Professional ideals;

              HASKINS & S E L LS
C E R T I F I E D P U B L I C A C C O U N T A N T S
NEW YORK
CHICAGO
PHILADELPHIA
DETROIT
ST. LOUIS
BOSTON
CLEVELAND
BALTIMORE
PITTSBURGH BULLETIN SAN FRANCISCO
LOS ANGELES
NEW ORLEANS
SEATTLE
DENVER
ATLANTA
WATERTOWN
LONDON
V O L . I I NEW Y O R K , M A Y 15, 1 9 19 No. 5
Professional Ideals
THE acme of professional idealism is to
render well a confidential service. The
fee is a secondary consideration. The sur­geon
who is more concerned with the suc­cess
of his operations than the size of his
fees is usually in great demand.
He keeps to himself the very personal
matters which come to his attention.
The physician holds sacred the con­fidences
of his patients.
The dentist maintains silence as to that
which open mouths disclose to him. He
does not go about talking of his work nor
telling how much gold each patient has in
his mouth.
Confidential relations are what differenti­ate
a profession from a business.
There are dentists and physicians and
surgeons who make trade of their respec­tive
callings.
They have a place unto themselves.
They are outcasts from their professions.
Accountancy is a profession, not a busi­ness.
The accountant should cultivate the
ideals of his profession.
He should strive so to elevate the pro­fession
as to inspire the confidence of those
who have occasion to need the services of
its practitioners.
Nothing is more zealously guarded than
one's financial affairs.
Nothing of more importance could be
entrusted to anyone.
No one could have greater opportunity
for the exercise of that relation which is
the essence of confidence and trust than the
accountant.
Unfortunately the accountant sometimes
goes about talking or boasting of his work,
or the large engagements on which he is
working. In so doing he unwittingly vio­lates
the cardinal rule of his profession.
There are times when he is guilty of com­mitting
minor faults, like giving out the tele­phone
numbers of clients or lolling thought­lessly
about in the offices of clients.
Success has been described as "infinite
capacity for taking pains." Attention to
the small things insures the success of the
larger ones.
The opportunity for maximum service
on the part of any organization which ex­ists
for the purpose of rendering profes­sional
service is limited only by the number
of accountants in that organization who
are able to appreciate the importance of
rendering well a confidential service.
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