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il
Some years from now the American
people and American
business may- well look back
on 1974 as a pivotal point in the
development of the U.S. economy.
Double-digit inflation, stagflation, recession
and depression, the large-scale swing
from the FIFO (first-in, first-out) to the
LIFO (last-in, first-out) method of inventory
valuation, the energy crisis that
underlined most clearly the interdependence
of all nations—all these factors
exerted a profound effect on what had up
to then been the "traditional" American
way of life. The sharp reappraisal of what
had been considered economic "truths"
was only one manifestation of the dramatic
shift in perspective triggered by the
forces affecting this country
For Haskins & Sells, which in 1974 was
completing eighty years of expanding
service to clients in the United States and
abroad, the year marked an equally
important reassessment of its role in the
business community as well as its plans for
future growth. The seminar held for the
Firm's small business specialists in St.
Louis last November signalled a new
emphasis on this segment of our practice.
The message was carried from Executive
Office to St. Louis by Philip J. Sandmaier,
Jr., partner in charge of Domestic Practice
Office Operations, and partner Allan A.
Gilman, who shortly before had been
named EO coordinator for the Firm's
small business practice.
In his talk before the more than ninety
partners and managers attending the
seminar, Mr. Sandmaier said that Small
Business Services now ranked as one of
the four major services offered by H&S
SCHWYN, SAN FRANCISCO
along with Audit, Tax and MAS. He said
"no segment is of more significance" to
Haskins & Sells. He said, "We need our
best people in Small Business Services,
too." A talented speaker, Mr. Sandmaier
told the assembly what it had been waiting
to hear. And when he finished, he
received a long, loud and enthusiastic
standing ovation.
By the time the seminar was completed,
two points had been made most clearly:
W-> Executive Office, through Allan
Gilman, will be playing a stronger role in
the direction and development of the
Firm's small business practice.
M > Small business most definitely
offers a career path leading to partnership
in the Firm for the competent, qualified
accountant. Some explanation is necessary to
put these developments in
perspective. First, small business
does not mean a business
that is small. For H&S, small business is
"any organization that does not have
the full spectrum of required in-house
financial and accounting expertise
and must rely on professionals to supply
such expertise." Indeed, a large number of
our small business clients are substantial
organizations with quite respectable sales
and income figures. Detroit partner
Ralph J. Kliber, a member of the Firm's
Small Business Advisory Committee,
pointed out at the St. Louis seminar that
there are some eight million small businesses
in the United States at the present
time, a figure representing some 95 percent
of all domestic business organizations.
Because of the possible confusion
that the term "small business" may cause
in the minds of potential clients, however,
a change in the name is one of the questions
scheduled for study.
The second point is that the Firm's small
business practice is most definitely big
business. Actual figures are hard to come
by and may even be misleading because
the distinction between a small business
and any other client is often blurred.
However, several H&S partners long
active in small business say almost any
office can build its SBS practice to the
point where it represents between 15 and
20 percent of total office dollar volume.
While there may be disagreement over
actual and potential percentages, there is
unanimity on the fact that no matter what
its size, no matter where it is located and
despite the economic conditions that may
prevail, any office can develop a most
respectable small business practice.
Small business is by no means a new
facet of the H&S operation. In his talk at
the St. Louis meeting, Phil Sandmaier
pointed out that an ad hoc long-range
planning committee of which he was a
member recommended in 1961 that
increased emphasis be put on developing
a small business practice. The same recommendation
was made by a similar
group headed by Michael N. Chetkovich
in 1969-70. More recently, small business
was on the agenda of the last four annual
regional meetings of partners in charge of
offices.
Historically, the record shows a particularly
strong groundswell of interest in
the expansion of our small business practice
in the opening years of the present
decade. Lawrence M. Walsh, now partner
in charge in Miami and in 1971 head of
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