Reviewed by Ray Anderson Footscray Institute of Technology
This book contains some of the collected writings of Paul Grady. In 1918 Grady enrolled as a chemical engineering student at the University of Illinois. He obtained financial support for his studies through part-time employment at various cafeterias. As this was not compatible with his engineering studies Grady transferred in 1920 to the College of Commerce, and selected accounting as a major. In 1923 he joined Arthur Andersen & Co., becoming a partner in 1932. Whilst organizing the Naval Cost Inspection project during World War II, he was “removed” from the partnership of Arthur Andersen & Co. From 1943 to his retirement in 1960 he was a partner in Price Waterhouse & Co.
The first three chapters deal with the university background and the public accounting experiences of Grady. These chapters give us a fascinating glimpse into the auditing approaches of those times and the problems of accounting for public utilities. A potential area for research would be an examination of the historical devel-opment of accounting practices for such bodies.
In 1942 Grady was required to organize and develop the auditing function within the Naval Cost Inspection Service. This was concerned with the auditing of War Contracts and the book contains two published articles and one paper delivered to the 1942 American Institute of Accountants on his experiences in this area.
Chapters five to eight cover the period 1943 to 1960 whilst a partner at Price Waterhouse 8 Co. These chapters cover Grady’s writings on auditing standards, internal control, regulatory accounting, public accounting as a career, price level accounting, current cost depreciation, the role of the CPA, management advisory services, work satisfaction, control of federal expenditures and the concept of depreciation.
Chapter nine covers the period from 1960 when Grady retired as a partner from Price Waterhouse & Co. This provides Grady’s comments on a wide variety of accounting topics, especially current areas of concern such as the objectives of financial statements and purchasing power accounting.
The final chapter deals with one of Grady’s major contributions to accounting literature, namely Accounting Research Study No. 7, Inventory of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for Business Enterprises. Over 300,000 copies of the Research Study have been sold, a testimony to its value to both accounting practitioners and educators. This book is a welcome addition to the historical literature in accounting and The Center far International Education and Research in Accounting is to be commended for its wisdom in enticing Paul Grady to make available his writings for the benefit of present and future generations of accountants.
