Independent examination of credit unions;

              E HAVE BEEN WITNESSING a gradual but certain trend from the
reliance of regulated businesses solely upon examination of finan­cial
statements by government examiners to independent examinations
conducted by certified public accountants. Certainly, a major reason
for this trend is the rapid growth of our economy coupled with the
inability of the agencies to maintain staffs adequate to cope with this
growth. Just as railroads, banks, insurance companies, and other
members of regulated industries are turning to certified public ac­countants
for managerial advice as well as for the conduct of inde­pendent
examinations, credit unions are seeking our help.
To appreciate the growth of credit unions, we must recall that the
first credit union in the United States was not organized until 1909.
Today there are 20,000 credit unions. Their total assets aggregate
$4 billion. The average growth rate in the number of credit unions has
been about 6%, while assets have been growing at an annual rate of
20%. Membership runs in excess of ten million, with an annual
average growth rate of 10%. It is estimated that six out of every one
hundred persons in the United States belong to a credit union. Al­though
statistics for Canada are proportionately about one-fourth of
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12 THE QUARTERLY