The Sixth International Conference on Accounting Education was held just prior to the Thirteenth World Congress of Accountants. Hosted by the Science Council of Japan, the Japan Accounting Association, and the Union of National Economics Associations in Japan, in cooperation with the International Association on Accounting Education and Research, the 1987 conference marked the 25th anniversary of the founding of such conferences.

The main theme of this conference was Accounting Education and Research Toward the Promotion of International Understanding of Economic Progress. The twentieth century has seen increasing interaction and growing interdependency between the various nations of the world, stressing the need for greater cooperation at the international level. At the same time, however, individual nations have their own particular sociocultural identities, making for differences that must not be overlooked. The purpose of the conference was to provide an opportunity for an exchange of ideas to serve as an impetus to a greater flow of information resulting in better understanding and increased respect on an international level.

Much attenton has been given to Japanese business, but this has mainly focused on management practices, production systems and manufacturing, and the business system. Very little has been written about Japanese accounting. Here a distinguished Japanese Accounting academic offers insights in Japanese accounting under three main headings: Japanese Accounting History; Problems in Financial Accounting Theory; Cash Flow Accounting.