Future extensions of audit services, Meeting investors' future needs;

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Future Extensions of Audit Services; Meeting Investors' Future Needs
Donald J. Bevis
Touche Ross & Co.
In a changing world, the unchanging role of the CPA is to serve the investor. Selfishly, the CPA wants to be the prime—even the only—servant of the investor. Generously, the CPA wants to serve the investor all the information he may need. A little clear thought shows that "only" and "all" are too strong. Yet the CPA is and should remain in the forefront of the campaign to provide the investor with quality information.
In our world of very rapid change, the nature of "investor information" is changing rapidly. For example, where plant capacity, production costs or sales volume were once the key factors, social values may now also be material. Al­though
our role does not change, the data we audit and the scope of the informa­tion
we examine and evaluate must change.
The Conditions of Change and Growth
For many centuries, tomorrow and yesterday were very much alike. There were few dramatic changes, and they were far between. Always, the frontier was a wilderness. There was very little difference, for example, between 1670— when the Hudson's Bay Company was formed by a group of venturers and adventurers—and 1770 when the colonies began to flex their muscle. In those times, yesterday's results were a strong predictor of tomorrow's performance. For the investor, the venturer, historical data were very significant.
Today, the great lament is that change comes so fast. We are unable to keep up, to assimilate, to digest. We wonder what will come next from the research lab, from the ecologists, from Congress, from the ghetto, via the satellite, from the moon, or from 400 fathoms. Something is coming all the time. The effect is to compress time, and for the investor, to diminish the sig­nificance
of historical data. More useful data must be sought, in broader fields, and with a visionary eye.
In the days of the Hudson's Bay Company, entrepreneurs banded together in joint ventures to capitalize on opportunities in strange, new, faraway places. When the venture was completed, the manager called a meeting to report to the venturers. Usually his report was oral, and the venturers had an opportunity to ask questions and interrogate the venture manager and the exploring team. By experience, the investors found that these review meetings were more suc-
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