bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MOLECULAR EVALUATION OF ANTISTAPHYLOCOCCAL SECONDARY METABOLITES OF BACTERIAL ISOLATES FROM HOSPITAL WASTEWATER ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Rajan Pethannan Raja , Sudhakar Malla , Bhaskar Bhaskar , Gosh Anubroto , Karmakar Sachin
Published: June 2017

Objective: Antibiotics revolutionized medicine in the 20th century, and have together with vaccination led to the near eradication of diseases such as tuberculosis in the developed world. Their effectiveness and easy access led to overuse, especially in livestock raising, prompting bacteria to develop resistance. The lantibiotics form a particular group among the antimicrobial peptides and are characterized by unique structural features. They are produced by a group of bacteria against some gram-positive bacteria. The present study was designed to screen for the lantibiotic producing organisms from the hospital samples.Methods: The bacterial isolates were identified based on Bergey’s manual of bacteriology and screened for the epidermin gene by polymerase chain reaction amplification.Results: Of the 21 isolates screened, only 10 of them showed positive amplification for the epigene. Based on the biochemical characteristics, the isolates obtained were identified and labeled.Conclusion: Further study on the purification of the compound need to be done. Some bacterial samples may not have the epidermin gene which does not show amplification, this confers that the epidermin gene is absent in certain organisms.
ANALYSIS OF GUT FLORA FROM DAMP WOOD TERMITES (TRINERVITERMES SPP.) AND EXTRACTION, CHARACTERIZATION OF CELLULASE FROM THE ISOLATE
Authors: Narendrakumar G , Nmd Saikrishna , P Prakash , Tv Preethi
Published: June 2017

Objective: The objective of the study was to isolate, characterize, identify, and compare the potentials of cellulolytic strains isolated from the gut of damp wood termites (Trinervitermes species) collected from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.Methods: Termites were collected and used as hoard of cellulase producers and screened for the cellulase producers using carboxymethyl cellulose as the sole source of carbon and were authenticated using Congo red plate screening method. The isolates showing a significant zone of clearance were further confirmed by biochemically characterized.Results: Nine effective isolates were characterized and three strained were used for analysis. The organisms were subjected with substrate, temperature (25°C, 37°C, and 45°C), and pH to optimize the cultural condition. The enzyme activity was estimated using endoglucanase, FPase after incubating at appropriate conditions. Five isolates showing a significant zone of clearance were selected, out of which three belonged to Bacillus and one each to Staphylococcus. Optimization of media and genetic modification of the strains can further convalesce their competence. All the isolates have ensuring application in view of use in future.Conclusion: An effective strain of bacteria was isolated from the gut of termites can be used as a potential candidate for the production of cellulase in industries.
ASSESMENT OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY AND CYTOTOXICITY OF FREEZE DRIED HYDROALCOHOLIC EXTRACT OF Bidens andicola ON ISOLATED NEUTROPHILS
Authors: D Vinueza , E LÓpez , K Acosta , S Abdo
Published: June 2017

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxicity in vitro of hydroalcoholic extract of Bidens andicola.Methods: B. andicola hydroalcoholic extract was obtained from aerial parts of B. andicola, following a standardized methodology. Briefly, aerial parts of B. andicola were extracted with ethanol 70% v/v and defatted with n-hexane, hydroalcoholic fraction was concentrated under controlled conditions in a rotary evaporator, and finally the residue was freeze-drying to obtain the hydroalcoholic extract of B. andicola. Anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxicity assays were carried out using in vitro isolated neutrophils model using stable water-soluble tetrazolium salts.Results and Conclusions: The in vitro anti-inflammatory assay on isolated neutrophils demonstrated that the hydroalcoholic extract showed antiinflammatoryactivity compared to aspirin, with inflammatory inhibition percent values of 80.138±0.729 to hydroalcoholic extract of B. andicola and 82.117±0.762 to aspirin, each tested in five replicates at the concentration of 200 ppm of hydroalcoholic extract or reference.
ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF LEAF EXTRACTS OF HEMIDESMUS INDICUS (L.) R.BR. (ASCLEPIADACEAE).
Authors: H Abdul Kaffoor , K Muthuraj , K Arumugasamy
Published: June 2017

Objective: A number of Indian medicinal plants have been used for thousands of years in a traditional system of medicine. Hemidesmus indicus is an important member of the Asclepiadaceae family. It is an endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India. The aim of the study was to investigate the free radical scavenging activity of H. indicus. Methods: The aqueous and methanol leaf extracts of H. indicus were assayed for radical scavenging activity, using the stable free radical 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate and 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid). Results: The results revealed that the IC50 values of aqueous extract of H. indicus were found to be higher than that of the other solvent extracts. The free radical scavenging activity of the plant extracts may be due to the presence of phytoconstituents. Conclusion: In all the methods, the aqueous extract has exhibited the good scavenging activity and this arises that the plant has a potential antioxidant agent.
EFFECT OF POST-ISOMETRIC RELAXATION AND RECIPROCAL INHIBITION IN OSTEOARTHRITIS KNEE
Authors: Singh Sushmita , Jagtap Vaishali Krishnat , T Poovishnu Devi
Published: June 2017

Objectives : To evaluateeffect of post-isometric relaxation, reciprocal inhibition andcombined effect  post-isometric relaxation and reciprocal inhibition in osteoarthritis knee.Method :Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional Ethical Committee, KIMSDU karad. Comparative study conducted at Physiotherapy Dept. of Krishna Institute of medical sciences. A total of 30 subjectswere equally divided into three groups using Convenientsampling with random allocation(Group A,Group B and Group C).Baseline treatment was given to all three groups(IFT and HMP). Group A was given post-isometric relaxation, Group B was given reciprocal inhibition and Group C was given combination of post-isometric relaxation and reciprocal inhibition. Result: Statistical analysis was done using paired t test and ANOVA test. Inpre intervention there was no statistical significant difference seen with p values for VAS of 0.3408 and for WOMAC of 0.5424. While on comparing the post interventional values, the results between the three Groups using ANOVA test revealed that there was very significant difference seen with p value for VAS of 0.0023 and for WOMAC of  0.0019.Conclusion: From the study it can be concluded thatthere was significant effect of  post-isometric relaxation and reciprocal inhibition in OA knee.
ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL PROFILE OF PAJANELIA LONGIFOLIA (WILLD.) K. SCHUMAN.; POTENTIAL NEW SOURCES OF NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT.
Authors: Saha Priyanka , Talukdar Anupam Das , Choudhury Manabendra Dutta
Published: June 2017

Objectives: The aim of the present work is to screen the antioxidant potentiality of the bark extracts of Pajanelia longifolia (Willd.) K. Schuman, ethnomedicinally prescribed plant as hepatoprotective. Methods: Bark extract was prepared using Soxhlet apparatus. Total phenol, flavonoid, total alkaloid were analyzed using Folin–Ciocalteu assay, aluminum chloride calorimetric assay, atropine standard, respectively. Antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging potentialities were done by various in vitro methods, viz.; 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity, reducing power assay, metal chelating activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method. Result: Total phenol, flavonoid, and alkaloid were found to be highest in acetone extract of P. longifolia (Willd.) K. Schuman. Acetone extracts of the bark of P. longifolia (Willd.) K. Schuman showed very low inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) and effective concentration 50 values for DPPH assay and reducing power assay compared to other extracts. In hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity assay, the lowest IC50 value was recorded in acetone extract with 181.78±0.09 μg/ml in P. longifolia. The FRAP assay for P. longifolia acetone extract showed the highest activity at 967±0.69 μg/ml of ascorbic acid equivalent. The ferric reducing capacity and TBA values of the plant extracts confirmed the presence antioxidant principles in the bark of the said plant. Conclusion: These underused plants may be used for mitigating the detrimental effect of oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species-mediated disease and thus justifies its use in folklore medicines.
AMELIORATING THE METABOLIC DISORDER IN STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS BY HAEMATOCOCCUS PLUVIALIS EXTRACT
Authors: Elbaz Farouk Kamel , Aly Hanan F
Published: June 2017

Objective: The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the antidiabetic influence of Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluvialis) ethanolic extract on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced rats.Methods: This influence was assessed by measuring; asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), von willebrand factor (vWf), 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and lipoxin-A4 (LXA4). The histopathological examinations of cardiac and renal tissues were also performed.Results: The presented  results showed an elevation in the levels of ADMA, vWf, 15-LOXand 5-LOX with percentage increase  430.30, 77.54, 61.05 and 81.09 %, respectively in diabetic rats. However, the EGF and LXA4 levels were decreased significantly (44.17 and51.94%, respectively) compared to normal control rats. On the other hand, treatment of diabetic rats with H. pluvialis improved ADMA, vWf, 15-LOX, 5LOX, EGF and LXA4 levels with amelioration percentages; 269.69, 54.77, 55.78, 72.68, 53.39 and 56.58%, respectively. Additionally, the histopathological examination of diabetic cardiac tissue revealed congestion of myocardial blood vessel, vacuolation of the sarcoplasm of cardiac myocytes and focal necrosis of myocytes associated with inflammatory cells infiltration. Beside, vacuolation of epithelial lining of renal tubules and endothelial lining glomerular tuft as well as cystic dilatation of renal tubules were detected. However, cardiac tissue  and renal tubules of diabetic rats treated with H. pluvialis ethanolic extract (150 mg/kg b.wt.) showed normal cardiac myocytes, vacuolation of epithelial lining renal tubules and endothelial lining glomerular tuft, congestion of glomerular tuft and intertubular renal blood vessels.Conclusion: These results confirmed the improving role of H. pluvialis in controlling type 2diabetes.
ANTIBIOGRAM AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF VIBRIO CHOLERAE ISOLATED FROM MARINE FISH
Authors: Angelo Rwarinda U , Ramesh Samiraj Ramesh
Published: June 2017

Objective: Molecular identification and antibiotic susceptibility evaluation of Vibrio cholerae from marine fish available in local fish market Thanjavur, Tamil nadu, India.Methods: inoculation was done by using nutrient agar as general media and TCBS agar as selective media and confirmed as V.cholerae by Gram stain (Microscopic Observation), Growth characteristics of different media, Biochemical tests like Methyl Red Test, Nitrate Reduction Tests, Indole Test etc. Sensitivity (drug sensitivity) was done in Muller Hinton Agar (MH Agar) using disc diffusion method ten different antibiotics were used to evaluate the antibiogram profile, molecular detection was done by targeting 16S rRNA gene by using a universal primer.Results:  V.cholerae is present in marine fish samples, as showed by culture method and microscopic observation as well biochemical tests. PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene showed the amplification of targeted gene and antibiogram profile showed that isolates are more sensitive to Ampicillin in comparison with others antibiotics used in this study. Ampicillin can be used for V.cholerae infection by the physicians and amoxicillin must be avoided which is resistant.Conclusion: Molecular detection is safe and rapid methods for bacteria identification as revealed by PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene. As the isolates are more sensitive to Ampicillin in comparison with others antibiotics used in this study. Ampicillin can be used for V.cholerae infection by the physicians and amoxicillin and nitrofurantoin must be avoided.
GLUCOSE HOMEOSTATIC AND PANCREAS PROTECTIVE POTENTIAL OF TECOMELLA UNDULATA ROOT EXTRACT IN STREPTOZOTOCIN INDUCED DIABETIC RATS .
Authors: Lal Kanwar , Purohit Ashok , Ram Heera
Published: June 2017

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate glucose homeostatic and pancreas protective potential of Tecomella undulata root extract in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.Methods: The ethanolic root extract was prepared by following standard soxhlation methods. The experimental design was divided in to control and treated groups for 28 days of comparative experimental schedule. The body and organ weights, serum biochemistry, histo-pathology, hematology and toxicity profiles were assayed by following standard methods and protocols.Results: The treatment of ethanolic extract of root of T. undulata was significantly (p ≤ 0.001) reduced glucose levels at 7day, 14day, 21day and 28 days in comparison to standard drug of metformin. Correspondingly, lipid profile i.e. total cholesterol, HDL, VLDL, LDL and triglyceride were also altered significantly. Whereas, body and organs weight and hematological parameters were not shown significant changes. Subsequently, toxicity profile i.e. hepatic and renal parameters were remained under normal ranges. Corresponding, the treatment of ethanolic root extract caused normalcy of histoarchitecture of pancreas in comparison to standard drugs.Conclusion: The results of study illustrated that Tecomella undulata root extract possessing particular kind of phytocompounds which caused glucose homeostatic and pancreas protective potential in diabetic rats.
ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF IMIPENEM-CILASTATIN VERSUS DORIPENEM IN VENTILATORASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA IN EGYPT
Authors: Ashoush Nermeen
Published: June 2017

Objective: One of the most common complications of critical illness among surgical and trauma patients is ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The mortality rate increases due to inappropriate empiric treatment of VAP. The rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) VAP susceptibility to doripenem (DOR) are higher than those to imipenem-cilastatin (IMI). Cost-effectiveness analysis was developed to define outcome differences between strategies of empiric treatment of VAP with DOR versus IMI in Egyptian patients.Methods: A cost-effectiveness model was designed comparing empiric treatment of VAP with DOR versus IMI from the health insurance perspectives. The differences in the total costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) under each scenario were examined, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to determine the stability of our estimates. Drug costs were taken from health insurance hospitals, with other inputs derived from the literature.Results: Deterministic baseline results from the model of DOR compared to IMI in the treatment of VAP suggest that DOR is more effective and less expensive than IMI. The total costs for IMI and DOR were Egyptian pound (EGP) 4646.93 and EGP 4197.58, respectively. QALYs for IMI and DOR were 0.53 and 0.54, respectively.Conclusions: Given the microbiologic sensitivity profile of PA to DOR and IMI, and depending on the local susceptibility patterns in institutions where DOR in vitro susceptibilities are superior to those of other carbapenems for PA clinical isolates, empiric treatment of VAP with DOR may dominate that with IMI by being both life- and cost-saving.
Factors influencing accounting conservatism in banks: the UAE case
Authors: El-Bannany Magdi
Published: June 2017

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors influencing the accounting conservatism for banks in the UAE over the period 2006-2013. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple regression analysis is used to test the relationship between accounting conservatism as a dependent variable and the independent variables intellectual capital performance, market structure, level of protection against risk, bank size, and bank profitability. The results indicate that intellectual capital performance, market structure, bank size, the level of protection against risk and bank profitability have significant impact on the accounting conservatism for banks in the UAE. These results might help the banking and accounting regulators to address the factors affecting accounting conservatism. This study adds to the literature on the determinants of accounting conservatism in banks. In particular, it tests whether the new theories of intellectual capital performance, market structure and level of protection against risk have an impact on accounting conservatism in the banking industry in the UAE.
The impact of oil prices on the banking system in the Gulf Cooperation Council
Authors: Khandelwal Padamja , Miyajima Ken , Santos Andre
Published: June 2017

This paper examines the links between global oil price movements and macroeconomic and financial developments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC economies can be adversely affected by low oil prices due to their high dependence on oil and gas exports and macro-financial linkages which can amplify the effects of oil price movements over the financial cycle. Historically, systemic financial sector risks rose in the GCC countries with the oil price upswing in the years before the global financial crisis. Against this background, a range of multivariate panel approaches, including a panel vector autoregression approach, were applied to macroeconomic and bank-level data covering the six GCC economies and span 1999–2014. The paper finds strong empirical evidence of feedback loops between oil price movements, bank balance sheets, and asset prices. Empirical evidence also suggests that bank capital and provisioning have behaved countercyclically through the cycle. That is, these ratios increase during good times. This has helped strengthen the resilience of the financial system to the oil price decline since mid-2014.
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE AUDITOR'S ROLE: THE EARLY EXPERlENCE OF THE AMERICAN RAILROADS
Authors: Boockholdt James L.
Published: June 2017

The paper explores the origins of the auditing profession in the United States. It is suggested that the development of the audit function in this country can be traced to reporting by internal and shareholder auditors in the American railroads during the middle of the nineteenth century. Evidence is presented that a recognition of the need for audit independence existed, and that the provision of advisory services and reports on internal control by American auditors have been an inherent part of the auditor's role from that time.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA IN ACCOUNTING HISTORY
Authors: Garbutt Douglas
Published: June 2017

The article draws attention to the vast archive of accounting records from ancient Mesopotamia available to historians, and the advances in Assyriology which have taken place since the revival of interest in the origins of recorded history. Understanding of the materials has been advanced, in part, by specialists from other fields, such as mathematics and astronomy, yet accounting historians do not seem to have been attracted to the problems of interpreting the elegantly simple records and the societal context within which they were made and used.

To exemplify the challenges facing the accounting historian, the author considers evidence on the Dreham archive, the temple as a financial institution, and the use of loans, interest and banking. Finally, the author suggests that the records of Ancient Mesopotamia offer a rich field of research in accounting history.
EARLY CANADIAN FINANCIAL STATEMENT DISCLOSURE LEGISLATION
Authors: Murphy George J.
Published: June 2017

The Ontario Companies Act of 1907 was one of the earliest legislative enactments to require presentation at company annual meetings, and specify the content of, the financial statements of commercial and manufacturing companies. The study describes the background to this important event and points to the two main influencing forces—the office of the Provincial Secretary and the equally active and informed Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. The concern for disclosure suggests that Ontario was in the forefront of accounting development in the latter part of the nineteenth and the first decade of the twentieth centuries.
FINANCIAL REPORTING FOR THE GEORGIA COLONY
Authors: Engstrom John H. , Shockley Randolph A.
Published: June 2017

Stewardship reporting was an important tool in the establishment and development of the American Colonies. In 1732 the King of England created the Colony of Georgia as a haven for England's “worthy poor.” A corporate trust was established to implement this purpose, and it was necessary for the trustees to account for the many private contributions to the cause as well as the grants from the crown. This article discusses the early history of the Georgia colony, presents a thumbnail sketch of Harman Verelst, the Trust's accountant, and illustrates by example the financial reporting he developed for the Georgia Colony.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE ALLOWANCE OF LIFO FOR TAX PURPOSES
Authors: Pincus Morton
Published: June 2017

The legislative history of the allowance of LIFO for tax purposes is documented. The legislative process was structured around veto points of the law and yielded an examination of the political environment out of which the LIFO tax provisions emerged. LIFO provisions were analyzed relative to alternative tax options available to firms, administrative and judicial activities, overall tax legislation including tax rates, and general economic conditions. Production processes of firms lobbying for LIFO were examined and the views of academics and practitioners were incorporated. In addition to providing the basis for a regulatory event study by identifying the critical dates in the legsilative process, insight into the timing and choice of inventory accounting methods for financial reporting as well as for tax is gained.
THE PROCESS OF ACCOUNTING INNOVATION: THE PUBLICATION OF CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS IN BRITAIN IN 1910
Authors: Edwards John Richard
Published: June 2017

The first known example of a consolidated balance sheet published by a British company was made available to shareholders of the Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Company Ltd. in 1910. This paper examines the reasons for this accounting change and investigates the source of the necessary expertise. The conclusion reached is that, in common with many other accounting innovations, evolutionary change occurred as the result of modifications to an existing business practice.
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF EARLY EMPIRICISM IN U.S. ACCOUNTING LITERATURE
Authors: Buckmaster Dale , Theang Kok-Foo
Published: June 2017

Little or nothing is said of empiricism in U.S. accounting literature during the first half of the twentieth century in accounting history literature. The objectives of this study are threefold: (1) to determine if an empirical accounting literature existed prior to 1950; (2) to determine if pre-1950 empiricism was extensive enough and substantive enough to have influenced the development of accounting thought; and (3) to compare pre-1950 empirical work with contemporary academic research. It is concluded that empirics were common prior to 1950 from examining a sample (approximately forty percent) of volumes (clusters) of The Accounting Review, The Journal of Accountancy, Michigan Business Review, The American Accountant and the N.A.C.A. Bulletin. One hundred eighteen articles and eleven books and monographs are classified as “empirical” in this study.

A sample was drawn from the books and monographs and classified using several recently developed taxonomies of accounting literature. This sample included works in several accounting specializations and also included works by both academic and non-academic authors from all of the journals. The empirics found in most of the studies were essential to the studies and not peripheral. However, inferential statistics were rarely used and the designs of the studies were very primitive. The sample yielded no evidence of a transition to a contemporary hypothetico-deductive paradigm. While not common, there were attempts at “positivism.” However, the authors of most financial accounting studies were concerned with normative theory. Empiricism was extensive enough and substantive enough to have had considerable influence on normative theorists and the development of the accounting literature of the period.
GOVERNMENT/BUSINESS SYNERGY: EARLY AMERICAN INNOVATIONS IN BUDGETING AND COST ACCOUNTING
Authors: Marquette R. Penny , Fleischman Richard K.
Published: June 2017

This paper examines certain interactions between American government and business which resulted in important innovations in the areas of budgeting and cost accounting early in the twentieth century. The evidence suggests that budgeting methods were initially developed by municipal reformers of the Progressive era and were subsequently adapted by business for planning and control purposes. In like fashion, standard costing and variance analysis were significant cost accounting techniques born to an industrial environment which came to contribute markedly to a continuing improvement of governmental budgeting procedures.
A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE “MARRIAGE TAX PENALTY”
Authors: Brozovsky John , Cataldo A. J.
Published: June 2017

The marriage tax penalty resurfaces as a topic of interest when tax policy makers consider the economic consequences of increasing marginal tax rates on declining “family values”. Aim and Whittington [1993] found that marriage taxes influence the incidence of marriage. A historical perspective of the marriage tax penalty and its counterpart, the marriage tax bonus or “subsidy”, merit consideration and re-evaluation in light of current tax policy trends toward higher marginal tax rates.

This paper develops a historical framework for the study of the federal income tax and conducts a detailed analysis of the marriage tax for first quartile, weighted average, and third quartile taxpayers over the entire history of the United States personal income tax. It demonstrates that potential bonuses have historically been consistently more significant than penalties. In fact, penalties do not gain prominence until 1964.

The current trend toward increasing marginal rates will increase both the penalty and the bonus. Therefore, analysts interested in this area of policy should consider means of reducing both. The most successful method of mitigating the marriage penalty has been the “two-earner deduction”.
ACCOUNTING FOR IDLE CAPACITY: ITS PLACE IN THE HISTORICAL COST LITERATURE AND CONJECTURE ABOUT ITS DISAPPEARANCE
Authors: Vollmers Gloria
Published: June 2017

How best to provide management with useful information about the underutilization of factory and machinery are old cost accounting questions. The literature from the turn of the century up through the 1950s reveals that the topic interested many. This paper resurrects those historical discussions. The objective is twofold, to demonstrate the sophistication and innovation of early writers emphasizing why they thought the topic important, and, to explore some theories about why this interest dissipated within the accounting literature. The possibilities include the effect of the great depression, wartime regulations, the withdrawal of the industrial engineer from costing and the growing importance of income measurement. This research ends in the 1960s, by which time idle capacity as an independent topic has largely disappeared.
THE FORGOTTEN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION: THE INSTITUTE OF ACCOUNTS
Authors: Romeo George C. , Kyj Larissa S.
Published: June 2017

This paper focuses on the origin and operation of the Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers established in New York City in 1882, one of the earliest recorded efforts to establish the accounting profession in the United States. This organization is often overlooked or confused with the American Institute of Accountants (the predecessor of the AICPA), so that little has been written about it. Periodicals published during the late 19th and early 20th centuries were used to reconstruct the history and contribution of this Institute. Its contributions were many, including forming and influencing the passage of the first CPA law, developing tests of fitness for membership 14 years before the first CPA exam, and setting standards for professionalism in the U.S. In addition, the Institute developed a foundation for treating accounting as a science which helped elevate the status of bookkeeping and public accounting during the late 19th century.
USING DISTRIBUTION COSTS IN DECISION MAKING AT THE DENNISON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 1909 TO 1949
Authors: Vollmers Gloria
Published: June 2017

Early in the 20th century, predating most academic and practitioner literature, Dennison Manufacturing's top management recognized that certain kinds of distribution costs, normally treated as part of general overhead and allocated based on prime costs, were highly relevant for product-costing and pricing decisions. They pulled as many identifiable direct costs of distribution as possible out of the general overhead pool and assigned them to the appropriate product lines as extra information for the managers of those lines. However, these off-book assignments of costs were not fully understood and caused misunderstandings for many years. New archival evidence allows us to see the frustrations of managers who wanted to understand and use this information and how they attempted to solve these problems.
“DISCOVERING” INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: ACCOUNTING AND THE MACHINERY OF EMPIRE
Authors: Neu Dean
Published: June 2017

This study examines the historical usage of accounting as a technology of government within the domain of government-indigenous peoples relations in Canada. Our thesis is that accounting was salient within the chain of circumstances that influenced the discovery/identification of indigenous peoples as a governable population. By the 1830s, accounting techniques had come to occupy a central place in the military machinery of empire. When the cost-cutting and reformist sentiments prevalent in Britain during the early 1800s encouraged the reconsideration of the military costs of empire, accounting techniques were one of the methods used in the attempt to interrogate military expenditures. Partially as a result of these interrogations, indigenous peoples came to be identified as a site for cost cutting by British bureaucrats. However, it was at the level of the colonial administration in the Upper and Lower Canadas that the competing demands of “government” encouraged indigenous peoples to be viewed as a potential site for government. And it was once this “discovery” was made that accounting and other techniques were utilized in the attempt to turn indigenous peoples into a governable population. This study contributes to our understanding of accounting by documenting the ways in which techniques such as accounting were central to the military machinery of empire and British imperialism. The study also contributes to our understanding of the historical antecedents that shape current-day usages of accounting as a technology of government within the domain of government-First Nations relations.
AN IMPERIAL CONNECTION? CONTRASTING ACCOUNTING PRACTICES IN THE COAL MINES OF NORTH-EAST ENGLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA, 1825–1900
Authors: Fleischman Richard K. , Oldroyd David
Published: June 2017

The archives of the General Mining Association (GMA), a London-based enterprise with substantial holdings in the Nova Scotian coal-mining industry during the 19th century, are investigated in this paper. The historical record was examined with particular reference to the degree to which industrial costing techniques were transplanted via engineers/managers within the British Empire. The findings support the hypothesis that linkages to Newcastle were evident in Canadian coal mining, but that the accounting emphases differed somewhat between the two locales. In Nova Scotia, there was a great attention to day-to-day expense control. A similar concern was apparent also in the North-East of England, but here there appeared the additional sophistications of costing capital improvement projects and estimating the profitability of new workings. With regard to labor, the managers of the GMA's Canadian operations, like their counterparts in the North-East Coalfield, seemed disinterested in tracking the efficiency and productivity of individual miners. We hypothesize that this inattention typified an environment wherein labor was scarce and employment alternatives existed for the work force.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ACCOUNTING ADAPTATION: CHINA AND JAPAN DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Authors: Auyeung Pak K.
Published: June 2017

This study attempts to examine why western accounting was adopted in one Asian country, Japan, and not in another, China, when modern accounting methods were brought to the East during the mid-19th century. The explanation offered is socio-cultural. China was characterized by centralized political power, a society resistant to change, an anti-merchant policy and narrow-based learning. In contrast, Japan had dispersed structures of political power, a society receptive to change, a pro-merchant policy and broad-based learning. In China, the emphasis was to preserve harmony and integration in accord with mainstream Chinese ideology which had created a highly stable and tradition-oriented society. Chinese enterprises that operated within this institutional framework were unlikely to adopt western-style double-entry bookkeeping. In Japan there was no specifically institutionalized anti-capitalist doctrine to prevent the rise of industrialism and the adoption of modern accounting.
AN ACCOUNTANT'S EDUCATION
Authors: Staubus George J.
Published: June 2017

This is a review of how various experiences in my career have contributed to my understanding of accounting. I recall the circumstances surrounding several of my efforts towards the development of accounting theories, viz. (1) decision-usefulness theory, (2) activity costing, and (3) market simulation accounting, as well as my excursion into (4) market association research in seeking to validate decision-usefulness theory and (5) a search for the effects of firms' economic environments on the development of enterprise accounting in the 2nd millennium, C.E. I give my impressions of several of the important players in the evolution of accounting thought in the 20th century with whom I was closely associated, such as Vatter, Moonitz, Chambers, and Sterling, as well as other prominent figures in the broad field of accounting. Some of my gains from associations with three institutions—the American Accounting Association, The University of Chicago, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board—are identified. I conclude with a few summary thoughts on what I have learned.
ASSETS IN ACCOUNTING: REALITY LOST
Authors: Williams Sarah J.
Published: June 2017

While the contemporary view of assets in accounting is of ‘future economic benefits’, the appropriateness of this definition for financial reporting purposes continues to be questioned. Samuelson [1996, p. 156] argued that assets should be defined as ‘property rights’ while Schuetze [1993, p. 69] proposed that assets should be defined simply as cash, claims to cash and items that could be sold separately for cash. These notions are not new. Up until the latter part of the 19th century the emphasis in the accounting literature was on the recording of ‘property’ or ‘effects’, commonly understood to be things or rights which were exchangeable for cash. The aim of this paper is to trace changes in the definitional concept of assets in an attempt to discover why professional accounting bodies in the major English speaking countries have adopted the problematic abstract ‘future benefit’ notion, which is so far removed from the simple concept of assets as exchangeable things or rights. It is suggested that in the future financial reporting requirements for business entities include a statement of ‘separably exchangeable property’ and legal obligations at the reporting date.
KAUTILYA ON THE SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY OF ACCOUNTING, ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN AND THE ROLE OF ETHICS IN ANCIENT INDIA
Authors: Sihag Balbir S.
Published: June 2017

Kautilya, a 4th century B.C.E. economist, recognized the importance of accounting methods in economic enterprises. He realized that a proper measurement of economic performance was absolutely essential for efficient allocation of resources, which was considered an important source of economic development. He viewed philosophy and political science as separate disciplines but considered accounting an integral part of economics. He specified a very broad scope for accounting and considered explanation and prediction as its proper objectives. Kautilya developed bookkeeping rules to record and classify economic data, emphasized the critical role of independent periodic audits and proposed the establishment of two important but separate offices - the Treasurer and Comptroller-Auditor, to increase accountability, specialization, and above all to reduce the scope for conflicts of interest. He also linked the successful enforcement of rules and regulations to their clarity, consistency and completeness. Kautilya believed that such measures were necessary but not sufficient to eliminate fraudulent accounting. He also emphasized the role of ethics, considering ethical values as the glue which binds society and promotes economic development.
CONTROL, CONFLICT AND CONCESSION: CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, ACCOUNTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY AT BIRMINGHAM SMALL ARMS, 1906–1933
Authors: Lloyd-Jones Roger , Lewis Myrddin J. , Matthews Mark D. , Maltby Josephine
Published: June 2017

This paper takes as its starting point the relevance of a historical perspective to the study of corporate governance. Corporate governance is concerned with the institutions that influence how business corporations allocate resources and returns, and with the exercise of accountability to investors and other stakeholders. The historical model adopted is that of personal capitalism which is informed by scholars such as Chandler, and in the British context, Quail. Birmingham Small Arms, a quoted and diversified engineering company, was selected for analysis because although it was relatively large and adopted a holding company format, it retained many of the characteristics of a personal capitalist firm. Our longitudinal study of 1906 to 1933 shows that what emerged at BSA was a dominant group of directors who were eventually impelled to concede change by a sustained shareholder critique and an altered legal and business environment.
IS TIME SPENT, PASSED OR COUNTED? THE MISSING LINK BETWEEN TIME AND ACCOUNTING HISTORY
Authors: Quattrone Paolo
Published: June 2017

This paper takes its inspiration from Voth's [2000] work on Time and Work in England, 1750–1830 which argues that the British industrial revolution led to greater production levels not because of an increase in the productivity of labor but because of the larger amount of hours worked per week. This change led to a decrease of free time in favor of worked time. If this was the case, one might argue, accounting played a marginal role either in increasing the efficiency of the work force, or in disciplining the shop floor to guarantee control of the labor process. This paper argues that if accounting is to gain a crucial position in the history of economies and societies ‘time’ needs to be expressly posited on the agenda of accounting historians for, at the moment, it seems that the link between time and accounting history is missing. The aim of the paper is to show that if a linear, neutral and objective view of time is abandoned then the possibilities to study the organizational, social and even political roles of accounting will proliferate. This view is illustrated by moving from linear views of ‘time’ (‘time spent’) to more relative and constructed conceptions (‘time counted’).
EARLY AMERICAN CORPORATE REPORTING AND EUROPEAN CAPITAL MARKETS: THE CASE OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD, 1851–1861
Authors: Flesher Dale L. , Previts Gary J. , Samson William D.
Published: June 2017

This study of the annual reports of the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) from the 1850s supports a conclusion that the statements, as to form and content, were developed to serve the needs of two classes of investors and to inform the general community of the activities of the company. The need to report to the public as to the success of the company's role in its “social contract” to develop the state required details of a demographic nature, which were provided by the land commissioner. Operating results provided evidence of the ability to service the debts held by European investors and to inform British venture capitalists of the extent of the company's operations. This communication with the distant capital providers was a new development in financial reporting as the capital-intensive railroads experienced management and ownership separation on a scale not seen before. In summary, the IC provided annual reports more detailed and informative than those of other corporations of the period because of a need to provide European investors with evidence of management's activities.
AMERICA'S RAILROAD DEPRECIATION DEBATE, 1907 TO 1913: A STUDY OF DIVERGENCE IN EARLY 20th CENTURY ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Authors: Heier Jan R.
Published: June 2017

In June 1907, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) released new reporting rules that would require railroads to change from betterment to depreciation accounting for equipment. The new rules set off a firestorm of protest because the railroads felt they were already recognizing physical depreciation through the current system. The ICC, however, was looking at the concept of economic depreciation to match the cost of equipment with revenue over the life of the asset in much the same way that industry was beginning to account for its fixed assets. Such economic depreciation, it was felt, would give the rate-setting ICC more stable reported incomes to determine return on assets and the investing public a better feel for the results of railroad operations. The debate began in a cordial fashion but deteriorated into bitter name-calling, civil disobedience, and litigation that challenged both the accounting rules and the authority of the ICC to issue and require them. The ICC partially won the debate, yet railroads were able to keep betterment accounting for track structures another 70 years before the full convergence of industry and railroad accounting standards occurred.
ACCOUNTING REPRESENTATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE: THE GUIDE DU COMMERCE OF GAIGNAT DE L'AULNAIS
Authors: McWatters Cheryl S. , Lemarchand Yannick
Published: June 2017

The Guide du commerce occupies a distinctive place in the French-language literature on accounting. Passed over by most specialists in the history of maritime trade and the slave trade, the manual has never been the subject of a documented historical study. The apparent realism of the examples, the luxury of details and their precision, all bear witness to a deep concern to go beyond a simple apprenticeship in bookkeeping. Promoting itself essentially as “un guide du commerce,” the volume offers strategic examples for small local businesses, as well as for those engaged in international trade. Yet, the realism also demonstrated the expertise of the author in the eyes of potential purchasers. Inspired by the work of Bottin [2001], we investigate the extent to which the manual reflects real-world practices and provides a faithful glimpse into the socio-economic context of the period. Two additional questions are discussed briefly in our conclusion. First, can the work of Gaignat constitute a source document for the history of la traite négrière? The second entails our early deliberations about the place of this volume in the history of the slave trade itself.
KING JOHN'S TAX INNOVATIONS – EXTORTION, RESISTANCE, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF TAXATION BY CONSENT
Authors: Hughes Jane Frecknall , Oats Lynne
Published: June 2017

The purpose of this paper is to present a re-evaluation of the reign of England's King John (1199–1216) from a fiscal perspective. The paper seeks to explain John's innovations in terms of widening the scope and severity of tax assessment and revenue collection. In particular, the paper seeks to highlight the significance of Hubert Walter as the king's financial adviser. He exercised a moderating influence in the first half of John's reign and was the guiding hand in the successful introduction of innovative measures designed to increase revenues. These became extreme after his death in 1205, when John lacked his counsel. It is further suggested that the Magna Carta was a direct reaction to such financial severity. Many of the clauses in Magna Carta refer specifically to John's tax innovations and severity. Linked to this, the paper argues that these events were critical to the establishment of the principle of taxation by consent. As a result of the innovative and extreme nature of John's fiscal measures, it is our contention that John is a significant influence in moving away from deep-rooted feudal systems to the beginnings of what we would now understand as a national taxation system. This occurred against the background of a period of transition in state finance from a domain-based to a tax-based state.
PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP AND OLIGARCHY: THE CASE OF THE ICAEW
Authors: Noguchi Masayoshi , Edwards John Richard
Published: June 2017

This paper examines the difficulty of achieving representative and effective governance of a professional body. The collective studied for this purpose is the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (formed 1880) which, throughout its existence, has possessed the largest membership among British accounting associations. Drawing on the political theory of organization, we will explain why, despite a series of measures taken to make the constitution of its Council more representative between formation date and 1970, the failure of the 1970 scheme for integrating the entire U.K. accountancy profession remained attributable to the “detachment of office bearers from their constituents” [Shackleton and Walker, 2001, p. 277]. We also trace the failure of attempts to restore the Council's authority over a period approaching four decades since that “disaster” occurred [Accountancy, September 1970, p. 637].