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THE
SCENE
Richard Lotharius, CPQ? We asked
Dick to explain. "The 'Q' is for quipucamayoc,"
he told us. "They were
America's earliest accountants."
Formerly with our Miami Office,
Dick is now a senior accountant with
DPH&S in Lima, Peru. Fascinated
by the remains of the ancient Incas, he
began studying their civilization.
"A visit to Machu Picchu, the famous
'lost city' of the Incas in southern
Peru, made me aware of the remarkable
achievements of these people,"
Dick said. "So I delved into the past
and came up with the quipu," he added
proudly, perhaps a little like a second
Columbus.
Dick's researching led him to the
library and to the Lima Museum of
Anthropology, where he discovered the
ingenious accounting device of the
Incas and learned how it was used.
The Inca civilization, though impressive,
lacked two significant accomplishments—
the wheel and a system of
writing. Because they had no written
language, the Incas developed a special
tool for keeping accounts—the quipu.
"The word means 'knots' in the Inca
language," Dick told us. "The quipu
consisted of a main horizontal cord
with many vertical strings attached to
it. The attached strings were of various
colors and thicknesses, for example, red
to symbolize soldiers, yellow for maize.
The vertical strings contained a series
of knots representing a decimal system,
making possible counts from zero to
hundreds of thousands through the
placement of knots on the strings.
"The keeper of the knotted strings
was called a quipucamayoc, or accountant,
who verbally communicated
the meaning of the quipu to the layman.
Each governor of a province had his
own team of quipucamayoc... usually
2 to 4 at a time to keep a system of
checks and balances. They performed
a complete annual inventory of everything
within the state—from ponchos
and pottery and maize to llamas and
guinea pigs and people."
Dick was particularly interested in
similarities between the accounting system
of the Incas and accounting today,
such as the need for a system of control
effectuated through accounting; a
highly trained and skilled professional
group to perform and interpret the
accounts; a system of checks and balances;
and periodic inventories.
"What would have been accomplished
by these first accountants,"
Dick wondered, "if they had discovered
the wheel?"
Strong man. John Dzurenko, senior
assistant accountant with our Philadelphia
Office, does not chew nails. He
prefers chocolate almond ice cream.
Yet this did not prevent him from
breaking three national records as he
placed first in the Eastern Shores Open
Weightlifting Meet, middle-heavyweight
division, in competition with
five other weight lifters.
John's new records: 621 xk pounds
from a squat; 688 % pounds deadlift
(breaking his own record); and total of
1,665 pounds.
The 5'g", 198 lb. accountant plans to
enter the Senior National Championships
this year in Los Angeles.
John started lifting to keep in shape
for football. Attending Villanova University
on a football scholarship, he
was the 1967 National Collegiate
Champion in the middle-heavyweight
class and was also voted the best collegiate
lifter. In May of this year he
was named "Power Lifter of the Month"
by Muscular Development magazine.
All this, and a size 18 collar, on
chocolate almond ice cream!
Have you ever. . . imagined yourself
in a golf tournament... with Arnold
Palmer as a partner? Dougal Crowe,
Honolulu principal, did. And he was. It
was the Pro-Am phase of the $110,000
Hawaiian Open golf tournament held
at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu
recently. With a 50-1 chance,
Dougal was drawn as one of Palmer's
three amateur partners.
"I think playing in a tournament
with any pro would be inspiring, but
playing with 'the king' was inspiration
at its highest," Dougal said. "Yet
Palmer is an easy person to be with."
Overall, Dougal's performance was
better than usual—he hit more good,
long wood shots. The reason, he believed,
was a greater concentration and
extra adrenalin production. His erratic
putting he blamed on the excitement.
Neither Dougal nor his amateur
partners were able to help tournament-weary
Palmer finish in the money.
"Even though Palmer wasn't playing
well (his score was 79) he still thrilled
me and all the gallery with his power,"
recalled Dougal. "Yet one of the most
memorable incidents was seeing him
take two shots to get out of a sand trap,
just like any duffer."
In addition to "Arnie's Army" of
about 1,000 which followed the foursome,
there was "Dougal's Army" of
personal supporters—his parents, a few
H&S staff members who were also on
vacation for that week, friends from
client offices and fellow club members.
"The instant notoriety I achieved
hasn't yet completely died down," Dougal
said. And he doesn't really mind
being called "Arnie" around his club.
