GOLDEN RULE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1942, Page 9

GOLDEN RULE

BUSINESS MORALITY

NEED FOR NEW ORDER

Accountants are jealous of the high standing of their profession as was emphasised last night by Mr. R. English, of Hamilton, president of (the New Zealand Society of Accountants. Addressing members at their annual meeting, he stated that several cases, involving breaches of etiquette for the most part, had been dealt with and one member. reprimanded for carelessness and unprofessional conduct.

Mr. English expressed surprise at the extent to which some members relied upon the society's printed code of ethics as sole guide to correct professional conduct. He had been forcibly struck with the almost complete absence of the application by members of the principles of the golden rule in their dealings with their fel-low-men. In fact, he felt justified in concluding that, in many cases, the question in the mind of the person concerned was not whether he was doing the decent thing by his fellows, but whether he was likely to fall foul of the investigation committee. TO STOP "THE MORAL ROT." He was strongly of the opinion that it was of the utmost importance to everyone who was in any way connected with the commercial life of this country to consider seriously the undoubted lowering of the standard of commercial morality which had occurred during recent years, and what must be done to "stop the rot." His immediate predecessor had called upon all members to apply the golden rule in all their dealings with their professional brethren, and pointed out that by so doing they would avoid any possible risk of contravening the society's code of ethics. "I heartily agreed with him," said Mr. English. "But this' is not enough. Is it not time that we go further and, as members of the New Zealand Society of Accountants, so practise our profession as to apply this principle in every transaction? And further, use every effort, by example rather than by precept, to induce our clients and others to do the same thing?" As members of their society they should, and already did, carry considerable weight in the commercial community. That should tend to increase as time goes on. "Let us then endeavour tb make our presence in the community felt by setting an example of fair dealing and of the strictest honesty in all transactions between man and man," he said. j THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE.

To jettison the golden rule was to! pursue the alternative course of' adoption of the principle, "might is right," and the maxim, "Every man for himself." "We have seen where this has led," said Mr. English, "and it is essential now that anew world order shall be built up. The only way in which this can be built and maintained is on the principles of the golden rule, which, after all, are a summary,;of the teachings of that Christianity which we, as a nation, profess." In the past they had been inclined to concentrate all their energies to improving their position, or to increasing their wealth, ignoring or overlooking anything that might in any way interfere with their desires for pleasure, pecuniary gain, or advancement. Before they could hope for a better world in the future, one worth living in, they must be prepared for a whole-time application of the principles of the golden rule, adopting a totally different outlook upon life, not constantly looking for the quid pr- quo, but cultivating the habit of helping others without expecting that the bread cast upon the waters will return. TIME FOR STOCKTAKING. The time had undoubtedly come for a thorough and honest stocktaking of the position in commercial life. "Surely our members are amongst those to whom all engaged in business pursuits are entitled to look for a lead," Mr. English continued. "We may not succeed at first, but we shall have attempted something.

"If we can only realise ourselves, and make all those concerned realise, the extent to which dishonesty, selfishness, greed, and slackness have crept into, and are threatening to destroy, the standards of uprightness and decency in our business life, we will have done something worth while, and justified our existence as a society."

Once recognition and practice of the principles of the golden rule were secured they should be able to look forward with confidence to the time when the other fellow's rights' would be respected—irrespective of the extent of his worldly possessions, or of , his social position. "We should then hear and see less of secret commissions, of flagrant breaches of contract, of deliberate lying and misrepresentation which we all encounter from time i to time. We might eventually hope j to reach the point where a man's word, j once given, could be safely accepted without the necessity of putting it in j writing over his signature." j INCREASED MEMBERSHIP. j During his address the president stated that membership had increased to 3050, of which 663 were in private practice. Members serving in the forces numbered 487. Candidates sitting for examination numbered 2091, against 2636 for 1940, war duties no doubt accounting for the decrease. The benevolent fund was in credit to the extent of £11,232. A donation of £500 was made to the Victory Loan, in addition to 500 guineas to patriotic and Red Cross funds. Reference was also made to Mr. G. W. Reid, who is retiring after 15 years' continuous service on the council, where his sound judgment and deep knowledge of accountancy matters would be greatly missed in future deliberations. The president thanked air members of the council for their support during his presidency, and especially Mr. Johnston for unfailing assistance and courtesy during what had been, for him, a very strenuous,/ time. MORAL SOUNDNESS. The vice-president, Mr. E. D. Wilkinson, of Auckland, congratulated Mr. English on his courageous upholding Oi the golden rule. He declared that the new order, which was the ho^_ of the whole of humanity, could not be firmly established merely by a more equitable distribution of the world's wealth. If such procedure was the only kind taken in an attempt to solve the problems, this generation would see further troubles, even greater than those which they had now. Accountants had to do their part in the effort t« understand the fundamental causes of the problems and in finding solutions, which must be based on moral soundness.

Similar support of the high tone of the president's speech was given by Messrs. G. W. Reid and W. R. Brown (Dunedin), W. H. Nankervis .and F. H. Bass (Wellington).

Beautiful old lace which once belonged to four Queens of England was flown by a bomber to America for sale on behalf of a British war charity.