Reporting from Chicago;

              I It is a quality shop, in which Art
Schwertfeger, partner in charge of
the Chicago office of Haskins & Sells,
takes great pride. It aims at absolute
accuracy, impeccable content, handsome
appearance, punctual production and
efficiency. Art shows genuine
enthusiasm when he talks about the
work of the Chicago Report Department.
'There are so many things that they do
here, and do so well," he says, as he
displays a variety of multilith products
of the department. "This shows you
what people can do when they are
innovative." He holds up a small,
handsome catalog of the art works that
decorate the Chicago office, in which
H&S people can identify title and artist
of each print and piece of sculpture.
Then he shows a green-covered annual
report, decorated with a golf course
landscape, that the Report Department
produced for a country club. Next to
it is a report for a 2 5-year old company,
covered in silver stock in recognition
of the company's silver anniversary.
Report departments are frequently
overlooked in discussions of who is
who, and who does what, in public
accounting firms. Yet, as Art
Schwertfeger is ready to point out,
a report department produces the
one physical, tangible evidence of all
the meticulous work performed by a
professional organization for a client. So
why should a report not be the best
possible instrument to represent that
work? Why shouldn't we take pains to
make it speak well of us, in every way?
The question answers itself— at least in
the time and attention that the Chicago
office devotes to its reports. And for
this reason the Chicago office Report
Department has become something
special. This is not to say that others
in the Firm do not see the matter the
same way; indeed, there are a number
of outstanding report departments in
other offices. But as an example of what
an excellent department can be in this
phase of our Firm's work, the department
in Chicago serves well.
The emphasis on excellence in Chicago
office reports to clients has a long
tradition behind it. For a good many
years it was the Chicago pattern to put
as many staff accountants as possible
through a training stage in the Report
Department, during which they became
familiar with all the steps necessary to
produce finished reports. By doing
comparing and proving, or having to
cope with someone's unclear hand or
imperfect draft, many Chicago staffmen
gained a fresh understanding of the
importance of being careful from the
start. Being responsible for searching
out discrepancies in names and figures,
they sharpened their proofreading eyes.
Dave Ringstad, supervisor of the
department, and Maury Bax, assistant
supervisor, are both former members
of the audit staff who are certified
public accountants. The work for which
they are responsible consists of far more
than the mechanical reproduction of
reports—as some people mistakenly
conceive of all report department work.
Their experience and knowledge of
current report requirements and format
enable them to assist the professional
staff as a reference library. As Art
Schwertfeger puts it:
"We rely on Dave and Maury, who are
professional accountants, to review
our reports for technical content,
accuracy and completeness. Our Report
Department serves as a backstop to our
partners and principals in editing our
reports. They are a checkpoint. For
example, they might suggest some
wording to insert in a report to make
it comply fully with our APM, or with
SEC regulations. They do much more
than check names, dates and figures."
Reporting
from
Chicago
22