Including the churches;

              Bulletin HASKINS & SELLS 45
THE following editorial appeared re­cently
in a church publication:
"It greatly surprised the Editor a few
days ago at a meeting of a board of trustees
of which he is a member to find that there
still exists a feeling that the engagement of
a certified accountant implies a question
as to the integrity of a treasurer. The em­ployment
of trained auditors has become
so common in business that it may almost
be said to be universal practice. Men of
experience in handling the funds of others
are now demanding that their accounts
receive professional audit. The amateur
auditing committee of former days may
have been able to determine whether all
moneys received in a treasurer's office were
accounted for; but they were usually
unable to ascertain whether any amounts
had been misapplied. The treasurer of a
church is often the subject of criticism by
unthinking members of a congregation; his
methods are criticized and his bookkeeping
is questioned. The remedy for such a
situation is a professional accountant, at
least one of whom is now to be found in
most communities. Every church treas­urer
should himself urge such employment;
and he should not feel aggrieved when
others suggest it. Every congregation has
the right to know that its contributions are
actually applied to the purpose for which
they are given; that gifts for missions and
benevolence are not used for the expense
of the local church; and that the finan­cial
business of the church is carried
on in a business-like manner. A real
annual audit by a professional account­ant
is the best method of giving such
assurance."
Probably there was a time in the early
days of accountancy when the appearance
of a public accountant in an organization
often excited suspicions and was unwel­come.
Probably a great many early audits
were in reality cash audits, and were made
for the purpose of detecting fraud or of
discovering errors and other manipulations.
Probably the possibilities of utilizing the
services of public accountants were not
generally understood or appreciated. The
above is an evidence that this period is
rapidly passing.
Professional accountants may be of
valuable service to religious and charitable
organizations. The bookkeeping systems
frequently are not adequately controlled,
and are not arranged so as to reflect im­portant
facts. The conditions surrounding
many custodians are such as to place
temptation in their way. Accountants are
in a position to suggest remedies for such
situations.
A recent church bulletin calls attention
as follows to the counting of offertories:
"Thousands of offertories are placed on
Including the Churches