A CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF THE AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE ON INTERPERIOD TAX ALLOCATION: 1940-1985

In this paper, the authoritative literature is reviewed chronologically to trace the development of interperiod tax allocation from its inception in the early 1940s to late 1985. The study reveals an evolution from acceptance of either the liability, deferred or net-of-tax methods of partial allocation to the deferred method of comprehensive allocation, the FASB's recent endorsement of the liability method of comprehensive allocation suggests a major theoretical shift from accounting policy followed since 1967.