By way of introduction;

              NEW YORK
CHICAGO
PHILADELPHIA
DETROIT
CLEVELAND
SAINT LOUIS
BOSTON
BALTIMORE
PITTSBURGH
LOS ANGELES
SAN FRANCISCO
BUFFALO
CINCINNATI
NEW ORLEANS
H A S K I N S & S E L LS
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
BULLETIN EXECUTIVE OFFICES
HASKINS & SELLS BUILDING
37 WEST 39TH ST.. NEW YORK
KANSAS CITY
SEATTLE
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DENVER
ATLANTA
DALLAS
SALT LAKE CITY
TULSA
WATERTOWN
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PARIS
HAVANA
SHANGHAI
VOL. IV NEW YORK, APRIL 15, 1921 No. 4
By Way of
IT is a pleasure to respond to the numer-ous
requests we have received from
friends and members of our organization
to reproduce in the Bulletin Mr. Sells'
article in the American Magazine of March,
1921, entitled, "You Can't Judge Your
Business by the Past Three Years."
The preliminary announcement of M r .
Sells' article was made by a poster which
was distributed in advance of the March
issue from the office of the editor of the
American Magazine, and which read as
follows:
"How Does Business Look to You?
"What do you expect of the next three
years? Do you feel about the future as does
Elijah W. Sells? Mr. Sells of Haskins & Sells,
Certified Public Accountants, says, 'You can­not
judge your business by the past three
years.' Since 1917, government contracts and
post-bellum extravagance have thrown an aura
of golden prosperity across our business hori­zon.
But times have changed, says Mr. Sells.
It's what you do during the next three years
that will determine your business existence.
"Here's a lot of sound business advice that's
abreast of the times. And from a man who
probably has seen more failures from the inside
than any other human being. It's an article
Introduction
that every business man—yes, every business
woman, too—should read, and read carefully."
The article itself, as it appeared in the
American Magazine, was illustrated by a
photograph of M r . Sells, with a short sketch
of his career. We give the sketch in full:
"Mr. Sells is one of the best known cer­tified
public accountants in this country.
He was born in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1858,
and began his business career as book­keeper
for a railroad. Later he was in
demand for examining accounts and in­stalling
accounting systems. In 1893, to­gether
with Charles W. Haskins, Mr. Sells
undertook the greatest job of its kind ever
given to a public accountant—the revision
of the accounting system of the United
States Government. It occupied them
two years, and they then formed a part­nership
which, among other things, intro­duced
a system of accounting for the Chi­cago
City Government, and revised the
financial system of the Philippine Islands.
In recognition of his many and valuable
services to business Mr. Sells has received
various honorary degrees from univer­sities."