Faithful in little things;

              ATLANTA PITTSBURGH
BALTIMORE
BIRMINGHAM
BOSTON HASKINS & S E L LS PORTLAND
PROVIDENCE
SAINT LOUIS
BROOKLYN SALT LAKE CITY
BUFFALO
CHARLOTTE CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO
CHICAGO SEATTLE
CINCINNATI TULSA
CLEVELAND WATERTOWN
DALLAS BULLETIN DENVER
DETROIT
JACKSONVILLE
KANSAS CITY BERLIN
LONDON
MANILA
PARIS
LOS ANGELES SHANGHAI
MINNEAPOLIS NEWARK E X E C U T I V E O F F I C ES
NEW ORLEANS 30 BROAD STREET, NEW YORK HAVANA
NEW YORK MEXICO CITY
PHILADELPHIA MONTREAL
VOL. X NEW Y O R K , JUNE, 1927 No. 6
THE meticulous care with which a
"Standard Oil" salesman recently at­tended
to the renewal of an unimportant
contract for a season's supply of fuel oil,
made a strong impression on a certain
suburban householder.
According to the householder's state­ment,
when he thinks of oil, he thinks of
"Standard" oil. If he had given the
matter of his season's supply a thought, it
would have been to wonder how he was
going to induce the mighty "Standard" to
bother with the insignificant amount which
he requires to operate his house-heating
plant during a part of the winter season.
So it was with considerable interest that
the householder observed the solicitude
displayed by the salesman in seeking a
renewal of the contract. No more care or
courtesy could have been given to an ex­planation
of the reasons why renewal at
that time was desirable, to the assurances
of benefits, and to the ease with which the
renewal might be accomplished. In other
words, the transaction was handled as if it
were the most important matter before the
corporation at the time.
Some years ago an acquaintance of one
of our partners modestly remarked that he
supposed we would not be interested in
bothering with the audit of his personal
accounts. Of course, he was immediately
disabused of any such notion, and a small
engagement followed, under the personal
attention of the partner. Later on the
client had some controversy with the
Federal government over tax matters, and
we were instrumental in bringing him to a
happy issue out of his difficulties. Next,
he recommended us to some of his asso­ciates
with whom he was interested in some
syndicate operations, and we audited the
accounts of the syndicate; and so on.
We are proud of our service to this client.
The first work we did for him perhaps was
one of the smallest engagements we have
ever taken. But we are still serving him,
after ten years or more of relationship. He
has recommended us whenever occasion of­fered,
and we believe him one of our friends.
The notion that accountancy practice
has assumed proportions inconsistent with
the ideals of personal service is considerable
of a fallacy. It may be a matter of pride
to some organizations that no engagement
is too large or involved for them to under­take.
One of the fascinations of practice
may be found in trying to adapt the com­plicated
machinery of a large organization
to the requirements of ideal personal serv­ice.
But no service should be too small to
consider. No engagement should be too
unimportant to undertake. And anything
that is worth doing at all is worth doing
well, platitudinous though this observation
may be. Somewhere in the Good Book
is a reference to the man who, faithful in
little things, was made ruler over many.
Faithful in Little Things