ACCOUNTANTS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 199, 26 August 1935, Page 6

ACCOUNTANTS

A LINK WITH THF. LAW IN NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA ••The New Zealand Society ot. Accountants is intimately linked with the Law Society. The overhauling of statutes has engaged the attention of both societies,” remarked Mr. G. W. Reid, of Dunedin, at a social function. Similar helpful co-operation has. occurred in Australia. ‘- Within Parliament we occasionally hear of the influence that a little leaven of accountancy hrs been exercising there,” ran a re- V*;i ent of Mr. W. T. MacBrid ■. -lent of the Commonwealth Insti.... f Accountants. ‘‘ln fact, it has been stated by a weekly journal that usually combines a sense of humour with a sense of fair play, that a certain Government was suffering from ‘an accountancy complex’—whatever that may mean. 1 do not know what the journalist had in mind, but in this instance, and in view of tin* beneficial changes effected by the said Government, I suggest that we should take the phrase as a compliment to accountancy. I do not think that the term is sanctioned by the science of psychology, rather is it an invention of journalism. If I may be pardoned for a. play on words. 1 affirm that 'accountancy complex’ is a contradiction in terms. There is nothing complex about accountancy; on the contrary, in

the realm of commerce figures, it i- ; the unravellcr of all that is complex. ] the solvent of all that is intricate and ; involved. It is a truth-revealer, ana truth is never complex. ■• I u business, accountancy i.- 1 lie . science that rejoices in making the crooked straight and the rough places plain, and doubtless some of our clients could recommend its fuller use in the business of Parliament. Furthermore. ] in the words of Mr. Hill, ‘ Acountancy f tends to correct undue optimism and f dispel undue pessimism,’ which is another recommendation for its .fuller . use in Parliament. I would like iu . quote also from a book written by an . English barrister. Mr. Albert Crew. He says of the professional account- - ant; ‘He has a passion fo exactitude ri and accuracy, and marshalls figures . into their proper places so that they fi speak the truth’—qualities, you will \ } observe, that are very becoming also 1 in Parliamentary treasurers. t ” You will remember that on their t visit to Australia a few years ago, the g members of the British Economic Mis- > sion, known as ‘The Big Four,’ in their ,v report made a rCconiniendalion to the t . Government in these words: ‘That e public accounts should be prepared in <1 such a way as to make clear what is d the exact financial po.-itiuii of each . Government undertaking.’ Since then, p.l believe there has been improvement if lin the setting-out of some of the ,f various Governments’ accounts in Ausir tralia; but there seems to be. room j for greater clarity, and there is room n 1 for more of the leaven of accountancy x I within ,ihc Governmental departn | meat*.**