"Creative accounting" three score years ago;Office management as a profession

              "CREATIVE ACCOUNTING" THREE SCORE
YEARS AGO
Paul Garner
The University of Alabama
EDITOR'S NOTE: Professor Garner brought the
following human interest item to the attention of
this editor. Emphasis (italics) was supplied
throughout by Dr. Garner.
From: Alpha Kappa Psi Diary, June, 1924
OFFICE MANAGEMENT AS A PROFESSION
By A. W. T. Ogilvie, Gamma Chapter
With a sigh of satisfaction and relief, the
bookkeeper laid down his pen and surveyed the
statement which he had just prepared. He noted
the net: profit for the period and allowed what little
imagination he had to picture the pleasure of the
master when he saw the "neat'' profit shown in the
statement.
He lost no time in presenting the statement to
his employer, a keen-witted, hard-headed, thrifty
Quaker, who possessed a pretty accurate knowledge
of the statistics of his business without reference to
any records or hooks of account. The Quaker
glanced at the statement and noted that the net
profit exceeded his private estimate by about
$2,000.00. He turned to the bookkeeper and said:
"Lad, thee hast made a mistake somewhere in thy
calculations. The Lord has not been as kind to us as
thee indicates. Tot it again.''
The bookkeeper laboriously as before re- added
the statement, itself a rather untidy exhibit on
unruled paper. Being unable to find any error in
his figures, he brought it again to his Quaker boss,
who proceeded to check the additions himself. At
the end of the operation he said, turning to the
boy: "John, thee hast made the mistake of adding
in the year of Our Lord. "
It is a long stride from John's statement to the
balance sheets and operating statements of the
modern corporation. Perhaps a longer stride,
however, measures the improvement in office
methods in the past thirty years that has been
accomplished even in accounting.
The office, formerly an aggregation of "pen
pushers," has taken on the aspect of a group of
technical experts who have qualified themselves for
a narrow, but important, line of work. The
invention of use of machinery in office work,
together with the advent of women into business,
has changed the entire complexion and revised the
problems of the office manager's job. The
machinery itself came as the natural answer to the
pressure brought upon the office by the
concentration of activities in our larger
organizations. From the massing of clerical
activities in a single group, called the office,
evolved the office manager.
The office manager is responsible to the
administrative head for the efficient organization
and management of that part of the activities of the
business, commonly called clerical work. This may
include the accounting department. In many cases
it does. In other cases the accounting is entirely
outside the office manager's jurisdiction. Clerical
work embraces normally all records, other than
books of account perhaps, corresondence, intra-communication
and office service of various types
to the different departments within the business.
ENDOWMENT FUND
RECEIVES ANOTHER CONTRIBUTION
The Academy's Endowment Fund, the income
from which will go to support accounting history
research, has received another sizable contribution.
Dr. S. Paul Garner, the Dean Emeritus at the
University of Alabama, has recently donated $500
to the Endowment Fund. Dean Garner is one of
the best known members of the Academy, having
lectured in about 80 countries throughout the
world. He has been a long time supporter of
accounting history research, and has contributed
many publications himself.
Other members who wish to contribute to the
endowment fund should send their contributions
to Al Roberts, Secretary; The Academy of
Accounting Historians, Box 658, Georgia State
University, Atlanta, GA 30303. Contributions are
tax deductible.
The Accounting Historians Notebook, Fall, 1981 9