Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-09-26
INTENSE WORK
STRONG FACTOR
IN ACCOUNTANCY
General Fitness Aside From Hard
Study, First Essential, Says
E. C. Bosworth.

Much has been written in the pas;
concerning accountancy and its opDor-
tunities. Little it seems has been said
outside of journals of the profession,
concerning adequate preparation. III
some manner men and women nave
come to believe that here at last in
this rather new profession was the
opportunity to become wealthy and
famous, with very little effort. That
accountancy, like any field worth
while, demands much in the way of
natural ability and Of educational
training seems never to have entered
the minds of many who seek success
in the different schools which offer
accountancy education.
The better type of professional
school of accountancy recognizes thai
there are several salient points which
should have the attention of the pub
lie, especially Of that portion of the
public which is earnestly and honestly
considering the rich opportunities
which accountancy offers. First, it
has been clearly seen by many schools
of high standards that an adequate
general educational background for
professional training should be az
academic course equivalent to the
four-year course required by the STAN
dard high school. No less than this
can be satisfactory and while prop
hecy is often futile, many believe that
the requirements of the future will be
even higher That this requirement of
the professional school is reasonable
seems to be demonstrated by the par
a!lel requirement of the several State
boards and of the American institute
of Accountants. Perhaps it is more
clearly demonstrated by the almost un
believable percentage of failures in
those schools where there is only a
nomina. entrance requirement.
In the second place the selection Of
students qualified for success in ac-
countancy cannot rest entirely upon
academic requirements. Nobod. should
be admitted to a course of pro 'ession-
al grade except by virtue Of 2 confer
ence with a person qualified 20 judge
of his natural abilities and tempera-
mental fitness. Once admitted on SUCH
a basis, frequent and fair examina-
tons combined with the careful per-
sonal supervision of trained instruc-
tors should mark out the man who
seems destined to make good from the
individual whose qualities give evid-
ence of almost certain failure. In this
way the school which honestly anc
conscientiously and in the spirit OF
service seeks to train accountants
rather than to "hold students" will
gain the type of success which every
professional school would desire. This
plan can be carried outs carried
out-by the better type of profession
al school.
Next, the instruction should be
broad and should be practical. The
accountant of tomorrow must be a
thinker. The student therefore needs
as basis text that represents varied
viewpoints of many leaders VINO are
known for the sou1dness of their
thinking. The instructors also should
combine breath Of practical eXpe-
fience with real teaching ability.
That the work. should be practical
means first of all that secondary pub
jects important as they are should be
in distinctly secondary position in
the curriculum. That important a.
are law and economics, the major
study should be accounting and that
approximately two-thirds of the class
and study time should be given to
this major subject and to such closely
related subjects as auditing and cost
accounting. Problems should have the
first place in all accounting courses
problems truly practical and in every
way rejecting conditions as they ex-
list in modern business.
Last of all, it is the duty of the
school to help the student to appre
ciate the limitations of professional
education. The graduate Of the medi-
cal school is not physician, the
graduate Of the law school is not a
lawyer, neither is the graduate of the
school of accountancy real account
ant.
Very wisely, it seems to me, re-
quirements for the degree of certified
public accountant have generally in
Guided experience. If a man is to rep
resent himself as a skilled accountant
the public for it's protection should
know that he has had actual practical
experience. Many State boards have
demanded this. The American 1nsti-
tute of Accountants has gone farther
than many of the State boards. The
school should then say frankly, eve
can and will give you instruction that
will develop your reasoning powers IN
accountancy. we can and will train you
to solve practical problems, but with
all that we can do there is much that
cannot be gained outside the Office OF
the professional accountant"
Many other things might be saiG
concerning accountancy education
these are a few of the important
points worthy of careful consideration
by the man or woman seeking In
creased opportunity and the conse
quent increased income that come