Corporate asset revaluations: 1925-1934

Early SEC filings for 110 corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange are used to summarize the extent and accounting treatment of asset revaluations during the period 1925-1934. The findings, considered with a brief review of the relevant contemporary accounting literature, lead to the conclusion that the popular conception of extensive and misleading revaluations is generally unsupported. Significantly, no firm in the sample increased reported earnings during the period 1925-1929 as a result of asset revaluations

Developing Student Enthusiasm: Interaction With Professionals In A Professional Environment

While not necessarily a primary responsibility, most business faculty members work to build student enthusiasm for the faculty member’s discipline.  This manuscript describes a project intended to accomplish that objective, as well as, several other objectives.  Specifically, it is used in the Introductory Accounting course, but could be adapted to other disciplines as well.  Groups of students visited and interviewed accounting professionals in their offices.  The students then prepared and presented written and oral reports.  Benefits included exposing students to real-world environments and to successful professionals, and providing opportunities to practice team-building and oral and written communication skills.  In a post-assignment survey, both students and interview subjects felt the assignment was a valuable experience.  Further, a number of students demonstrated a greater level of enthusiasm for the accounting major

The Role Of Accounting In The Stock Market Crash Of 1929.

PhDAccountingUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/189985/2/7726229.pd

Amortizing Initial Direct Costs Of Capital Leases: Match Or Mismatch?

In this paper, we discuss the treatment of initial direct costs associated with direct financing capital leases, as specified by SFAS No. 91 and SFAS No. 98.  In particular, we show that this treatment results in a rather unusual (and, in our opinion, inappropriate) amortization pattern for initial direct costs over the lease term.  We then discuss alternative amortization methods that conceptually may better satisfy the matching principle