Overcoming tradition with thought;

              Bulletin HASKINS & SELLS 5
Overcoming Tradition With Thought
T R A D I T I O N S are difficult to over-come.
The fact that a thing has
been done in a certain way for years seems,
in some circles, to give it a vested right
which is indestructible. The English firm
of accountants who, when a former ap­prentice
sent them an American form of
income statement for perusal as a matter
of interest, replied that they had been
making their statements in a certain way
for thirty-five years and thought they
wouldn't change, offers an illustration
which is typical. Another English firm,
when receiving an American balance sheet
in the same manner said: "Yes; it's a very
good statement, but fancy putting the
liabilities on the wrong side."
So there are many things about ac­countancy
practice, regardless of the geo­graphical
location, which go on year after
year in the same way, because of tradition.
A certain report of a certain client had
appeared in the same way for several
years. The statements were anything but
creditable from an accounting point of
view, but no one would take the respon­sibility
for changing them, because it was
contended that they met the wishes of the
client. The client was consulted. He ex­pressed
ignorance of the history back of
the form of statement in question, and
admitted the supposition that the ac­countants
were responsible for the
absurdity. Knowing little about the
technicalities of accounting, he had not
felt qualified to criticize. He was sure of
one thing, however, that he had never
understood the statements.
Accordingly, the sham of tradition was
broken down. The debris was cleared
away, and the foundation laid for a new
structure based on reliable information.
Sudden changes are not desirable. They
are apt to cause shock. And a client
suffering from shock is not always an
easy problem. But there is generally a
way to handle such matters so as to pre­pare
the mind in advance without causing
shock.
In the case just cited, it was suggested
to the client that a year hence the report
should be changed. He was advised to
discuss the matter with his associates so
that they would be prepared for the change.
Having laid this foundation, it was an easy
matter a year after the original incident to
prepare a statement both clear and com-prehensive,
and one which the client subse­quently
confessed he was able to under­stand
for the first time in the course of his
relations with the accountants.
Auditing practice is more or less a slave