Saying what you mean;

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VOL. X I NEW YORK, FEBRUARY, 1928 No. 2
CLEAR expression, either oral or
written, generally is accepted as an
indication of clear thinking. Physiologists
never have made a statement, so far as is
known, explaining whether stuttering is
caused by failure of the vocal apparatus
to function properly, or is due to some
structural defect in the brain, or to some
cerebral condition which interferes with the
normal operation of that organ. The per­son
who speaks or writes tersely and
precisely usually is accredited with having
a keen mind.
The accountant, in the course of his
daily work, has the task of auditing, ex­amining,
and investigating with a view to
developing facts. He may have a broad
technical grasp of his subject, marked
ability as an analyst, perspicacity, per­sistency,
and poise. If he is lacking in
perspicuity, or the ability to express
clearly his findings and conclusions, he
lacks balance.
Some "wag" has said, "Do right and
fear no man; don't write and fear no
woman." For the accountant, this quip
might be paraphrased, "Write right and
sleep at night; write wrong and fear the
throng."
An incident came to our attention re­cently
in which an accountant who usu­ally
thinks straight wrote some comments
which were so ambiguous as to create a
doubt concerning the work on which his
comments were based. Any one anxious
to place an unfavorable construction on the
passage would have had no difficulty in
doing so. On the other hand, a friendly
reading of the passage made possible an
interpretation which gave it an entirely
different aspect; in other words, the pres­entation
of an explanation which was
perfectly plausible.
The accountant's work is only partially
done when he has completed the field
work. It has not been finished when he
has prepared the financial statements
which go into the report. The comments,
perhaps, are the most important part. In
them the accountant has an opportunity
to discuss, elucidate, qualify, and go on
record as to his undertaking and the results
of his work.
If the comments are not clear, it may
be difficult to determine whether the
trouble is with the expression or with the
representations which the accountant is
making. The report may fall into the
hands of some person who is interested in
reading out of it something which never
was intended. But if the report contains
nothing which cannot be proved, and the
construction is so sound that it cannot be
misread, the accountant well may sub­scribe
to the slogan, "Say what you mean,
and mean what you say."
Saying What You Mean