OUT OF THE PAST

Timeless Thoughts on Accounting

—”A s business organizations have grown larger and more complex, the producer has been less able to grasp all the facts of his busi¬ness and has come to depend upon the accountant more and more for a summarization of details. . . . But it must be remem¬bered that the producer is not working alone; he is functioning a complex economic organization. . . . If the accountants do not understand the system in which the producer functions, of what use to him will their presentation of facts be? In short, account¬ing is merely a combination of scientific bookkeeping and eco¬nomics.” Kemper Simpson, Economics for the Accountant, 1921, p. 2.

—”Whether we like it or not, we must know something about ac¬counting. Its ramifications extend into every phase of human endeavor, to such an extent that ignorance of the fundamentals of accounting may lead to serious embarrassment. . . .

“The advantages of a knowledge of accounting were recog-nized many centuries ago. Let us read a colorful eulogy of our subject written in 1736 by John Mair:
I shall only add, That the Theory of this Art or Science is beautiful and curious, very fit for improving the Mind of Youth, exercising their Wit and Invention, and disposing them to a close and accurate way of thinking. On this Ac¬count several Gentlemen, after having got acquainted with it themselves, have been induced, from the Satisfaction and Entertainment they found, to recommend it to others, as a valuable Piece of humane Literature, proper to be studied and understood by every one who pretends to Liberal Edu¬cation.” Accounting as a Business Force, by Robert H. Montgomery, Alexander Hamilton Institute, 1930, pp. 5-6.

(Vol. 3, No. 3, p. 7, 1976