HFOLBE CAR MADE AND PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN Jift of F. P. Mitting PREFACE THE author of this book is not to be numbered amongst those who decry purely theoretical study. On the contrary, it is his opinion that until the student has carefully explored the theory of a subject in all its bearings, he is not in the way to become a really reliable practical exponent of it, certainly he is not equipped to the point when any new advance in practice may be expected of him. Nothing can be more sterile than the endless logomachy to which, in a certain type of mind, the study of theory often descends; but then nothing is more dangerous than the all too facile handling of large questions by those who have acquired their knowledge by rote, and can give no reasons for their acts or decisions. The unreality of any antithesis between theory and practice is apparent when we consider the meaning of the word "accounting." Though it is variously used, the popular understanding of the word, which defines it as the practical application to account-keeping of the science or theory of book-keeping is perhaps the truest, and this is the meaning that is suggested by a perusal of the syllabuses and examination papers of the various examining bodies. There we see that theory and practice are not antithetical, but complementary. In the examinations of some of these bodies, accounting is the subject of a separate paper which follows upon the advanced examinations in book-keeping. In the accounting paper, it is assumed that the student has already acquired an adequate knowledge of book-keeping by double entry. He is not required to prove his capacity to prepare Trading and Profit and Loss Accounts, Balance Sheets, or similar statements, but he is expected to be able to apply this capacity, and his general knowledge of double-entry book-keeping, "to the varying needs of commercial undertakings, charities, etc.," and to adapt both "to the differing needs of private traders, joint-stock and other companies, and institutions." He is also expected to possess adequate knowledge of such general matters of accounting as 547619 |