Excerpt from Manufacturing Costs and Accounts While many excellent treatises exist on Cost Accounting, there is none, as far as 1 know, that can be placed in the hands of a student for the purpose of gradually introducing him to the underlying principles on which manufacturing accounting of all kinds must rest. The subject is so vast, and the side issues so numerous that to compile a treatise that shall not be, on the one hand, quite unwieldly, or on the other, quite inadequate, is a very difficult task. The temptation to elaborate minor points is constantly present, and in doing so the main thread of the subject is apt to be interrupted. It has seemed more important to present a comparatively simple view of the general structure of cost accounts than to attempt the detailed description of specific systems, on which in fact many adequate volumes arc already in existence. At the same time, the peculiar position of the cost accountant had to be kept in mind. The cost man is rarely an accountant in the full sense of that word. He lives in a world of detail, and is apt to undervalue the broader groupings that alone interest, as a rule, the general accountant. It has been attempted in the present work to show the cost accountant the relation of his work to the general accounts. Further, the peculiar value of detail to the technical arm has been emphasized with a view to exhibit to the general accountant a viewpoint that he sometimes misses. The aim of this book is, therefore, somewhat different from that of existing works. The why and wherefore of cost accounting is its peculiar field, and it is hoped that armed with this fundamental information the student will have no difficulty in applying his reading to the particular problems he may meet. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.