Abstract The purpose of this paper is to present a classification of all logically possible accounting phenomena that is neat, tight, rigorously symmetrical, and equally applicable to a private enterprise, an endowed institution, a governmental unit, or any other accounting entity. The classes established are few and broad, as they must be to be universally relevant. A full analysis of the economic affairs of any particular accounting entity would, of course, require subclasses that are important for that kind of entity. Many of the categories in this classification scheme embody concepts whose boundaries are different from those usually employed in accounting discussions. This creates a problem in terminology. In some cases the problem has been met by use of terms with heretofore no very definite connotations in accounting, but in others the paper has adopted the common accounting term that most closely approximates the concept it best wishes to describe. In the latter cases these terms are used, once they have been introduced, to convey the special meanings given them here rather than their usual meanings. The classification itself is quite neutral so far as the really difficult problems of accounting theory are concerned. It implies no particular formula for the determination of income or the valuation of assets. It simply provides a framework for arraying the accounting events and decisions that do occur or might occur.
Marilyn Young Rice (Mon,) studied this question.