The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-12-25
A CHAOS OF FIGURES.
THE WORK AN EXPERT ACCOUNTANT
HAS TO DO.
Looking into the Books-Proving or Die
proving Other Peoples Figuees-rro-
fessionai Accountants In England
-Arithmetic In the sci.ools-
New York TimeSl

~Ofnce men and mere bOokkecpsr5 are no
good at all to w. my dear sir, remarked tho
chief briskly; "they work in tut A man
who has been brou ,ht up to book keeping In
bank does well enough 30 long as we have
enough bank work to keep him going. butn
musa at ssa % Is soass psiissr wouia b il
en- Al lists studio. 1t requires special
training. besides certain mental and phys
ieal q laliflcations to be a professional ac-
countant. That Is why there are so few Of
them. 1t Is not an uncommon thing for
great American corporations to send to
Endland for an expert accountant"
EXPERTS IN ENGLAND.
@Are professional accountants more plen-
tiful in England than on this side Of the
watsrr
@Oh, yes In England accountants are
chartered by the government They have
an association or institute, which has made
wonderfully rapid growth within ten years.
and a weekly journal finds ample support in
publishing matters confined exclusively to
their interests. Scotland, too, has a pros
porous association, older than the English
one. Apprentices are articlsi to the pro-
fession, the same as in any other line Of
business, and besides giving their service
for five years they are required to pay
premium OF between 300 and 500
pounds sterling. according to the standing
Of the firm they sign with. During his ap-
premiership young man has to pass three
examinations succe ssfully before he can
become q member Of the chartered associa-
ton. In order to pass his examination he
must have fair knowledge Of Latin and the
classics. thoroughly understand not only
the rules but the underlying principles OF
decimals and fractions know all about book
keeping by double entry, partnership and
companies accounts, chancsry and bank
ruptcy accounts. bills of exchange and bills
of sale accounts. He must also know ths
law of partnership, chancery, receivers,
trustees, and other accounting officers ap-
pointed by a court A general knowledge
of all branches Of commercial industry
comes to him in the course Of his daily
work, and it can be acquired in no other
way. So you see it is largely experience
that tells after all
AUDITING ACCOUNTS.
"A competent accountant in England"
continued the chief, "finds plenty to do.
The law compels the railroad companies to
have their accounts audited by public ac-
countants and publishe in a form specified.
A great many corporations AMI municipal
are also req W euTH oNoE baoh
books for inspection by public accountants
Great care is taken to select men OF good re-
pute and integrity, and when looking into
corporations or privats firms they must be
wholly free from pecuniary interest in the
business When balance sheet Is drawn
up AMI signed by profe .sional accountant
the stockholders feel sure that ir Is
correct. and that the dividend has been
honestly earned. 1t is great protection to
the stockholders. Let us take the London q
Northwestern Railroad company, for ex-
ample, with limited capital Of $5o7 .0O0,-
900. It carries 81. 100, 00u passengers ovsry
year and gives employ ment to so, 000 men.
The stockholders Of that great corporation
would not tolerate such q one-sided report
as is yearly sent out by all the leading
American railroads, even IL the law did not
forbid it. Here Is a copy Of one OF the
London & Northwestern's reports prepared
by a chartered accountant, and you may
see that g review Of the entire business OF
the road is summed up in six pages and GER.
titled to as correct"
"Have you any idea what it costs the
London 81 North western company to have
its accounts audited as required by lnwf
THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.
"Yes. understand that ono firm In Lon
don keep. force Of men specially for the
work, and that it Is worth TO them about
$50. 900 a year"
"What is to prevent chartered account
ant doctoring a staten INT to suit the pur-
poses Of a corporation, the sams as pri-
vate bookkeepsr may be in iuced to dor
Nothing at all, IL he is disposed to sell
himself, tut let me inform you that a man
who does that is almost certain-I might
- 70 IN ha
found out by the institute. And when he
l. found out he might we'll turn at once
to some other means Of getting living
even IL he escapes prosecution"
4Are there any chartered public account.
ants in American
"Yss quite a number have come over here
from England, and believe they are doing
very we'll in the larger cities. There are
more of them in Bost,n than in New York
There is no association, though and at
present am afraid that the men are scat
tered about toe much t. establish one. Yet,
II the system Of public auditing Is to obtain
i'm America. as I firmly believe 1t will. 1t
must be through the instrumentality Ct
such an association as they have In England.
The field Is an inviting one for competent
young men, but as have said before, they
must have special training to enable them
10 climb over the fence Once there, work
s plenty, even in New York"
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
"How far would the knowledge Of arith-
metic that q boy gains in the public schools
avail him in your businessP
Il have in my Office now the son Of
friend whom took from tne topmost class
In q city grammar school He was bright
scholar, an when he came here he had all
the principles Of simple arithmetic thor
oughly digested. This knowledge was o
service TO him, but aside from that had to
undo great deal of utterly impracticable
stuff that he bad been taught in the higher
grades think 1t is the general experience.
even In mercantile houses, that in most
public schools a boy gets really useful
knowledge crammed out Of sight by lot Of
arithmetical bosh that won't stand the wear
Of . counting room"
@What qualifications must young man
possess to make frst-class accountantr
swell, though believe that an aptitude
for figures ID born in some men, the same
as q talent for music or painting, any bright
fellow that gives his mind to it can become
. good accountant Prime qualifications in
ayoung man desiring to be an accountant
are carefulnsss and accuracy, even In the
smallest details He must have the power
Of concentrating his mind on his work and
not let his wits 60 wool gathering. A good
memory and neat free penmsnship are
also essential II young man Is near
sighted or nervous an accountants desk Is
good place for him to keep away from"
Descendants Of the Norsemen.
tChicago Herald.
From Greenland comes the story that lit
tie hamlets occupied by the defendants of
the Norsemsn who emigrats thither hun
dreds of years ago, are in existence. and
that they contain happy and contsnted
population, uninfuencsi by the events
passing In the outside world, and unruffisd
by politics or base ball Centuries ago the
coast Of Greenland was the Danish fishing