Annahme, Sp. Aceptación, It. Accettazione.)

The word "acceptance alone is frequently used to signify a bill of exchange itself, but the acceptance of a bill is really the writing across the face of the document by which the drawee signifies his assent to the order of the drawer.

An acceptance is invalid unless it complies with the following conditions, namely

(a) It must be written on the bill and be signed by the drawee. The mere signature of the drawee without ad. ditional words is sufficient.

(b) It must not express that the drawee will perform his promise by any other means than the payment of money.

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The usual mode of acceptance is for the drawee to write the word cepted across the face of the bill and to add his signature. But it is seen, by the wording of the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, referred to above, that the signature alone is sufficient. It 18 probable that the acceptance is complete if the drawee writes what purports to be an acceptance upon the back of a bill. When the bill is drawn payable at a certain period after sight, the date of the acceptance should be added so that the due date of payment may be known. If a bill is payable at a specified place only, the place must be named together with the acceptance.

Acceptance, like every other contract on a bill of exchange, is incomplete and revocable until delivery of the instrument has been made in order to give effect to it.

A bill may be accepted

(1) Before it has been signed by the drawer, or while otherwise incomplete : (2) When it is overdue, or after it has been dishonoured by a previous refusal to accept, or by non-payment.

Unless the contrary appears by its terms, a bill of exchange is prima facie presumed to have been accepted before maturity and within a reasonable time after its issue, but there is no presumption as to the exact time of acceptance.

The rules as to acceptance vary in different countries. By German Ex. change Law an acceptance once written cannot be cancelled. The Netherlands Code is to the same effect. In France, as in England, an acceptance may be cancelled by the drawee as long as he retains possession of the bill quà drawee. By the common law an oral acceptance

was sufficient, and the common law still prevails in some of the states of North America. Signature of the drawee without any other words is sufficient in Germany, though not in France. The Spanish Code requires the precise term accepted" to be used.

Acceptances are either general or qualified. A general acceptance is one which assents without qualification to the order of the drawer. A qualified acceptance in express terms varies the effect of the bill as drawn. A qualified acceptance may be

(a) Conditional; that is, dependent upon a condition stated in the acceptance. (b) Partial; that is, an acceptance to pay a part only of the amount for which the bill is drawn.

(c) Local; that is, an acceptance to pay at a particular place, and there only.

(d) Qualified as to time, when a bill drawn for three months is accepted for six.

(e) An acceptance by some and not by all the drawees, when there are more than one.

German Banking Law admits a partial acceptance, but makes any other qualification a refusal to accept. French Law admits a partial acceptance, but prohibits a conditional one. England and the United States are the only countries which allow conditional acceptances.

(1) "The holder of a bill may refuse to take a qualified acceptance, and. if he does not obtain an unqualified acceptance, may treat the bill as dishonoured by non-acceptance.

(2) "Where a qualified acceptance is taken, and the drawer or an indorser has not expressly or impliedly authorised the holder to take a qualified acceptance, or does not subsequently assent thereto, such drawer or indorser is discharged from his liability on the bill.

"The provisions of this sub-section do not apply to a partial acceptance, whereof due notice has been given. Where a foreign bill has been accepted as to part, it must be protested as to the balance.

(3) "When the drawer or indorser of a bill receives notice of a qualified acceptance, and does not within 8 reasonable time express his dissent to the holder, he shall be deemed to have assented thereto."

(Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, s. 44.) If the acceptor of a bill of exchange desires to qualify his acceptance, he

must do so on the face of the bill in clear and unequivocal terms, and so that any person taking the bill could not, if he acted reasonably, fail to understand that it was accepted subject to an expressed qualification.

A forged or unauthorised signature is wholly inoperative, and no holder of a bill can acquire any right through the same. An unauthorised signature not amounting to a forgery may be ratified.

"Where a simple signature on a blank stamped paper is delivered by the signer in order that it may be converted into a bill, it operates as a primá facie autho rity to fill it up as a complete bill for any amount the stamp will cover, using the signature for that of the drawer, or the acceptor, or the indorser; and, in like manner, when a bill is wanting in any material particular, the person in possession of it has a prima facie authority to fill up the omission in any way he thinks fit."

Any such dealing with blank stamped paper must be within reasonable time, and strictly in accordance with the authority given. The dealing with such incomplete, or inchoate, instruments is fraught with danger, and no business man should have anything to do with them.

The person who accepts a bill as agent must make it clear upon the face thereof that he accepts in that capacity; otherwise he will be personally liable under his signature. Thus, if A. is the manager of X. & Co., and signs an acceptance thus, "A., Manager," he will be personally liable as acceptor, since he has simply described himself by naming the position which he occupies; but if he signs "For X. & Co., A., Manager," it is made clear that he is signing in a representative capacity, and his personal liability is excluded.

As to liability under an acceptance, see Acceptor, and as to the duties of the holder of a bill, see Presentment for Acceptance.

ACCEPTOR. (Fr. Accepteur, Ger. Acceptant, Sp. Aceptante, It. Accettante.)

The acceptor is the person who accepts a bill of exchange drawn upon him. Until the bill is accepted, he is called the drawee. There is no liability attached to the drawee until he has signed the bill and become an acceptor.

The acceptor must have capacity to contract. An infant cannot be sued

upon a bill of exchange, even though the bill was given for the price of necessaries. If he is sued at all, it must be upon the consideration. Lunacy and drunkenness are defences in an action on a bill against immediate parties, though not against a holder in due course. (N.B.-Immediate parties, in connection with bills of exchange, are those whose names are next to each other in order. Thus, the drawer and the acceptor, the acceptor and the first indorser, the first and the second indorsers, and 80 on, are immediate parties. All others are remote parties.)

The acceptor must be the person who is named in the bill as drawee. A bill cannot be addressed to one person and accepted by another. Any attempted acceptance of this kind does not make the person who signs liable as acceptor, though it is possible that, having signed, he may be liable as an indorser.

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The acceptor is the person who is primarily liable upon the bill. By accepting he engages to pay it according to the tenor of his acceptance, and he is precluded from denying to a holder in due course

(1) The existence of the drawer, the genuineness of his signature, and his capacity and authority to draw the bill;

(2) In the case of a bill payable to the drawer's order, the then capacity of the drawer to indorse, but not the genuineness or validity of his indorse. ment;

(3) In the case of a bill payable to the order of a third person, the exist. ence of the payee and his then capacity to indorse, but not the genuineness or validity of his indorsement.

There

may be other estoppels, that is, matters which cannot be denied by the acceptor, arising out of the circumstances of the case. The above arise on the bill itself.

The acceptor may be sued upon the bill at any time within six years from its maturity.

If the acceptor has received no con. sideration for the bill he is in no way liable upon the instrument to the drawer, nor is he liable to any other party to the bill until value has been given by some party in respect of it. (See Consideration, Holder.)

In addition to an ordinary acceptor, there is also a person who is known as an 66 acceptor for honour,' that is one who undertakes to accept liability under the bill in case the same is dishonoured by

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non-acceptance or non-payment on the part of the acceptor. Such person is also called a referee in case of need." By the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, s. 15, it is provided, "the drawer of a bill and any indorser may insert therein the name of a person to whom the holder may resort in case of need, that is to say in case the bill is dishonoured by nonacceptance or non-payment. It is in the option of the holder to resort to the referee in case of need, or not, as he think fit." Of course, the referee may must signify his willingness to accept his position, and he does so by writing across the bill, in addition to his signature, Accepted S.P." (i.e. suprà protest), or Accepted for the honour of A. B.," naming the person for whose honour the bill is accepted suprà protest. If no name is mentioned, the acceptance is presumed to be for the honour of the drawer. By this species of acceptance, the acceptor for honour engages to pay the bill according to the tenor of his acceptance, in case it is dishonoured by the drawee, provided it has been duly presented and that he has had notice of the fact. His liability extends to the holder and to all parties to the bill subsequent to the party for whose honour he has accepted.

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ACCIDENT INSURANCE. (Fr. Assurance contre les accidents, Ger. Unfallversicherung, Sp. Seguro contra los accidentes, It. Assicurazione contro gli infortuni accidentali.)

This class of insurance, although to some extent a contract of indemnity, is more especially an undertaking to pay a certain specified sum in the event of death or injury from accident. The insurer, in the case of an accident happening, and his paying the sum named in the policy, is not subrogated to the rights of the assured. Therefore an assured person (or his representative in case of death) is not precluded from claiming damages in respect of the injury he has sustained (or his death) because he has effected an insurance against such a contingency.

The stamp upon such a policy is sixThree Acts of Parliament, pence. passed in 1889, 1891, and 1896 respectively, have provided for the compounding of insurance duties to meet the cases of certain periodicals which insure their subscribers against accidental death or injury.

The premium payable upon an acci dent insurance policy varies according

to the nature and extent of the risk which is undertaken.

As to insurance against accidents to workmen, see Workmen's Compensation. The fullest information as to all kinds of accident insurances can easily be obtained from the various insurance com. panies, and to them application should be made as to premiums, conditions, etc. (Fr. Bil

ACCOMMODATION BILL.

let de complaisance, Ger. Gefälligkeitspapier, Proformawechsel, Sp. Letra por complacer, billete de deferencia, pro forma, It. Cambiale di favore, lettera di comodamento.)

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A bill of this kind, which is known by the various names of a "fictitious bill," a kite," or a "windmill," is one to which a person has put his name, as drawer, acceptor, or indorser, without receiving any consideration for it. So long as no value has been given for such a bill no party is liable to pay the amount of it; but directly value has been given by any of the parties a holder in due course (see Holder) has a right to proceed against any of the signatories, even though he knows that the bill was originally only an accommodation one.

The persons who draw, accept, or indorse such a bill are known as accommodation parties."

An accommodation bill is discharged when it is paid by any person who is in reality, though not formally, the principal debtor.

The form of an accommodation bill is the same as that of any other bill of exchange. It is the evidence adduced which must prove that it was given without value, and that it still retains its accommodation character.

ACCORD AND SATISFACTION. (See Contract, Discharge of.)

ACCOUNT. (A/c.) (Fr. Compte, Ger. Konto, Rechnung, Sp. Cuenta, It. Conto.)

This is a general term for all arith metical calculations. Amongst merchants the name is applied to formal statements relating to goods, services, or values. It may be a statement of business transactions, showing their debits and credits, with the balance in hand or that due.

ACCOUNT BOOKS. (Fr. Livres de comptes, Ger. Geschäftsbücher, Kontobücher, Rechnungsbücher, Sp. Libros de cuentas, It. Libri di conti.)

These are the books in which accounts are recorded. (See Book-keeping.)

ACCOUNT, CAPITAL. (See Capital Account.)

ACCOUNT CURRENT. (A/C.) (Fr. Compte courant, Ger. Kontokorrent,

laufende Rechnung, Sp. Cuenta corriente, It. Conto corrente.)

This is a statement giving the particulars of the transactions which have been carried on between two persons or firms for a certain definite period. The term is in general applied to the copy of a personal account contained in the ledger, sent to the person with whom the account is running, showing the exact state of the account between

the parties. All the items of the ac

count are stated in detail.

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ACCOUNT DAYS. (Fr. Jours règlement, jours de paie, de liquidation, Ger. Abrechnungstage, Liquidationstage, Skontrotage, Zahltage, Sp. Dias liquidación, de pago, de ajuste de cuentas, It. Giorni di liquidazione.)

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Account days are certain days fixed by the Committee of the Stock Exchange for the settlement of bargains entered into by the members. There are usually two account days (or settlement days, as they are often called) each month-one about the middle and the other at the end. (See Stock Exchange.)

ACCOUNT PAYEE. (See Cheque.) ACCOUNT, PROFIT AND LOSS. (Fr. Compte de profits et pertes, Ger. Gewinnund Verlustrechnung, Sp. Cuenta ganancias y pérdidas, It. Conto (dei) profitti e (delle) perdite.)

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Merchants and other traders keep profit and loss accounts for their own information. These accounts show, on the debit side, all items of loss or expense, such as bad debts, depreciation, gas, insurance, rent, repairs, salaries, trade charges, wages, wear and tear ; and, on the credit side, all items of gain or profit. The following may be debit or credit items: commission, dividends, interest, according as they are received or paid. When the profit and loss account shows a net gain, the balance is placed on the credit side of a person's capital account; when it shows a net loss, the balance is entered on the debit side.

ACCOUNT SALES. (A/S.) (Fr. Compte de vente, Ger. Verkaufsrechnung, Sp. Cuenta de venta, It. Conto di vendita, conto di netto ricavo.)

This is the name given to a document sent by an agent or broker to a principal

(a) The weight, gauge, measure, etc., of the goods sold;

(b) The price obtained per unit, and the total price, or gross proceeds;

(c) Any expenses, such as freight, dock charges, insurance, etc. paid by the agent;

(d) The charges of the agent for brokerage or commission;

(e) The net proceeds, i.e. the balance remaining after deducting expenses and the agent's charges from the gross proceeds.

ACCOUNT STATED. (Fr. Compte rendu, Ger. Rechenschaftsbericht, Sp. Rendimiento de cuenta, It. Rendiconto.)

This is an account between parties showing a balance which has been agreed upon. When any party to an account stated seeks to impeach its truth, the burden of proof lies upon him; whereas in an open account the rule is the exact opposite.

ACCOUNT, STOCK EXCHANGE. (Fr. Compte de Bourse, Ger. Börsengeschäfte auf Zeit," Sp. Liquidación, It. Liquidazione.)

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Transactions in the transfer of stock are said to be "for the account when a settlement is to be made at a certain

period over which the account extends. In Government securities and other stocks transferable at the Bank of England the settlement is made monthly; in the case of other stocks and shares, there are generally two settlements each month. (See Stock Exchange.)

ACCOUNT, SUSPENSE. (Fr. Compte en suspens, Ger. Konto sospeso, Sp. Cuenta en suspenso, It. Conto in sospeso.)

Owing to various causes, such 88 deaths, oversights, or postal irregularities, debits and credits occasionally arise which cannot at once be entered to

any particular account. Such items are temporarily entered in the suspense account until the information arrives which disposes of them with certainty, when they are transferred to their proper places. ACCOUNTANT. (Fr. Comptable, teneur de livres, Ger. Bücherrevisor, Rechnungsführer, Sp. Contador, tenedor de libros, It. Contabile, ragioniere.)

An accountant is a person who is skilled in commercial and official affairs in general, and the accounts relating thereto in particular.

Accountants are generally employed in preparing, investigating, and auditing

the accounts of traders, making up statements of affairs, collecting accounts, etc.

There are, at present, no restrictions placed upon any man who calls himself an accountant, though an effort is being made to raise the status and qualifica. tions of those who practise as such. The Institute of Chartered Accountants (established in 1870, and incorporated by royal charter in 1880) is most active in this direction, and will admit no one as a member who has not passed its recognised

examinations

and received a certain amount of proper training. Full particulars are obtainable from the Secretary, Moorgate Place, E.C. 2. The other associations of accountants are the Society of Incorporated Accountants and Auditors (50, Gresham Street, E.C.2), the Corporation of Accountants (55, West Regent Street, Glasgow), the Central Association of Accountants (5 Salter's Hall Court, E.C.4), and the London Association of Accountants, Ltd. (Temple Chambers, Temple Avenue, E.C.4). There is a Society of Accountants in Edinburgh, an Institute of Accountants and Auditors in Glasgow, and an Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. A similar society has been established in Aberdeen, and there are several recognised bodies abroad.

By holding himself out as a person possessing skill in accounts, an account. ant is liable to any person who employs him if he is guilty of negligence, or lack of proper care and skill, in carrying out his duties and so causes a loss to be sustained by such employer; and as a master is always liable, prima facie, for a loss caused by the negligence of his servant, when acting in the ordinary course of his duties, an accountant is liable for the negligence of his clerks or assistants. With the increase of business and as the heavy responsibilities attached to accountancy become greater and greater, new system of insurance, known as Accountants' Indemnity Insurance" has recently sprung up to provide against losses which may be incurred through such losses or negligence of the kind just noticed.

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The remuneration of an accountant is generally fixed by agreement. the absence of such agreement the remuneration must be fair and adequate. Under the bankruptcy practice, the following charges are allowed

For preparing balance sheet, investigating accounts, etc., principal's time, exclusively so employed, per day of

seven hours, including necessary affi. davit, £1 18. to £5 58.

Chief clerk's time, 10s. 6d. to £1 118. 6d. Other clerk's time, 78. 6d. to 168. These charges include stationery, except forms used.

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ACCOUNTANTS' INDEMNITY SURANCE. (Fr. Assurance d'indemnité pour la comptabilité, Ger. Buchführungsentschädigungv-Versicherung, Sp. Seguro de indemnización de contabilidad, It. Assicurazione contabile.)

This type of insurance is a branch of public liability risks insurance, and is one which is becoming more and more popular. An accidental error on the part of an accountant or his assistants may render the accountant liable to heavy damages. The cost of protection is very reasonable. The usual method of fixing premiums is to charge a percentage on the amount insured, plus a per capita sum for each person covered by the policy. The general rate is 10s. per cent. on the sum insured and the per capita rate varies from 2s. 6d. to 5s. per person. The per capita rate is a fixed sum per policy and not a percentage on the sum insured. These policies are usually limited to principals and responsible audit clerks. Another, but less usual, method of rating, is to charge a percentage premium with no per capita rate. Two rates of premium are open to choice-7s. 6d. per cent. and 12s. 6d. per cent. The lower rate covers discovery' only up to six months after the annual period of insurance; the higher rate covers "discovery throughout the whole currency of the policy. For example, if a policy at 7s. 6d. per cent. is effected for twelve months as from 1st January, 1925, any error or default discovered up to 30th July, 1926, would be covered. But under a policy at the rate of 12s. 6d. per cent., no matter when the error or default is discovered, the accountant will be covered if he has kept his policy in force throughout the period.

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ACCRUED INTEREST. (Fr. Intérêts accumulés, accrús, Ger. aufgelaufene Zinsen, Sp. Interés acumulado, It.

Interessi accumulati.)

In some financial transactions in which part of the payment is deferred as a matter of convenience to one or both parties, and a definite date is not fixed for a final settlement, it is sometimes arranged that interest at an agreed percentage shall be forthcoming together