The Journal of Accountancy is a monthly journal published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, written for professional accountants.  Issues dating from 1950 to the present can be found in the Steely Library on the 4th floor periodicals section.  There are four forms of the Journal in the Steely Library: issues from 1950 to 1959 are bound, issues from 1960 to 1984 are on microfilm, issues from 1985 to 2000 are on microfiche, and 2001 issues are available unbound.  Issues dating from 1997 to 2001 of the Journal are also available on the Internet at http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/index.htm.  The Journal has information relevant to any accountant practicing in the US and limited information on international accounting.

The Journal of Accountancy is a valuable tool for professional accountants.  While it focuses on delivering the latest news and information for CPAs, any professional accountant would find it useful.  The Journal is composed of articles, columns, Letters sent in by readers, and a series of small articles called News Digest.  The specific content of each Journal varies, but all have articles regarding certain areas of accounting such as auditing, taxes, practice management, and international accounting.  The September 2001 Journal has articles such as “Making Sense of the New Tax Legislation” by George G. Jones and Mark A. Luscombe and “Say Goodbye to Pooling and Goodwill Amortization” by Stephen R. Moehrle and Jennifer A. Reynolds-Moehrle.  Articles in the News Digest section include information on a new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) statement and information on a new FASB technical bulletin.  The website has most of the articles found in the paper version but does leave some sections out for copyright reasons.

Accountants on a regular basis should read the Journal.  While it should not be used as a sole research tool, it does keep accountants up to date with important changes in tax law, financial accounting, managerial accounting, and auditing.