Apprehending the wrongdoer;

              ATLANTA
BALTIMORE
BIRMINGHAM HASKINS & SELLS PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH
BOSTON PORTLAND
BUFFALO CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
PROVIDENCE
SAINT LOUIS
CHICAGO SALT LAKE CITY
CINCINNATI SAN DIEGO
CLEVELAND BULLETIN SAN FRANCISCO
DALLAS SEATTLE
DENVER TULSA
DETROIT WATERTOWN
KANSAS CITY LOS ANGELES MINNEAPOLIS HAVANA
NEWARK LONDON
NEW ORLEANS EXECUTIVE OFFICES PARIS
NEW YORK HASKINS & SELLS BUILDING
37 WEST 39TH ST., NEW YORK SHANGHAI
VOL. V I I NEW YORK, JULY, 1924 No. 7
Apprehending
" C A T C H that thief," is a cry which one
expects to hear issuing from the
throats of a mob pursuing a common pick­pocket
through the city streets. It might
almost be adopted by public accountants
as a slogan to guide them in their daily
work.
Some sage has observed that facts are
stubborn things. The facts with regard
to embezzlements are that they are increas­ing
alarmingly in number, amounts in­volved,
and in the cleverness with which
they are perpetrated. The causes under­lying
the increase might have certain in­terest
to social reformers but no point in
connection herewith. Business men,
fidelity companies, and accountants are
confronted rather with the effects.
Embezzlements in the United States
now involve in the aggregate more than
3100,000,000 annually. The amount paid
out by the fidelity insurance companies on
embezzlement claims has increased 600%
since 1910. The number of claims for
losses through embezzlement increased
50% during the three years ended Decem-the
Wrongdoer
ber 31, 1923. Embezzlement stands
fourth in the classification of losses suffered
by American business men.
Probably no one class of individuals has
the opportunities for uncovering irregu­larities
which are offered to public account-tants.
Perhaps from the point of view of
reputation there is no line of work more
hazardous. The popular conception of an
accountant emphasizes his function as a
detecter of fiduciary shortcomings. The
fact will generally be conceded that the
true picture of the accountant's worth in
the business world is distorted by this pub­lic
conception. Errors of principle involv­ing
large amounts no doubt have been
passed over many times without discovery.
If the failure to discover them had become
known it might not have resulted in criti­cism
of the accountant. But a small
shortage in cash is the occasion for repre­hension
entirely out of proportion to the
importance involved.
As long as the public takes the attitude
of expecting accountants to pass no short­ages
accountants should make an earnest