Interpreting financial statements and accountants' reports for credit purposes;

              Interpreting Financial Statements and Accountants' Reports for Credit Purposes
BY EUGENE L. LARKIN, JR. Partner, New York Office
Presented before Thirty-third Annual Conference of Credit Execu­tives
of Manufacturers of Office and School Supplies and Equipment, Pocono Manor Inn, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania — April 1960
J SHOULD LIKE at the outset to express my appreciation for having been invited to appear before this audience. I always consider it a distinct honor to address a business group and I take particular pleas­ure
in having the opportunity of speaking to a group of credit execu­tives.
After all, a CPA's principal product is his report on financial statements and among the principal users of this commodity are the credit executives of the country. The accountant is the expert in the form and content of financial statements and in the conduct of an audit leading up to his opinion on them. The credit executive is the ex­pert
in analyzing them and in diagnosing the financial ills of a com­pany
through such analysis. Understanding the financial statements and the accountant's report from the point of view of the accountant should help the credit executive in his analysis and interpretation.
* * *
Being requested to speak in the Poconos reminds me of a talk I gave about four years ago to a group of executives at Skytop, which is about ten miles from here. On the day I spoke, the program called for business sessions in the morning only. The entire after­noon
was to be devoted to a golf tournament. I was the last sched­uled
speaker in the morning and had been asked to speak for about 45 minutes. The speakers preceding me took somewhat more time than had been allotted to them, so that it was about a quarter to twelve when the chairman rose to introduce me. Before doing so, however, he reminded the audience of the importance of teeing off promptly so that the tournament could be completed in ample time for the evening reception. He then urged them to try to get to the dining room for lunch as near to noontime as possible so as not to delay the start of the tournament. Finally, and it was then ten to twelve, he introduced me and stated that my topic would be the development of friendly relations in business contacts. I remained friendly with the audience. Needless to say, my prepared speech on the subject was not delivered.
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