The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-10-25
ACCOUNTANCY AND COMMERCE
instructive Paper Read at Recent Session of the
Prison Chautauqua
By ''DM' Mr. C. E. d..

.56SES65GSGSG5G5E5H
duty, to keep the sales posted tt
respective customers accounts and
to keep the customers accounts in
account in line with the current
operation of the business. Anoth.
er may have charge of the pur.
chase ledgers. His sole duty is
toward the purchase just as his CO.
workers is toward the sales. The
cashier is, in reality. boOkkeep.
er. His duty toward the cash
books of the business is another
branch of the system. The size
and kind of the business will gov
ern the scope of The system and
the scope of the system will govern
the books to be kept. But the
system itself is evolved by the
ability of the accountant to apply
the understanding of the broad
principles of his profession to the
particular business receiving bis
attention. The sales ledger clerk
is forced to understand only the
safes branch of the system. In
like manner the purchase ledger
clerk is forced to understand only
his particular branch and so on
throughout all of the units that
cumprise the system as whole.
To be successful, the accountant
must first understand the proper
conduct of all the units and their
relation to each other and to the
system, and second, he must be
able to apply this understanding in
an efficient manner.
He must have certain qualities
we'll developed. He must love de-
tail. He must be able to dissem-
mate mass of this detail through
the proper channels to the logical
and right final repository. Then
be must be logician. He must
have vision. He must be able t.
understand at once the results to
be obtained through following a
given course. He must have per-
spicacity. He must be able t.i
adapt, without wasteful practice.
the procedure that he already un-
derstands to be correct. He must
have analytical ability. Results d.
not always, by any means. cores
pond with expectations. He must
be able to analyze cause and logic.
ally the effect to be the result of
the cause. In installing system
he must consider every phase OF
the particular business he is sys-
tematizing, even to the extent of
anaIyzing the individuality of the
proprietor. He must have but one
creed-that of method.
Then, too, he must have certain
moral and physical attributes.
Honesty and integrity are of first
importance. He must be fOrceful
and compelling. His position de-
mands that be have access to all of
J the records of the business at such
times as he may see fit. Therefore
he must be worthy of confidence.
As the surgeon has the physical
life IF his patient in his power
during an operation so does the
, accountant have the vitals of the
|. business under his control. There
. fore he must exercise self-control
and be conservative of speech. A
certain reticence is characteristic;
] for be must be able to keep i'm
. portant affairs entrusted to his
, stewardship to himself.
/ have tried to briefly outline
the importance of the accountant
, and the reasons for that i'm Importance
and also to give you the attributes
which a man must possess in order
] that he may maintain his connec-
tion with so imp ,rtant a pro-
fessiOn.
Now. no class of persons. outside
of the profession, understand this
. Importance as we'll as the heads of
commercial activities. They real
, ize that mere bookkeeping, while
, it is the basis of the accountants =