The Columbus journal., 1888-10-03

EXPERT ACCOUNTANTS
CAV EMPL OVERS LOSE MONEY SIM
PLY THROUGH NEGLIGENCE
OppoetunltIes 1oe Enbesz3e0so4 ca
h Rsusved Throagh ne Exercise e .
Lats,s cars-Res.lts Il . Careless System
q Keeping AeooanfA
How to keep trusted clerks from en-
bezzlement Is . secret which every busi-
ness firm or corporation In Chicago would
like to know. There does not pass . day
but some peculations are discovered, from
the young man who steals . few dollars
and is sent to Jail to tho genius who
leaves for Canada with . million In his
pockets. Expert accountants say that
employers lose money simply through
their own negligence. and that al chances
for embezzlement canbe removed through
the exercise of . little care.
W. C. Baine says: Tho business Of IN
expert accountant is . new a in the
west, and has not acquired the dignity Of
Q profession. It not only calls for .
knowledge Of bookkeeping in n line Of
business, but 1t also requires . knowledge
of every business, co~ntractual rights, and
the ability to -construe the terms Of con
tracts. But in Chicago. whenever an Or
binary b~ookkeeper is thrown out Of
employment, he at onee sets himself up
as an expert accountant. OF course such
men fail. The keeping Of . set Of books
can be learned in six months as well rs In
six years, and tho bookkeeper does not
realize that this II the smallest part Of
the knowledge which an expert account
ant should acquire before he can succeed.
In Great Britain . man cannot arrive to
the dignity of an expert accountant until
he has gone through . curse Of study In
the same manner Is Q student for the bar.
He therefore. becomes fitted to answer
any call that may b made upon him. and
the business becomes . life business.
But look ut the list Of accountants in
the Chicago directory. There are very
few names which appeared in last years
directory, showing that the business with
many has been but . temporary one while
the men engaged in it were out Of work
In their ordinary vocation, that Of keep
ing books. But the business is bound to
grow. Business Is done in such q hurry
here that mistakes 4 very liable to
occur. In the largo majority of cases.
where IN expert accountant II called to
examine Q set Of books which arc out Of
balance, It will be found that there has
been no thieving, but that carelessness
hss been the trouble. II Q bookkeeper or
cashier is trusted sufficiently and has the
handling Of money it Is m easy matter
for him to steal. bat It is. q much harder
for him to conceal his thefts. A very
common way 10 to falsify the items on
the debit side OF the cash book. The cor
rect amounts arc generally entered on
tho ledger account, and the merchant
almost Invariably looks At the ledger
when he wishes to see whether any ac-
count has been paid. It is his own care
lessness that permits embezzlement,- and
il he has not the time to look after his
own business he should have an account
ant 20 over his books three or four times
. year"
Merritt Brooks, who has been in the
business for Q number Of years, has had
the opportunity Of watching the course
taken by q number Of embezzlers, and the
means used by them to make their books
apparently balance, so that 1T . casual
glance their peculations cannot be dis
covered. The way I happened to enter
into the business was this" he said; Il
had been engaged as Q bookkeeper in Buff
falo, and was employed to examine into
the accounts Of the county treasurer Of
Erie county. It was found that through
Q careless system Of keeping accounts tho
treasurer was short in his cash $19, 900.
This discovery led to IN Investigation
into the accounts Of the city Of Buffalo
from the time when the charter vas
originally granted. The sum Of e154. 900
was discovered, tho accumulation of
small amounts Of overcharges on special
assessments. which the city had no
knowledge it possessed.
1T is difficult for Q man who keeps. IN
upright set Of books to steal his employ
eris money without detection. When .
cashier Of . bank wants to steal money
outright, and with such Q sum Is he can
take ct once and leave for parts unknown,
there is no necessity for him to try to
cover up the theft by false entries In his
books. But the defau1ter who takes money
from time to time Is forced to make his
books appear balanced. He makes false
entries Which can be discovered easily BY
IN expert accountant. Tho systematic
embezzler simply relies upon no examine.
ton being made. In order to commit
~-k>->ksO ~ohhn~v La -,,k hn- <~rokAl
not only with the cash. but also with tho
books. 1t is then . very easy matter to
enter items or false ~footings in the cash
book 80 that the figures viii appear cor
rect. Unless the employer goes beneath
tho surface the fraud wiz never be dis
covered.
''The honest bookkeeper w~ouldsnot fesl
offended or tnsulted II his books were X
amined, and if he is dishonest. the sooner
his work is looked over the better. Book
keepers would be moro careful and tho
books would be better kept. A cashier In
Q large establishment should not be a.
lowed to have full charge Of the books,
and the bookkeeper should be the one to
keep tho record Of al the cashiers receipts
and expenditures. In this way embezzle-
ment Is impossible unless the two act In
C0uUSlO0. Inc 8CCOU0LS OF the C8S0le1
can then be examined by the bookkeeper's
records only. Few d~efalcations are found
In the accounts Of railroad corporations.
where large sums Of money are handled
every year. This II because Of tho system
Of auditing accounts. The agent who
handles money for the company does not
know what moment the travelling auditor
may como in and damaud m immediate
inspection Of his aecounts- Examinations
made in this way affect The market value
Of stock in corporations. II investors
could be satisfied that the condition of
the finances Of any corporation was ex-
actly what It Is given out to be BY the
officers they would have greater conf
denes In investing and the market vslua
Of the stocks would increase Chicago
Exports q Fresh Meet
Since fresh meat Il now transported by
thousands Of tons from North and South
America and Australia 70 England and
France, It Is interesting 10 examine tho
i~nnemious nroceaaea sdonted On the ocean