Reprint of Principles of accounting;Principles of accounting

              The Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 15, No. 1 Spring 1988
A REPRINT OF PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING*
By A. A. Fitzgerald
In the Editoral, under the title "Principles of Accounting," in the February issue of the journal, reference was made to the Tentative Statement of Accounting Principles Underlying Corpo-rate Financial Statements published by the Executive Commit-tee of the American Accounting Association in the June, 1936, issue of The Accounting Review.
Another important publication on a similar subject, though of wider scope, has just reached Australia. This is the report, by Professors T. H. Sanders (Harvard), H. R. Hatfield (University of California) and Underhill Moore (School of Law, Yale University), made at the invitation of the Haskins and Sells Foundation on the subject of accounting principles. The executive committee of the American Institute of Accountants, believing "the report contained in this booklet to be a highly valuable contribution to the discussion of accounting princi-ples," has authorized its publication, under the title, A State-ment of Accounting Principles, for distribution to all members of the Institute and others interested in accounting. Australian students of American accounting texts will share the belief of the Executive Committee of the Institute that "the standing of the three authors who collaborated in the work will assure a wide and respectful hearing." Copies may be obtained from the American Institute of Accountants, 135 Cedar Street, New York, at 75 cents a copy.
The publication of the Report, following on the discussions by members of the American Accounting Association, suggests a growing disposition on the part of the accountancy profession in America to explore the possibilities of developing a body of principles which might become accepted as standard practice. The direction of thought along this line has doubtless been accelerated in recent years by the activities, publications and pronouncements of such bodies as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Internal Revenue Bureau and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as the Accountancy Institutes. Yet in spite of the efforts of these bodies, the Haskins and Sells Foundation, in its letter of invitation to the three authors of the report, expres-sed the view that "Accounting practices are based, in a large
*Reprinted with permission from The Australian Accountant, pp. 102-110, March 1938.