People in H&S: Bob Atwood;

              People in H&S:
The specialist, or expert, is usually
pictured as someone with gray in his
hair, wrinkles in his brow caused by
deep thought, and shoulders a bit
stooped from his having carried the
weight of his authority through the
years. Not so with Bob Atwood, new
partner this year in the Atlanta office,
who at age 34 ranks among the very
best in his profession in the savings
and loan industry.
It was an unusual set of circumstances
that led him to his present position.
The growth of the savings and loan
industry in recent years as a result
of the home-building boom was a major
factor. Bob's careful career planning
Bob Atwood
was important. And so was the latitude
afforded him by Haskins & Sells to
develop his interest in the
S&L specialty.
But the key element was Bob's
determined application to become the
best possible all-around accountant in
the savings and loan industry.
In short, he purposely set out to make
himself thoroughly competent in his
chosen field, and he succeeded.
Now Bob serves as savings and loan
industry specialist for the Firm. He is
frequently called on to assist other
offices of H&S with advice and
information, and he regularly attends
national and regional meetings of
savings and loan associations' trade
organizations. Since 1966 he has made
regular presentations at the
conventions of the national
organization of S&L financial officers.
He also attends the national
conventions of the United States
Savings and Loan League.
How did he become such an involved
specialist? Bob modestly passes much
of the credit to three men who guided
him in the first months after he came
to the Atlanta office, fresh from
college, in 1962. RussShomler,
recently retired partner in charge of
the Atlanta office, offered the
encouragement to Bob to pursue his
specialty. Tom Hudson, now partner in
charge of the Greensboro office, as
Atlanta tax partner a decade ago,
introduced Bob to the techniques of
preparing tax returns for banks and
S&L associations. Jim Craft, now a
partner in New York, who was then a
senior accountant in Atlanta handling
much of the S&L audit work, also
inspired him. Bob quickly became Jim
Craft's key assistant and immersed
himself in the savings and loan
industry, its structure, business
methods and the regulations under
which it operates.
"Early in the game I set out to master
the S&L regulations',' Bob told
H&S Reports. He pointed to the thick
binders holding hundreds of pages of
regulations and interpretations, which
he believed he should learn thoroughly
in order to serve his clients like a
seasoned pro. By the time he had done
this homework, and most of his study
was accomplished after office hours on
his own time, Bob was more conversant
with the operations of the industry
than many of the men who had
served it for years.
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