From balance sheet to income statement: a study of a transition in accounting thought in the USA, 1926‐1936

Studies the relative focus on the balance sheet and income statement in the Journal of Accountancy and The Accounting Review during the period, 1926‐1936. An index number representing the relative focus for each year for each journal was obtained from a content analysis of a sample of pages from the journals. Four hypotheses derived from accounting literature were tested, none of which can be accepted. In general, the focus on the income statement occurred earlier than expected and the combined time series for both journals was U‐shaped over the period. Offers three explanations for the behaviour of the time series: the hypotheses are based on several sources, each source potentially having a unique time‐series; second, the impact of significant increases in federal income tax rates on the content of accounting literature has been underestimated; and third, authors in the two journals, particularly the Journal of Accountancy, reacted very quickly to perceived problems and opportunities.