ABSTRACT
What should be the content of the international financial statement, and how should it be presented in order that it may best meet its purpose? This is the question raised for discussion in Chapter V. Continuing the comparison made in Chapter IV, the analysis which follows is made in terms of standardized usage in the field of business accounting. An objection may, of course, be raised to this procedure. Some may hold that recent studies of the “balance of payments” and “balance of accounts” of different countries have already made as full use of accounting forms and terminology as is practicable, and that nothing will be gained by exploring the subject further. So far as superficial details are concerned this objection would no doubt hold good. But with regard to the essentials of the financial statement, judgment must be suspended until these essentials have been discussed. In Chapter VI some recent balance of payments statements may then be examined from the point of view of their content and form, and in comparison with the financial statement used in the field of business.
