Law Commons^™

Some Practical Questions Concerning The Effect Of The Proposed Federal Securities Code On Civil Litigation, J. Vernon Patrick, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

A major impetus for the launching of the Federal Securities Code project in 1969 was the view, widely held by businessmen and their lawyers, that it was far too easy for investors to bring class action suits under the federal securities laws, seeking multi-million dollar judgments against business corporations, directors, accountants, and lawyers.' The business community's concern about possible exposure to large judgments in securities litigation was heightened by the news that plaintiffs had obtained a judgment in a class action brought against the issuer and several "outside director"defendants in Escott v. Bar Chris Construction Corp., and by several United …

Truth In Financial Statements: An Introduction, Douglas W. Hawes

Vanderbilt Law Review

When used in relation to a periodical, the word "symposium"refers to "a collection of opinions on a subject." The word derives from the Greek "sympinein," to drink together, and originally was applied to a drinking party in which conversation and intellectual entertainment played a vital part. To our "party" we have invited a distinguished group of authors representing in some cases widely differing points of view. They have contributed articles dealing with various aspects of these problems of financial reporting and auditing. We leave to you, the reader, and to those engaged in the continuing debate the final judgment on …

Current Problems Of Accountants'responsibilities To Third Parties, T. J. Fiflis

Vanderbilt Law Review

When the auditor begins the audit program, he will record in "working papers" his work and findings. Each page will be dated and initialed by all persons who dealt with it. The papers should be indexed and bound and retained for some years. They should also be comprehensible as they are intended for use by others as well as for later use.

A trial balance is usually the first working paper. Other standard working papers are data from the corporate charter, by-laws,and minutes and analyses of accounts, prescribed by the audit program. One of the last working papers will be …

We Often Paint Fakes, Abraham J. Brilof

Vanderbilt Law Review

To begin, the profession has disseminated the message far and wide that its members are the high priests responsible for the interpretation and application of a very special body of knowledge known as "generally accepted accounting principles" usually referred to as "GAAP." On analysis one quickly discerns that no such defined body of principles exists. Some commentators maintain, in fact,that not a single accounting precept is deserving of the designation"principle" and these exegetics urge that the critical phrase be changed to read "generally accepted accounting standards," hence" GAAS." Others, reflecting on the evils perpetrated in the name of GAAP and/or …

The Establishment Of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles And Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, James F. Strother

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article will discuss accounting principles and auditing standards and the respective roles played in their development and regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the organized accounting profession and other public and private agencies. Accounting principles and auditing standards comprise two fundamentally different and distinct bodies of convention and practice. Generally accepted accounting principles and generally accepted auditing standards are those principles and standards which for a number of reasons have come to be accepted and applied by issuers, accountants, and auditors. Combined with the procedures and techniques attending their observation and application, generally accepted accounting principles and auditing …

Accounting Standards In The United States And The United Kingdom: Their Nature, Causes And Consequences, George J. Benston

Vanderbilt Law Review

The purpose of this article is to account for the existence of differing accounting standards in the United States and the United Kingdom despite a common language, common practice and a fundamentally common political and economic base in the two countries. What factors explain the fact that, while accounting standards in the United States are codified and explicit, they remain on the whole uncodified and implicit in Great Britain? From which system does the investor more likely benefit? The first section of this paper begins with descriptions of auditing and reporting standards in each country. The factors which influence the …