Leland Lawrence Briggs (April 24, 1893 – November 12, 1975) was an American accounting scholar, and Professor at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

, known as founder of ''The Accountants Digest,'' which he edited and published until 1973.James Terry White (1980) ''The National cyclopaedia of American biography.'' p. 145

Biography

Briggs was born in

Byron, Minnesota :''There are also two Byron Townships in Minnesota.'' Byron is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, approximately west of Rochester on U.S. Route 14. It is surrounded by Kalmar Township. The population was 6,312 at the 202 ...

to Edward Wellington, a farmer, and Alice (McPeak) Briggs. After primary education in Byron and

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

, he obtained his BA in 1923 and his MA in 1924 both at the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...

. Subsequently, he obtained MBA at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1927 with the thesis, entitled "Some Legal Aspects of Goodwill." and his PhD from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1930-31. Briggs had started his career as teacher at the public school in 1911. In 1924 he was appointed Professor of commerce at

McPherson College McPherson College is a private college associated with the Church of the Brethren and located in McPherson, Kansas. It was chartered in 1887 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History During their 1887 Annual Meeting, the Ch ...

in Kansas. In 1926 had joined the Northwestern University as Noyes scholar. In 1927 he moved to the

, where he served the rest of his academic career. He had started as assistant professor in economics, was promoted associate professor in 1929, and in 1952 to professor of economics. In 1935 Briggs founded the accounting periodical ''Accountants Digest.'' The first issue included digests of "120 articles taken from 48 periodicals published in the United States, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand and Scotland." He edited and published the periodical until 1973, and then sold it to E. Samuel Germain, Professor of Syracuse University.Leland Lawrence Briggs (1981) ''The Accountants Digest.'' Vol. 47

Selected publications

* Briggs, Leland Lawrence. ''Centralized Accounting Control for the Small Business.'' 1924. * Briggs, Leland Lawrence, ed.
The Accountants Digest.
' Vol. 3. Germain Publishing Company, 1937.

Articles, a selection

* Briggs, L. L. "Goodwill–Definition and Elements in Law." ''Journal of Accountancy'' (September 1928) (1928): 194-203. * Briggs, L. L. "Accounting in Collegiate Schools of Business." Accounting Review (1930): 175-181. * L. L. Briggs, "Stock Dividends." ''The Journal of Accountancy,'' March, 1930, pp. 193–201. * Briggs, L. L. "Accounting and the courts." ''Accounting Review'' (1931): 184-191. * L. L. Briggs: Dividends from stock premiums. ''Journal of Accountancy,'' Nr. 5. May 1932. * L. L. "Appreciation and Dividends." ''The Journal of Accountancy,'' July, 1932, pp. 29–37. * Briggs, L. L. "Stockholders' Liability for Unlawful Dividends." ''Temp. LQ'' 8 (1933): 145. * L. L. Briggs, “Asset Valuation in Dividend Decisions,” ''The Areounting Review'' (September 1934), pp. 184–191

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Leland Lawrence 1893 births 1975 deaths American accountants American business theorists Accounting academics University of South Dakota alumni Kellogg School of Management alumni Harvard University alumni Northwestern University faculty University of Vermont faculty People from Olmsted County, Minnesota McPherson College faculty