis, it is impossible for the candidate to receive all the points his knowledge might justify if his answer is too brief. Relevant points, assigned some credit in the grading, may easily be omitted in short answers.

For many years, the accounting professionals in the U.S. have recognized the need for the preparation required by accountancy students in the field of auditing, and conceived the idea of the link between theory and practice as a business clinic where students might work among the records of actual transactions. In 1914, Robert H. Montgomery, a professor at the Columbia University, New York City obtained a number of sets of used account books which formed the basis for the course of study which has been given since 1915, termed as the Auditing Laboratory. From time to time since, additional records have been obtained until at the present time there are approximately 100 workable sets of books of greatly diversified activities. Questions and problems, to be solved only by an actual examination of the books and other records, provide the basis of the student's work. This gives him a practical working test under conditions which very closely correspond to those met in actual practice. All through the work done by the student, the preparation and care of his work papers are carefully watched and criticized; the preparation of audit programs and the proper filing of work papers in the permanent and current files for the different engagements are also stressed. The Auditing Laboratory contains labor saving devices, such as adding and other computing machines, slide rule, etc., etc., in the legitimate use of which the student is urged to become adept.

The article focuses on the accounting education in Australia. Upto the year 1954, only the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, had a well established curriculum of accountancy. A full-time student normally takes four subjects a year. The honors course is a four-year one in which the compulsory subjects are covered in the first two years, after which the student enters the final division, comprising special honors lectures and seminars, with examination at the end of the fourth year of his studies. During this last year he is also required to submit a thesis on a subject within a specialized field of his own choice. The first of these courses is regarded as an introduction to accounting method, with students required to maintain a small set of double-entry records. It covers the theory of accounting and interpretation of transactions, ledger, journal and its subdivisions, trial balance, control accounts and subsidiary ledgers, preparation of reports, balance day adjustments, unsystematized records, non-trading enterprises, partnerships, joint stock companies, closing accounts of vendor, funds statement, departmental accounts, branch accounts, consignments, joint ventures, columnar accounting, analyzed journals and auditing.

The article presents an interview with the author on the teaching of cost accounting. The article also presents comments of scholar Gould L. Harris on answers given by the author. In response to a query about the future use of cost accounting by students, the author replied that during the last ten year I have made a practice of asking my cost accounting students whether or not they expected to work in a factory after graduating. Less than five percent replied in the affirmative. This percentage is all the more important because most of my students have been residents of Washington and Baltimore. Therefore, it can be stated that the main purpose of the Cost Accounting course is not to directly prepare students for future work in factories. Indirect uses students will make of cost accounting seem to be chief reasons for giving the course. All students will use ideas that are given of, accounting controls, systems of internal check, computing costs according to suitable bases, departmentalization of expenses, detailed interlocking of paper work, adaptation of paper work and accounting routine to meet local company's condition, preparation and use of budgets, use of budgetary reserves and preparation and use of accounting reports.

The purpose of the present paper is to ascertain just what graduate courses in accounting are offered by the universities listed by the collegiate department of the United States Bureau of Education as giving graduate work in applied economics. In order to simplify the figures, no distinction is made between a term course and a semester course. Likewise, no distinction is made between courses given only to graduates and those given to both graduate and undergraduates; strictly undergraduate courses are ignored. Data presented in the article shows that the graduate courses in accounting are largely concentrated in the basic subjects. While twenty-one different accounting studies are given, 71.7 per cent of the courses are given in the subjects that a student already familiar with the elementary principles of accounting must pursue. In order to become a professional accountant; and although prospective Certified Public Accountants (C.P.A.) candidates form only a small portion of the total number of accounting students, it still is advisable to offer adequate preparation for the C.P.A. examinations. The relatively weak showing of the subjects not absolutely needed in the professional accounting curriculum is due to the fact that accounting must be studied in logical sequence.

In accordance with the request that this session be a discussion of practical problems of teaching elementary accounting, the author of this paper tries to be as practical as possible. Far from hoping to present anything entirely new, either as to problems or solutions, he treats of a situation which merits consideration chiefly because it is old, and consequently of common occurrence. It is a problem with which most instructors are only too well acquainted. The instructor of beginning accounting at most small colleges faces a dilemma. This dilemma is the necessity, and at the same time the difficulty, of teaching in one class two widely different types of students, those who are taking only the one course as part of their general education; and those who intend it as a groundwork for further study toward a major in accounting. The student, who is planning to continue with accounting as his field of work, needs above all else a solid foundation for the more advanced courses. Possibly if a group of accounting instructors were to name just two results as the most valuable to be desired from the beginning course, they would specify first, thoroughness, and second, accuracy.

This article presents a course outline for a senior level accounting seminar for honor students. There were four separate types of activities in the course. The topics suggested to the students for debate changed so as to incorporate new issues faced by accountants. Students were required to write a short paper on each of the topics before it was discussed. They were encouraged to show some evidence of library research, some originality of thought and correct term-paper format in each report. This requirement resulted in the students being adequately prepared to discuss each of the topics intelligently.

The statement that a teacher is satisfied with the results obtained in his course should be regarded as news, comparable, perhaps, to the statement that a man bites a dog, according to the author of this article. What he has to say, therefore, is not news, for he is thoroughly dissatisfied with the results obtained in the courses in auditing in his university. This should not come as a shock to teachers of accounting, for the author thinks, educators will all agree that the course in auditing is the most unsatisfactory course in the accounting curriculum from the teacher's viewpoint as well as from the student's. What the author has to say on this subject is not intended as a criticism of auditing textbooks. A textbook has limits, and within those limits the authors of the standard books have done an excellent job of presenting the fundamental principles of auditing and the methods of preparing audit working papers and reports. However, a need exists for something to supplement the textbook if teachers are to give the student a real grasp of the subject.

Survey courses are limited, apparently, to one semester or less and under such conditions it becomes educator's rather difficult and painful duty to devise teaching methods, which will, in the brief time allotted, convey a reasonably intelligent concept of basic principles and procedures. Results are unsatisfactory if the survey course is merely a duplication of the first semester of a standard one-year course. The usual and better procedure, the author believes, is to abridge the year course by a careful process of elimination and condensation. The author suggests, timidly, the elimination of any extended discussion of notes, bills of exchange, note registers, location of errors, business papers, merchandising activities, and various unusual and complex transactions. The purpose of a survey course differs entirely from that of a one-year course and it is not illogical, at least, that teaching methods in the two courses should differ. The author believes that a survey course should emphasize statements and if, by reason of a time limit, something must be slighted in the last few weeks he would prefer that material to be other than statement preparation and analysis.

According to the author, the topic to which he addresses himself is a challenging one. It is of paramount importance to all concerned with a vital segment of our system of higher education and the continued advancement of the dominant social and economic institution, the business corporation. The author approaches the subject with humility. The author hopes that this paper will serve as a catalytic agent encouraging others to think deeply and perceptively on the role of business schools in a changing environment, and subsequently that faculty of business schools will forget their vested interest and act to make modem education for business the vital force required in the dynamic world economy. Within the business schools one need also to utilize the integrated systems approach that has characterized post-war management. Too often today there is no integration of different functional subject matter. Each discipline is frequently taught as though other business areas don't exist, or if they are recognized, they are assumed to be peripheral. The false barriers of subject matter specialization by traditional functional business areas must be breached; the areas must be integrated into a related systems approach.

Of the problems of making education meaningful one of the most important is the careful construction of specific course objectives. This is not a "one time" task, but rather is something which must necessarily confront the educator continuously. Meaningful objectives do not just grow nor, because of the changing social environment, can they be handed down from generation to generation. To be most meaningful, they must be adapted to the needs of students and the needs of society and they must be in harmony with the philosophy of the institution in which the courses are taught. The purpose of this paper is to reconsider what might be the most meaningful objectives for elementary courses in accounting with consideration given to the needs of students and to the needs of society. Further objectives are considered in both contextual as well as behavioral terms. These are, in a sense, ends for the accounting students who will as accountants be called upon to perform or supervise these activities. It is not likely that the other group will have much need to engage in these activities in connection with their major work. For this group, these skills and techniques are but means to an end, the end of understanding and interpreting accounting reports which they as general managers or other specialists will receive and be required to act upon intelligently.

According to an old adage, competition is the life of trade. Exchange of ideas provides a surplus to improvement of educational processes. It is hoped that material dealing with the broader aspects of accounting education may be forthcoming for use in this department. Opinions might be exchanged on a variety of matters in connection with educational policy, curriculum alterations, course content, and the like. There are very few people who would favor a highly specialized education in accountancy to the exclusion of all general subjects. In some cases necessity rather than choice produces that unfortunate result. Public accountants, as customers of the colleges supplying graduates, are mud like other customers. They know what they like. They are not sure just why they hesitate to make suggestions for improvement. Manufacturers often try to learn to serve better by stirring customers to analyze the basis of their choices. Accounting teachers could do likewise. One of the advantages of work in a foreign language is the enforced contact with the mechanics of language structure. In addition, in many courses frequent papers and reports are expected which give further practice in the use of language.

Objective examinations in accounting are a subject on which a good many people seem to have very definite and adverse, opinions. Perhaps the objective examination is usually thought of as consisting of a more or less formal list of true-or-false questions; and when the material of an accounting course does not seem to be particularly well adapted to this type of question, the conclusion is easily reached that the objective examination has little place in accounting. The object of this paper is, among other things, to suggest some of the possible forms that the objective examination in accounting may take in order to cure the difficulties of the true-or-false question. It may be that with adequate variety in the testing devices the objective examination may appear feasible as a testing device, if not positively desirable. An objective test in accounting has been defined as a test designed to cover a large amount of material, to have a large number of questions requiring very brief answers, the answers to each unit being the same for every student who answers the questions correctly.

A striking development has taken place in recent years in the growth and expansion of commercial departments in small liberal-arts colleges. As a result of this development many of these colleges have incorporated business courses. It is the purpose of the paper to examine the nature of this development and to indicate the place of accounting courses in the expansion of business curriculum. Accounting in a liberal-arts curriculum has had considerable discussion in recent years by men interested primarily in the teaching of accounting. It will be of interest to notice the relationship between the stated purposes of business departments in liberal-arts college and aims and purposes of the liberal-arts college itself. It is being recognized in a greater degree that courses in accounting and other business subjects meet the generally accepted purposes of a liberal-arts curriculum and in meeting the general requirements of the liberal-arts college by examining offerings of small liberal-arts colleges and noting the relative emphasis placed upon accounting courses in the curriculum.

The charge of the committee was to propose objectives for research in accounting history, develop guidelines for the teaching of accounting history in undergraduate and graduate courses and provide a forum (perhaps a roundtable at Association conventions) through which those interested in the teaching or research of accounting history could hear papers and exchange ideas. Accounting history is the study of the evolution in accounting thought, practices and institutions in response to changes in the environment and societal needs. It also considers the effect that this evolution has worked on the environment. While the committee believes that a separate course on accounting history should not be required at either the undergraduate or graduate level, such a course should be available as an elective at the graduate level. Doctoral candidates should be required to demonstrate an appreciation of the historical dimensions of current thought, practices and institutions, either by written or oral examination.

The article discusses a new emphasis for introductory accounting instruction. The purpose of this note is to present a proposed outline for a two semester introductory accounting course. The outline reflects beliefs regarding the direction in which introductory accounting education should and will evolve in the near future. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate discussion and research directed at improving the introductory accounting course, and in particular will encourage experimentation with new approaches in the development of teaching materials for the course. Basically it is felt that the outline provides a broader perspective of accounting, and a more balanced emphasis on breadth and depth, to the beginning student of accounting. People are critical of many, if not most, contemporary introductory accounting courses for providing too narrow a perspective by means of an overemphasis on the procedures and techniques of accounting. Accountants certainly do not advocate that procedures and techniques are not an integral part of introductory accounting. However, the outline does entail a reduction of emphasis on procedures and techniques, which is counterbalanced by an increase in emphasis on such matters as normative as well as positive views of the accounting function, the role of accounting in economic and social processes, an historical perspective, and an exposure to the variety of activities and dimensions which are encompassed by the accounting discipline, including not only financial and managerial accounting, but also auditing, information systems, taxation, quantitative methods, behavioral accounting and accounting theory.

This article focuses on how electronic data processing (EDP) auditing topics can be introduced in accounting curricula in the U.S. Members of the American Accounting Association's Committee on Accounting Education and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant's Computer Education Subcommittee formed a Task Force to review the emphasis of EDP in an undergraduate auditing curriculum. The members concluded that, in general, there appears to be a minimal amount of study related to EDP in undergraduate auditing courses. It was also noted that even where there was exposure, for example through an "Introduction to Data Processing" course or a COBOL or FORTRAN programming course, there was little or no orientation as to the effect of EDP on auditing. One indication of the lack of emphasis on EDP in auditing courses is the limited EDP coverage in popular auditing textbooks. Three leading auditing textbooks devote only few pages on EDP auditing. There are not only few pages on auditing in these texts, but the topic of EDP auditing is treated as separate subject matter.

There is a healthy difference of opinion concerning the scope which may justly be assigned the accounting courses of a well-integrated collegiate curriculum in business administration at both the undergraduate and at the graduate levels. There are clearly discernible trends of emphasis among the offerings of the collegiate schools of business in the United States. Although educational forces may be detected and projected into the future with questionable accuracy, it is possible to secure some guidance in accounting curriculum policy-making by an exploratory survey of current conditions. Interpretive observations of any great validity must await a full-scale research endeavor aimed at the renovation and refurbishment of the accounting curriculum in the light of reliable evidence that such changes would be justified by sound educational aims. This paper is an attempt to "sift out" some of the educational forces which have formed our accounting curricula of the past and which may be expected to shape the developments of the future. An important set of forces is contributing to the development of the field of administrative accounting and may be expected to affect the basic curricula of our schools of business and industrial administration. There is considerable apparent argument concerning the degree of emphasis which should be assigned the currently basic segments of the administrative curriculum. The liaison (and the quality of the relationships) between the staff of the divisions of marketing, finance, management, economics and accounting often has an important bearing upon the content and scope of the accounting courses which will be offered by the accounting division.

The topic assigned, that of discussing the graduate accounting curriculum from the viewpoint of schools offering undergraduate concentration in accounting, presents an opportunity to explore various phases of a most interesting and important subject. Prior to the twentieth century graduate work appeared to be limited to a high type of scholarship looking toward an intellectual career as opposed to a professional career. Accounting is universally recognized today as a profession ranking close if not on par with the older professional pursuits. The American Institute of Accountants has made extensive progress in preparing tests to ferret out those individuals with accounting aptitudes. Of late there has been developing some sentiment among some professors in some schools that the time put into writing a formal thesis could be better used in some other direction, such as additional courses or even field work. The MBA candidate should be required to pass a comprehensive test either written or oral or both. This examination to have any meaning and significance should be taken seriously by the examining committee as well as by the candidate.

Intelligent consideration of the variety of techniques available for the purpose of testing a person's understanding of a subject presupposes agreement with respect to the nature of the accomplishment expected from its study. Since it is the purpose to review the methods, which may be used to examine students in courses in advanced accounting, it is essential, therefore, that accounting teachers be clear about what they expect such students to have gained through their study. It seems obvious that a person who is pursuing an advanced course in any subject may be presumed to have successfully completed work that is not only preliminary but also prerequisite to it. Even in an elementary course there must be stages of progress, and it is doubtful if universal agreement could be obtained concerning the exact altitude of the plane that separates an advanced course in accounting from an elementary one. It is logical to expect more ground to be covered in a six-hour course than in a four-hour course; on the other hand, the coverage in the six-hour course may be no more extensive, but merely more thorough within a given range than in the four-hour course.

Reports on an experimental program on accounting conducted by the authors at West Virginia University in Morgantown during the 1972 fall semester. Comments concerning the course; List of outside resource people who participated in the course; Outline of the course.

Members of the faculty of the accounting department at the University of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana has come to the conclusion that they want to be judged by the number of students who successfully pass the course rather than by the number who fail to pass. The elementary-accounting course is a four-semester-hour course, running through both semesters of the freshman year. The classes meet twice a week for one hour each time, and there are no laboratory or directed study periods between recitations. The freshman course is followed by a six-hour sophomore course, which is really quite a jump from the work of the first year. The sophomore work presupposes almost complete mastery of the fundamental principles of debit and credit, account and statement classification, and the common knowledge required for closing a set of books. By using the objective test it is possible to give more frequent tests and thus inform the student early in the course and repeatedly during the course of his achievement. The student is able to adjust himself to the course requirements without waiting until the mid-term or final examination when it is too late for adjustment.

This article focuses on changes in accounting curricula at the university level in the U.S. The curricula is being modified to keep abreast of the profession's needs, but the full extent of that change and its impact upon other professional activities are difficult to measure. The purpose of this article is to identify several major trends presently manifested in university curricula, to relate these to major changes in staff training and professional development activities, and to suggest conclusions concerning the impact of one upon the other. A two-part study was undertaken to gather the data from which these conclusions are drawn. The first part of the study was a detailed analysis of the staff training programs and activities of 10 national public accounting firms, covering a 6-year period, 1966-72. The second consisted of an opinion survey of 150 leading college and university professors throughout the United States, undertaken in an effort to identify their perception of changes in accounting education.

The article presents a report of the 1971-1972 Committee on the Junior (Community) College Curriculum of the American Accounting Association (AAA) which provided recommendations to improve cooperation between community colleges and junior colleges. Students generally do not decide to major in accounting until their freshman or sophomore year in college. The number of students who transfer from community colleges to complete the baccalaureate degree with a major in accounting is steadily increasing. Two-year colleges are growing so rapidly that some day they may provide most of the introductory accounting education. The AAA should sponsor workshops, seminars, and/or courses that would acquaint community college teachers with innovative teaching methods as well as the significant concepts developed in recent years. The AAA should step up efforts to attract community college teachers to the regional and national meetings.

The article identifies and discusses some of the essential variables that affect course structure and contents. A particular course is described by reference to a broad general outline. The depth and coverage of a course are determined by a number of variables that are present in all curriculums. These variables can assume a wide variety of values and combinations, and should be evaluated in any given situation prior to designing the systems course. The accounting systems course should be approached with the understanding that the over-all concept of systems extends beyond accounting. The accountant must expand his scope to meet the business's expanded informational needs. The accounting systems course should enable the student to cope with the broader demands of business in the areas of decision-making and electronic data processing. The assignments are made to provide as much exposure to the various subjects as possible. The average reading assignment for each of the thirty class periods consists of at least two chapters in a text, or two articles from current periodicals.

The article focuses on the controversy regarding the nature of education and the means by which a state of being educated is achieved. The education of the individual consists of the impact on his mind of the entire stream of phenomena encountered during his lifetime. Formal education is only one sector of the whole process, and presumably not the most important element in many cases. A school should be regarded as a specialized undertaking, not as the embodiment of all human experience and activity, in a miniature. A school should concentrate on the training and learning that can be accomplished more speedily and effectively in an institutional setting than through general day-by-day experience. Moreover, the school should not only restrict its efforts to fields which lend themselves to attack in classroom and laboratory but should give primary attention to subjects that are acknowledged to be especially significant and worthwhile. In making a start on the task of sets ting standards for selecting subjects to be taught it may be helpful to take note of some broad principles.

This article discusses the challenges to the accounting profession. Accounting education is under pressure from a number of directions. It is caught in the current criticism of all undergraduate schools of business that education for business generally is not sufficiently rigorous, that it has neglected the basic disciplines, that it is too specialized, that it emphasizes procedures and descriptions rather than being analytical in nature, and that all in all it has forsaken the liberal approach and ought to be revised substantially. Professional accountants question accounting education on other grounds. They continually seek not only professionally oriented programs but professional stature as well and are concerned lest the absence of professional schools have undesirable implications, both educationally and prestige-wise. From the functional fields of business, which are agreed that all students of business should have some acquaintance with accounting, one receives complaints that the elementary courses are intended primarily for accounting majors and fail to give non-accounting majors the kind of familiarity with accounting that they need for their purposes.

Accreditation is probably one of the most talked about and least understood facets of academia. There are almost as many definitions of accrediting, as there are speeches on the subject. Most definitions come to the same conclusions with perhaps different worth or rearrangement of words. Accrediting is frequently based upon some compromise, whether it is a compromise on the part of those exercising judgment about the accredited status of an institution, or compromise in the selection of those who are delegated the responsibility of making such judgments. In addition to two functions of transferability of credits and encouragement of academic excellence, accreditation serves to protect the public in that it distinguishes good programs from poor programs. Furthermore in certain professions, such as accounting, it may serve as the basis for certification or licensure. The article should also involve a recognized accrediting agency, which in the case of business, of which accounting is a part, is the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business.

The article presents information on accounting curriculum. In the past several years, reform of the collegiate curriculum in business administration has developed into a modern Crusade. The acknowledged enemy is stultifying specialization; the sanctioned goal, a liberal education. Unfortunately, as in most such movements, the participants have often disagreed over just what or who the enemy is, as well as the shortest and safest route to the objective, which is only vaguely defined. As a result, more than a little confusion has attended our deliberations on a worth-while cause. Due to the necessary lack of precision in the sciences dealing with human conduct, an inductive, empirical approach to the problem is impossible. Instead, proposals for changing the old order have had to make the best of fragmentary factual data and theories from educational psychology. In a few cases ethical considerations have been introduced, despite the extreme hazards involved. The arguments of the innovators often fail to carry their conclusions. Only time can finally clarify all the issues involved and judge the adequacy and wisdom of the many changes which have been frequently proposed and occasionally adopted.

In relation to the comments concerning the laws of learning and their application to accounting instruction, attention will be focused upon some of the learning methods with which accounting teachers are all generally familiar. These methods are commonly labeled teaching methods by many of the people but, for a more proper designation, should be expressed in terms of learning. Too many instructors in their enthusiasm for subject matter either forget or tend to subordinate the role of the student in the learning process. All too frequently one need to be reminded that one is not just teaching subject matter but rather that one is teaching students. It is readily recognized that there is no effective teaching-taking place if leaning does not result. Accounting is a diverse field and covers a wide range of materials, from basic bookkeeping processes to abstract theoretical concepts. This permits and necessitates an equally wide range in educational methodology. To determine the best learning-teaching method to employ is indeed a complex question. The author believes there is no one best way. A variety of methods is no doubt essential within a given course and even a combination of several methods proves most useful within a single class period.

The movement for improved management started in Chile with the establishment of the Faculties of Economics and Business Administration. Besides universities, two institutions have played an important role in the development of management in Chile. Accounting attained its present development with the establishment of the Faculties of Economics and Business Administration, in which a complete curriculum in accounting was developed. This curriculum includes courses such as: General Accounting, Specialized Accounting, Cost Accounting and Auditing. In the last few years, the government of Chile has recognized many problem and now it is possible to depreciate according to the cost of replacement. The cost of replacement is only used in the tax aspect. In other words, the different accounts in the balance sheet are not modified in value as a consequence of the depreciation based on the cost of replacement. The great advantage of the present system is that it allows business firms to make adequate depreciation.

The article discusses several issues related to accounting as a social science. The current stress on a broader education for accountants is, according to the author, something of a reaction against the improper emphasis now found in many of the educational programs. The response to this stress is not a five-year program in which one turn one's students back to the liberal arts colleges until they become a little older, after which one will promptly teach them the same material in the same way but under a higher course number. The real answer is to develop an approach to the teaching of accounting that is itself liberal because it stresses fundamentals, ideas, and research rather than mere practice and procedure. This is the kind of approach that will produce social scientists for the future and assure the long-run progress of accountancy. To each of accountants is given the opportunity to see accounting for what it is, a social science of great potential service and substantial responsibility. If accountants accept fully the role of accounting educator with its attendant responsibility for helping accounting realize its potential, accountants too may become social scientists and in at least some measure equal to their times.

The article presents information on essential subject matter for a one-year basic accounting course offered to non-accounting students. Accounting principles, as topics should be included in the course under consideration for understanding and interpreting with technical proficiency. Significantly among the topics not included were many which are traditionally covered in elementary texts. Work Sheets, Voucher System, Practice Set, Reversing and Alternative Adjusting Entries, Ruling and Balancing Journals and Ledgers, Admission of a Partner by Purchase of an Investment or an Investment Considering Goodwill or Bonus, Defaulted Subscriptions of Capital Stock, Treasury Stock Transactions, and Sale of Registered and Coupon Bonds: Determining Interest on Bonds Issued Between Interest Dates, Amortizing Premium or Discount. Additional research is needed to indicate the degree of coverage, chapter division, number of hours, and other pertinent details concerning the topics favored for inclusion in a basic course for non-accounting majors.

Two weeks at this pace is a grueling experience for students and instructors alike. Nevertheless, every applicant who has ever started the course has stayed with it until the end. It will be noticed that the course is concluded with consolidation. Although this may not be the most appropriate sequence it has been deliberately placed at the end because it has been found that most students have a very limited background in this area and are anxious to learn as much as they can about it. It has also been found that if by any chance a student has become over-confident during the sessions, a couple of days on Consolidations will dispel any conceited notions. Despite the intensive nature of the course, two weeks are hardly enough time to prepare adequately for the CPA examinations. It is emphasized that these two weeks are only a beginning. The program is simply an attempt to reorient the student who has lost the habit of systematic study to force him to discipline himself to carry on a program of preparation for the exam after the course has terminated, and to point out specific weaknesses in his background.

Almost all universities with accounting major programs are engaged in a sweeping overhaul of their curricula. The subject matter of each course is being carefully studied to determine how well it fulfills the objectives of the course. The objectives themselves are under close scrutiny. With this attention to the course objectives and content it is perhaps a particularly appropriate time to have a look at new developments in methods of teaching accounting. Significant developments are taking place in both methods of teaching and supplemental aids available for the use of the student. Some of the more important areas warrant our consideration. Business games, at their best, are simulations of business conditions which require a sequence of decisions from the players. Results of these decisions are fed back to the players through periodic financial and other reports, and new decisions are then required. Only incomplete information is available and decisions must be based upon anticipation of the probable result of both their own team action and that of competing teams.

Periodic budgeting, as practiced in industry and taught in the accounting curriculum, combines estimates by individual departments in a process of coordinative aggregation. The purpose is to supply management with a financial plan for future operations. Frequently, budgeting is charged with the more ambitious task of finding the most profitable course for an enterprise. If this means selecting a combination of managerial policies which optimizes the long-term profit of the enterprise, the above definition of the purpose of this discipline seems to overstate the potential of traditional budgeting activity. It makes the layman believe that this area of accounting is in a position to determine optimal solutions. Undoubtedly this is not the case since budgeting traditionally neither applies any algorism to optimize the long term profit function nor provides any means for determining and comparing all the alternatives resulting from the innumerable factor and policy combinations feasible for an enterprise.

This article focuses on an accounting course for majors and non-majors. The standard elementary accounting text is designed to suit the needs of accounting majors only. Such a text necessarily contains much technical material and is designed for two 3-credit courses covering one academic year. Hence at institutions where only a standard course is offered, many students with a less than professional interest in accounting are probably discouraged from taking any accounting courses. The standard text starts with the assumption that the student has no knowledge of accounting and very little knowledge of business practice. It takes him through as much theoretical and practical material as can be fitted into that period of time, theory and practice being blended or alternated. Neither can be properly studied without the other. A student who really wants merely an introduction to accounting and business practice must, therefore, ordinarily take a full year course. This problem points up the need for a one year course, the first semester of which will serve as a survey course for the non-accountants as well as an introductory course for the accounting major.

Fundamental income tax concepts should be taught in the elementary accounting course. The important reasons for this contention are: (1) Students are interested in the subject of income tax, and they have a need for tax knowledge. (2) Some accounting topics are taught better through the comparison of income tax and conventional accounting treatment. (3) A benefit may accrue to the teaching of the income tax accounting courses since accounting students will bring a better grounding in tax fundamentals to the course. Greater depth of treatment may be possible than is presently the case in courses in income tax accounting. (4) Students majoring in business education will be better prepared for their teaching duties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the organization of an accounting program in the U.S. According to the author, the accountant of the future, because of his specialty in quantitative controls, will be expected to have a more thorough grounding in numerical analysis, mathematical statistics, and courses involving operations-research, than perhaps any of the other specialties in the management group. He must have an educational background which is as broad as the background of prospective manager. Any steps which have the effect of pulling accounting education away from the business framework in which it has its origin, are steps in the wrong direction. the "ideal" educational program for professional accountants, would consist of an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, a two-year program in business, followed by whatever professional accounting work might be considered appropriate for the university to offer. Additional work in accounting at the professional level is a long-run problem which should be the joint responsibility of university accounting faculties and professional development programs.

Three main areas bearing attention upon professional education in accounting are the nature of professional education, the objectives of professional education and the implementation of professional education. Most of the recent articles and discussions propose as cures new administrative frameworks, within which accounting education would proceed, and⁄or recommendations to extend the formal educational time period. The study of accounting requires a student to take several courses in sequence before he can take very many courses in accounting concurrently. Professional education in accounting should encompass all collegiate educational preparation for an accounting career, including Liberal, cultural and non-business collegiate study, basic education in accounting, business and related fields and advanced study in accounting, business and related fields. Professional education in accounting, then, involves a well-rounded collegiate program utilizing problem materials drawn from practice and from the current literature, with instruction in the hands of a faculty which is well grounded both in theory and in practical experience. Professional education in accounting is achieved when the educational program successfully fulfills the various objectives in preparing the student for a career in accounting.

The need for more efficient utilization of the teaching staff is particularly pressing today, as of April 01, 1959. The student body is expected to double in less than fifteen years yet a doubling of the teaching staff is not in sight. Education is far broader than the mere presenting of information which the student is expected to memorize and to write down on some test. All subject matter cannot be acquired merely by reading. Listening to the story, discussing the matter, witnessing a demonstration and practicing are also useful learning devices. Lecture and demonstration can be done before very large groups with mechanical aids. Practice under supervision can be done in large groups if there are assistants roaming the room to help where needed. Discussion groups when kept small and adequately handled can achieve remarkable results. An area to consider for achieving better utilization of manpower is to abandon the time-honored subdivision of subject matter into many small categories. From these, today's student selects a menu of about five courses a term for eight terms.

Statistics relating to accounting majors and programs give an idea of the statistics of demand for accounting education, which is merely the other side of the coin indicating the statistics of supply for the country over. Some estimate of the social importance of the subject is also possible from the figures. The statistics show the relative importance of accounting in the total offerings of collegiate schools of business. Data available are of use in still other ways, including the problems they raise as to teacher supply and logistics of space and time in scheduling classes, providing physical facilities, etc. An interesting disclosure is the extent to which "general" courses, representing the usual elementary, intermediate and advanced study in general accounting, cut into total hours offered. The one-year course in cost accounting that is found in more and more schools covers important topics that still take an inordinate amount of space and attention in so-called intermediate accounting courses.

The discussion in this article is centered on the broader aspects and implications of professional education for persons who have already joined the staffs of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) or who may be practicing as CPA's. There is a serious lack of basic material for the preparation of continuing education courses and lectures. A portion of this lack arises from the confidentiality of much of the work done by CPAs. This reluctance to discuss clients limits the give and take necessary in a continuing education course. The lack of a deep and strong rapport between universities and the CPA profession will be a partially limiting factor until it is corrected. The comparatively high turnover of CPA staff members, especially at the lower echelons, is a handicap in promoting a widespread continuing education program. Another handicap in the path of CPA continuing education programs is the major amount of out-of-town work which some firms have. The large seasonal factor in public accounting work is also a limiting feature.

More than 600,000 young men and women are expected to pursue programs in collegiate business education by 1970. This will double the present enrollment, according to the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business. Unless drastic steps are taken there will be a shortage of 2,800 teachers in business schools and departments alone. Accounting departments will be among the first to feel the impact of this "impending tidal wave" of students. A round table discussion to consider what accounting departments could do to meet the many problems associated with increasing enrollments was conducted at the 1957 American Accounting Association Convention. In preparation for the session the chairmen undertook an analysis of present teaching practices in elementary accounting throughout the country in the hope that the information collected would be useful in evaluating the different solutions that might be proposed. At the same time, accounting teachers should be preparing themselves for the parts which they are to play in planning their participation in the education of young people in and out of college about the developments in the field of electronic data processing. The purpose of this article is to give accounting teachers a point of contact with electronic data processing, omitting specialized terms and techniques, with sufficient information, so that interest may be created and action may be taken in changing curricula in accounting.

This article discusses about some common misconceptions relating to accounting education. There has been a considerable amount of discussion during the past several years concerning accounting education. Some notions advanced have been based on misinformation or misunderstanding. Others have resulted from a lack of knowledge of some of the factors present. Some of the misconceptions are concerned with the general nature of accounting education, some consider suggested objectives or specific proposals, and some relate to the teaching of accounting. Probably the most common misconception today is that the study of accounting should blindly follow the same pattern as the study of some other professional field such as law or medicine. A second popular misconception, is the notion that accounting majors have had practically no courses other than accounting. A third area of confusion, is that employers are anxious to have accounting majors that complete a five or six year program before seeking employment. Many so-called problems are being posed today which many pessimistically portray as insurmountable. If the experiences of the past are indicative, it can be expected that changes which evolve, will represent continued progress and that accounting education will keep pace with the increasing responsibilities assigned to it.

The article presents a practitioners plea for more training in written English in United States. According to the author, in last few years he has seen a good many expressions in print, not only from the public accounting profession but from other professions, businesses, and from academicians, complaining of the almost universal inability of the college graduate of today to express himself either in writing or orally. The author says that the present time not enough is being done in the university world to bring home to the students how important good writing is, and to teach them how to become adept in it. He is convinced that the jobs not something which can be or should be handled by the faculty members in the schools of business administration who are concerned with the teaching of business subjects, but rather should be turned over to specialists in English teaching. Provision should be made in every required course leading up to a Bachelors of Business Administration degree for at least a full two semester course in English composition and style, consisting of intensive writing and criticism, writing and criticism, and more writing and criticism.

Report of the Commission on Standards of Education and Experience for Certified Public Accountants (C.P.A.) has at one fell swoop placed a frightening responsibility, a magnificent opportunity and a sweeping challenge before the U.S.'s accounting educators. This report, in recommending a shift from experience to education as the major element in securing the C.P.A. certificate, also states categorically "the formal educational preparation of candidates for the profession needs to be more thorough and comprehensive than is now provided by most educational institutions." It was suggested that schools of business must provide curricula which will equip young men and women for the world of their future as well as the world of today. This task will require a complete re-examination of the present educational program. Constant reappraisal of objectives will be necessary as a consequence of the drastic changes in prospect for business and for the U.S. economy. College administrators and faculties must be bold, resourceful, and imaginative. Action is required to develop a long-range program.

The article focuses on updating of accounting curriculum. Many accounting departments in schools of business have adjusted their curricula to meet these modern requirements or are working in that direction. The reasons for the unsatisfactory situation can be traced back to the early growth of accounting practice and the teaching of accounting at the college level. New professional organizations were established such as the Controllers Institute of America and the National Association of Cost Accountants. But none of these has been able to match the strongly entrenched prestige of the organizations of certified public accountants. Free the accounting curriculum from the present predominant orientation toward financial accounting and the topics included in the CPA examination, and give equal space and time to the other major applications of accounting, particularly in the managerial field. Recognizing what the needs of students are and then adapt the curriculum to meet these needs. In order to do this, it will be necessary to do research to determine what areas of knowledge, if any, can best be imparted in the classroom, and which areas might better be more efficiently and effectively carried on by doctoral students.

The article focuses on electronic data processing in the accounting curriculum. The author mentions that growing development in the field of electronic computers and their potential use in processing business and accounting data has prompted course offering in this area. He enumerates the content that should be included in a university-level course in the area of accounting. He brings into consideration the programming of a system which includes planning, systems analysis, flow charting, coding and the other functions necessary to integrate the new system into business. He discusses the question of whether an electronic computer is necessary to teach a course or not, stating that it is necessary for elementary courses in data processing. Questions pertaining to the requisites for courses, the department which should offer system courses and the text material to be used in such courses and the availability of instructors in data processing and the training necessary for prospective instructors have been examined.

The article discusses generally acceptable objectives formulated to guide the development of course content, instruction, and curricula for the undergraduate program in accounting. These can be checked for validity by applying the test of reasonableness. This is a widely used accounting test, particularly in cost distributions. This same test is used to evaluate the pronouncements of the Research Committees of the American Institute of Accountants. The Standards Rating Committee has proposed a four-year program, while many hold the viewpoint that either five-year courses, or four years of undergraduate work, and one year of graduate work, are necessary for adequate training. The committee apparently favors a five-year program, but at the same time recognizes the inherent difficulty of such at this time. Specialization is necessary but not at the undergraduate level. A broad foundation will enable the student to become a better specialist. The failure to provide a means which will enable the student to integrate the many ideas received in diverse courses is another deficiency.