Haskins & Sells Foundation Scholastic Award;

              Haskins & Sells Foundation Scholastic Award
BY HOMER E. SAYAD Partner, Saint Louis Office
Remarks upon presentation of Award at The University of Missouri — December 1958
IT gives me great pleasure to be here to make the presentation of the first scholastic award at the University of Missouri by the Haskins & Sells Foundation. We thought it would be appropriate to make this award at a gathering of the accounting faculty and the account­ing
seniors. We who practice accounting are indebted to the teaching staff at the universities for their selfless devotion to the academic life. The growth, in numbers and in stature, of the accounting profession is largely due to the excellent training given those entering the profession. I extend my congratulations to you members of the senior class for having chosen accounting as your major subject and I hope you will make it your career. The dictionary says the word "career" means "a profession which offers opportunity for advancement." I can think of no profession today which offers greater opportunities for advancement than accounting. The profession has had a remarkable growth since the first C.P.A. certificate was issued in 1896. Today there are over 55,000 Certified Public Accountants in the country engaged in the practice of public accounting, in teaching and in accounting work in private industry.
The growth of the profession is attributable directly to the growth and expansion of our commerce and industry. Our highly competitive economy has made accounting an indispensable instrument of success­ful
management. Cost systems, budgets, financial forecasts, and comprehensive and informative financial reports are no longer things that only concern big business. Every business interested in operat­ing
profitably is or should be concerned with them. The accounting profession has contributed mightily in the. development of these skills and techniques of financial control and reporting of business operations.
While the growth of the profession has been remarkable and its services have been eagerly sought, it cannot long rest on its past achievements. The advent of the atom and electronics and other technical developments have opened the way to a future of vast change and progress in our economy. The accounting profession must adapt itself to the changing conditions and must develop new skills and techniques if it is to continue to serve business with pro­fessional
competence.
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