George O. May

Financial Accounting George O. May

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING- A Distillation of Experience by GEORGE O. MAY. Foreword: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING is now generally recognized as be ing primarily historical in character and as having for its most important function the extraction and presentation of the essence of the financial experience of businesses, so that decisions affecting the present and the future may be taken in the light of the past. The rules of accounting, even more than those of law, are the product of experience rather than of logic. Similarly, this book is an attempt to extract and present the essence of an experience in financial accounting in the hope that it may be helpful to those called upon to deal with the problems of the future. It is not the result of a study and appraisal of authorities, and the views that are expressed are those of its author alone indeed, publication has been delayed until formal ties and official positions which might have been deemed, to imply more than a personal responsibility for them have been relinquished. In part, it is based on lectures delivered at the Graduate School of Busi ness Administration of Harvard University and papers writ ten for other purposes since 1936. A few passages have been reproduced from the volume which those who were then partners, with generous insight, prepared in that year to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the authors assumption of senior partnership. The writing of such a book seemed to be justified by the fact that the experience on which it is based extended over a period of exceptional interest and was enriched by close association with men of eminence here and abroad, not only in accounting but in government, business, finance, law, and economics. Contents include: CHAPTER PAGE I. THE NATURE OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ... i II. THE USES OF ACCOUNTS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON ACCOUNTING 14 HI. ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES AND POSTULATES ... 37 IV. HISTORICAL 51 V. COST AND VALUE 86 VI. COST 108 VII. DEPRECIATION 118 VIII. DEPRECIATION AND REGULATION SINCE 1918 . . 130 IX. DEPRECIATION METHODS DEPLETION INTANGIBLES 145 X. INVENTORIES AND COMMITMENTS ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE 172 XL LIABILITIES v 191 XII. INCOME 215 XIII. FORMS OF STATEMENTS 240 XIV. ACCOUNTING AND REGULATION 254 GENERAL INDEX 267 CASES CITED 273 IX