The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-03-06
THE USEFULNESS OF EXPERT
 PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS.

1 The Service They Render is an Ac- knowledged Necessity, as a Protection to the Interests of Both Creditors and Stockholders in Banks Insurance, Manufacturing, Mining, Trading and
 Transportation Companies-The Ben- l eficial Effects of Their Work are Be- l ing More and More Apprecated-The l Thirty Years Practical Experience of
 MT. Henry l.. Hill Known and Rec | ognized in Many States. in New York City, in New England and Through
 out the State of Connecticut.
 Under the Companies Act in England,
 for many years it has been obligatory to
 submit all financial as well as indus
 trial, reports to the careful scrutiny of public accountant. To this law of Eng land is entitled largely the credit for
 the general success of the English cor porations It was at first a matter of
 some surprise to our American business men to see an English accountant sent
 over to this country to examineIthe con- dition of various enterprises which were being offered to English capitalists. If | it were brewery that was to be exam l ined the Englishman did not send over
 a brewer to look over the property, but chartered accountant. If it were a railroad that was to be considered 1t was not railroad man who was sent over but chartered accountant The explanation for this seemingly unusual choice is the Englishman's perfect faith that in any matter of values or profits the experienced accountant is the safest man to depend upon. He can detect the weak places in any statement
 and can show up the facts exactly as they exist.
 True to the American characteristic,
 this new funetionary in the business
 world became so apparent that the leg
 islatures of several states have taken
 the matter up and passed laws upon the
 subject with the result that new cor
 porations and business enterprises are
 being formed upon better lines, by
 making use of the skill and experience
 of the expert public accountant, and,
 by the same means, the old ones are be-
 ing brought around to paying condi-
 ton.
 The foreman's estimate no longer goes as "cost report" made up from "a
 post-construction anaylsis, but the &C., countant's industrial report has taken its place; the one was all guess york;
 the other is the actual result.
 In monetary institutions the Expert Public Accountant where his skill has been made use of, is in a quiet way rev. olutionizing the whole system Dual responsibility is the golden text from which he proceeds and the effect of this method is to lessen the probability of dedication in two ways; first, by re- moving the temptation for wrong doing and second, by providing the means by which dedication, even in the smaller matters, will be immediately detected. This is done without lessening the gen eral efficiency and speed with which business can be transacted; on the con- trary it results in saving of time and cost.
 By the law of Massachusetts all bus mess corporations must appoint an Ex pert Public Accountant as Auditor. It is a significant fact that Boston is the home of more high paying dividend cor porations than any city in the country. | It would seem that careful auditing by | experienced men always accompanies | dividend earning concerns. In talking | with several Expert Public Account | ants in the state of Connecticut, we find 1 that only very small percentage of the corporations have stated audit of | their books, the great majority none at | all, and in by far too many cases, after | the stockholders have paid in their | money they seem to have no further with the concern, beyond an invitation to appear before a referee to show cause why it should not be dis solved. Without doubt the officials of these corporations are honest, but no more so than in any other state and why they do not adopt this system which relieves them of great responsi- bility, is more than we can see.
 The Expert Public AG1ountants of the State of Connecticut are a set of honest and capable men and bear excel lent regulations as well as having the l' confidence of the public, and one may rest assured that in employing one of them he is getting the best possible ser vice Tn the state there are several of these Expert Accountants, among whom may be mentioned MT Henry L. which may be mentioned Mr. Henry l.. Hill, who has his office in Room 312, First National Bank Building, New Haven, Conn. {
 MT Hill has had thirty years expe- fence at this work including twelve { iears as bookkeeper in the First Ma ional Bank and two years City Expert ' ,n Municipal Accounts, Controllers of : ice City Hall, New Haven. He makes I audits and adjustments g n New Haven or elsewhere and has assistants whose work he upervises and certifies to. He makes I nnual and special reports for corpora t ions, as well as examines, corrects, bal V nces and closes the books and accounts