Cascio, Theia A.

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eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi)

Woman C.P.A. Volume 14 Issue 4 Article 6 6-1952 Idea Exchange - Microfilming Theia A. Cascio Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/wcpa  Part of the Accounting Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Cascio, Theia A. (1952) "Idea Exchange - Microfilming," Woman C.P.A.: Vol. 14 : Iss. 4 , Article 6. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/wcpa/vol14/iss4/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Archival Digital Accounting Collection at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Woman C.P.A. by an authorized editor of eGrove. For more information, please contact egrove@olemiss.edu. was incurred to conserve the remainder of his income-producing property by freeing it from gift tax liability but thought the expense only indirectly related to such con­servation. U. S. v. Joseph T. Lykes, 188 Fed (2d) 964.Present day taxpayers might be happier with more “broad substantial justice” in their tax laws and regulations, and less up­holding by the courts of technical regula­tions designed to secure more tax than the law allows.IDEA EXCHANGE—microfilmingBy THEIA A. CASCIO, Sherman Oaks, CaliforniaMicrofilming is the process of photo­graphing records on very small film. The film is usually of the cellulose acetate form, which is slow burning and quite safe to handle. A storage manual put out by Na­tional Furniture Warehousemen’s Associa­tion has some pertinent data on microfilm which should be of interest to those who have the responsibility for the long-time storage of old files and records.Microfilming has a limited field by rea­son of its cost and the physical limitations of photography. Its best application is where large quantities of uniform size rec­ords can be duplicated; such as a lot of 100,- 000 record cards, all the same size, or a quantity of insurance policies or similar uniform documents, bank checks, govern­ment records, ledgers, military records, etc. For most efficient photographing, filing and reading back, records that are filed numeri­cally are best adapted to microfilming.There are many limitations as to what can be photographed successfully. Colored papers, faint mimeographed records, blurred carbon copies, tissues and hecto­graphed forms are not recommended. Rec­ords to be kept less than five years are not considered generally for microfilming.The cost of microfilming records is con­siderably higher than the usual system of record storage such as can be offered by storage warehouses. Equipment is usually sold on a rental basis, allowing rentals for a designated period to apply on the outright purchase. A government publication states that the cost of photographing a four- drawer file is about $70.00, exclusive of the cost of film and the time and service of a person to select, remove clips, etc., in pre­paring the papers for the camera, also the time necessary for indexing. A service com­pany that microfilms records quoted a price of $100.00 to $125.00 per four-drawer file unit, or the filming of 1000 uniform letters 11 x 8½ inches for $8.00. These costs de­liver the microfilms in the roll. If the rec­ords are to be referred to, reader equipment is an additional cost.The Advantages of microfilming will be better ascertained after a longer trial and error period. The greatest advantage is the saving in space. Space saving is approxi­mately 90%. One roll of film held in the palm of the hand contains 3,000 records of letters 11 x 8½ inches, which explains the advantage of transportation of records.Microfilmed records cannot be altered in any way; and it is contended that misfiling is eliminated.There are the Disadvantages, too. Re­ductions are so small the information is not easily read, even with the reader projector. When the records are arranged numerically from No. 1 up, or alphabetically, it is simple to locate a record; but when you have mis­cellaneous data in files, not easily arranged alphabetically or numerically, it is difficult to index for rapid reference.The time required to find a record is much greater than would be required if the rec­ord were available in the regular file drawer. The War Department reports cases where 25 cards were located in 17 minutes from a regular file, whereas the same searches on microfilm required 75 minutes. When you have to read a microfilm record you must go to a reading projecting machines, which may or may not be near at hand. Thus, mi­crofilm record cannot be sent to someone who has no reading machine.Courts question the legality of microfilm records in some cases, when introduced as evidence. For example, the Bureau of In­ternal Revenue has found it undesirable and impractical to attempt to make tax de­terminations on the basis of microfilm re­productions of general books of accounts, such as cash books, journals, voucher regis­ters, ledgers, minute books, etc. However, taxpayers can use microfilms of supporting records provided certain facilities are main­tained such as projectors, etc. (Ruling of Bureau of Internal Revenue I.T. 3866, 1947- 2C.B.)Tests show that when microfilm is ex­posed for a long period of time to a tem­pera of 200 degress in the presence of steam or to a dry temperature at 300 degrees for a short period the film warps and is no longer usable.15

Idea Exchange - Microfilming

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Idea Exchange - Microfilming

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