THE TRADING OUTLOOK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3886, 4 September 1928, Page 67

THE TRADING OUTLOOK.

AN OPTIMISTIC NOTE. EXTREME CARE ESSENTIAL. AUCKLAND,- August 27. The belief that the general trading outlook in New Zealand was good and was likely to remain so for the next year or two was expressed by Mr E. W. Hunt, of Wellington, in his presidential address to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Society of Accountants, but in venturing his prophecy, Mr Hunt stressed the necessity for handling the position with extreme care. It was well to sound a note of caution, he said. The experiences of the last boom period were forgotten. “ Traders grant credit too freely in boom years,” declared Mr Hunt, “ and I am afraid they were encouraged to a large extent by the banks which, with the ntion of assisting the primary producer, allowed many concerns interested in the financing of farmers to go a good deal further than the position warranted. As a consequence a great deal of financial trouble occurred. Business in general in New Zealand was too dependent on borrowed money and too little on subscribed capital and the creation of reserves.” The country must, continued Mr Hunt, if possible avoid its previous mistake of over importation, and he felt that the banks could do much to counteract that undesirable tendency. It was also hoped by Mr Hunt that the worker would recognise that industrial unrest must be fatal to his welfare and to the general prosperity of the country. The present outlook for the Dominion was for good and sustained prices for the next two or three years. Calculations might be affected by poor producing seasons or disturbed by world conditions, but the probabilities were for a good season. I hose improved conditions applied to both qualities and values. Incidentally, Mr Hunt believed that -the accountants could do much to guide the financial welfare of the business community. Additional efficiency in the office system and organisation in the past 25 years must count for the benefit of the business community in general.