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This book reviews the theory of the economic measurement of income and wealth in financial accounting and presents an informational perspective on accounting information. A major objective is to integrate the relevant aspects of current finance theory and information economics into accounting theory at a fairly general level. This study is aimed at second and third year accounting undergraduates and first year postgraduates. It is seen as being used as a text for either a financial theory course or for the financial theory component of a more general financial accounting course. Used in these ways, it would need to be supplemented by material on the price change accounting debate and on current accounting problems. The considerable emphasis placed on the treatment of uncertainty and information is necessary to understand recent major contributions to account theory. It also allows students to obtain some access to much of the current research literature. Those who do not wish to get too involved in uncertainty and information economics should use in these courses Part 1 of the book, which deals with the economist's income and wealth concepts, and Part 3, which deals with the regulation of accounting. These two parts also provide a course on accounting policy making when supplemented with some institutional material. Part 2 considers the impact of elements of uncertainty and some of the findings of information economics for accounting theory. This part could be used independently as an important element of finance courses and of courses on financial statement analysis. Part 4 alters the focus and looks at accounting for accountability and monitoring purposes. It discusses both agency models and positive accounting theory. The material covered is treated as far as possible in a self-contained way and therefore the only essential prerequisites are an elementary accounting course and some exposure to economic reasoning. It is also hoped this book will appeal to those in the profession who wish to understand the theoretical fundations of accounting seen from an economic perspective and to use this approach to solve current accounting problems.