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"Secluded in the Poconos."
This slogan of Skytop applies not
only to the resort itself, tucked away in
the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania,
but to the principals of our
Firm—more than 300 of them—who
stayed there for five days in mid-June.
What brought them to the 5,500-acre
paradise that attracts those who crave
rest and recreation in mild sunlit air?
In a word, work. (Although they did
have just enough opportunity for play
to keep proverbial dullness away.) But
this assignment was the kind most professionals
relish—a chance to discuss
important events and trends of the
practice, and to reflect on their own and
the Firm's present situation and future
prospects, far from the ring of the
telephone and the pressure of deadlines.
Because of the substantial increases
in the number of our principals in recent
years, it has become necessary to
hold two sessions on consecutive weeks.
The participants this year arrived on
the Sundays of June 12 and 19 at the
five-story 250-room Skytop Lodge,
whose rooftop observation platform
commands a view of evergreen-forested
ridges and valleys over some 2,700
square miles.
Each Sunday evening a reception
was held, followed by dinner and the
first of several nocturnal get-togethers
for assorted games involving rectangular
markers (including canasta and dominoes)
which have already given rise to
legends that will endure at least until
next year's meeting.
On Monday morning, Mr. Queenan
launched the program. "The swiftly expanding
needs of our Firm make this
meeting more important than ever before,"
he said. "Tremendous expense
and preparation are involved in bringing
you here." The payoff on this investment,
he added, must come from
the principals themselves. "Among you
are our future partners."
There followed a morning-long demonstration
of some of the preparation
Mr. Queenan had referred to. Recent
developments in the Firm's auditing
procedures . . . the new HirS computer
audit program . . . proposed revisions in
our internal control questionnaire and
audit programs . . . and some concepts
of statistical sampling—these topics and
others (three or four a day) throughout
the session were presented by experts
and were supported by slides and detailed
documentation.
The three major areas of the practice—
auditing, tax, and management
advisory services—were covered in
depth, so that listeners were often trying
to grasp subjects and new developments
in areas outside their specialities.
The program planners were aware of
this. Malcolm Devore, partner responsible
for coordination of U. S. practice,
explained: "We want you to have an
exposure to latest techniques and concepts
throughout the practice and to
develop at least a speaking familiarity
with them, so that you will be able to
detect a client's needs and, where necessary,
bring to bear on those needs the
skills of our specialists. For example,
using statistical sampling techniques
which we have developed, a client was
able recently to save 11,000 man hours
in taking an inventory."
