Accounting is cardinal to our understanding of the world we live in, to our control of our environment, and to the organization of our society. It underpins science, technology, medicine, the economy, and government. The preservation and propagation of accounting is essential if civilization is to flourish. However, this is a requirement that goes far beyond the simple recording and transmission of techniques of calculation and analysis. If society is to benefit from accounting, it must nurture an accounting culture, by promoting a pervasive understanding of the accounting way of thought and by supporting the study of accounting for its own sake.

Those who teach accounting at every level must be able to see beyond the horizons set by the problems at hand, otherwise they will convey no more than the means of mechanical execution. Without a broader appreciation of their subject, they will not pass on the understanding that is required for creativity; nor will they instill a proper appreciation of the beauty and universality of the accounting ideas.