ACCOUNTANTS IN BERLIN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 22 December 1938, Page 7

ACCOUNTANTS IN BERLIN

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS When the Czecho-Slovakian trouble was tending towards war, in the middle of Septemeber, the Fifth International Congress of Accounting was due to begin in Berlin. As no news of it came out in the cables (much concerned with the internation crisis) it was thought in New Zealntd that the congress had its full course. 19th to 23rd September. in a pleasant atmosphere. A re--1 port in “The Accountant” (London) has | this pasage:—“Of the success of the social side of the programme at Berlin there can be no possible doubt whatever. The guests were entertained with the most lavish hospntality and were given opportunities of seeing many sides of German life at the present time. They lunched and dined and wined and danced; they spent one glorious day at Potsdam and they renewed old friendships and made new' ones. Some happy memories will always remain with those who visited Berlin.

“The whole week, from the moment the hosts took charge of their hundreds of guests until the moment when they parted from them in the early hours of Saturday. 24th September, was a wonderful example of German hospitality and of the great organising genius of the German people."

The congres was held in the Kroll Opera House, which is the Session Hall of the German Reichstag. Each speaker gave his address from the platform. The speaker's reading desk was fitted with microphones, and each member of the Congress was able to listen to the speeches through individual earphones, made adjustable to speeches in one of four languages. Speeches were simultaneously translated into English. French. German, or Italian, so that all members had an opportunity of hearing the speeches in languages with which they were familiar.

| The allocation of speeches and papers had been arranged by the Congress committee with admirable efficiency. I and with a desire to give each nation represented an opportunity of taking ! part in the proceedings Eight proI fessional subjects had been chosen: a j country was asked to contribute a national papers in his subject, which had irvitation of the committee a general reporter was appointed to prepare a general paper based on the several nationad paperfs in his subject, which had been furnished to him in advance A record of the transactions of the Congress is being prepared.