Reviewed by Robert G. Morgan University of North Carolina — Greensboro

This publication contains the proceedings of the first International Congress of Public Accountants held at the World’s Fair in Saint Louis, Missouri on September 26, 27 and 28, 1904. The Congress was held to provide an opportunity for every public accountant in the United States and delegates from the Canadian and British so-cieties to gather in one place to discuss problems facing the pro-fession. The Congress had an opening session and four technical sessions.

During the opening session Joseph Edmund Sterrett was elected permanent chairman and delivered the opening address; giving e brief history and the current developments in the profession of accounting.

The first technical session was devoted to municipal accounting. Harvey S. Chase delivered a paper entitled “A Brief History of the Movement Toward Uniform Municipal Reports and Accounts in the United States.” Chase’s paper briefly traced the history of municipal accounting. The second paper written by Henry W. Wilmont and read by George O. May was entitled “The Municipal Balance Sheet.” In his paper, Wilmont outlined the objectives of the municipal balance sheet, described how the municipal balance sheet differed from a corporate balance sheet, and suggested a format for a municipal balance sheet. The third paper “Revenues and Expenses as Distinguished from Receipts and Disbursements in Municipal Ac-counting” was presented by Frederick A. Cleveland. In his paper, Cleveland defined what constituted a complete system of municipal accounting and described the difference in expenses and revenues as distinguished from receipts and disbursements. The fourth paper prepared by Ernest Reckitt was entitled “Appropriations in Respect to Municipal Accounting.” In his presentation, Reckitt discussed the need for accurate appropriations.

The second technical session was devoted to the CPA movement in the United States. In this session George Wilkinson presented a three part paper entitled “The C.P.A. Movement and the Future of the Profession of the Public Accountant in the United States of

America,” The first part contained a discussion of the CPA laws in force in 1904. Seven states—New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California, Washington, Illinois, and New Jersey—had passed CPA laws and eight other states had tried unsuccessfully to secure passage of CPA laws. Wilkinson was concerned that the CPA laws were not uniform from state to state and he suggested that uniform legislation was essential to the future of the profession. The second part of Wilkinson’s paper was devoted to the question of audit companies. The third part described the need for a single unified national society of public accountants.

The third technical session consisted of two papers concerning the duties of the professional accountant. The first paper entitled “The Duties of Professional Accountants in Connection with Invested Capital Both Prior to and Subsequent to the Investment” was presented by Francis W. Pixley. In the paper, Pixley explained the status and responsibilities of professional accountants in the British Isles. Pixley cautioned his American colleagues that “Clients who lose their money have an unfortunate habit of trying to fix the blame on their professional advisers, be they lawyers, stockbrokers or accountants; and as a matter of ordinary precaution reports on inves-tigations of every description . . . should be so carefully worded as to give the client no opportunity of being able to prove that the accountant neglected any portion of an investigation necessary to fulfil his duties efficiently.”

The second paper entitled “The Importance of Uniform Practice in Determining the Profits of Public Service Corporations where Municipalities Have the Power to Regulate Rates” was delivered by Robert H. Montgomery. The thrust of the paper was that utilities must use proper accounting procedures if they are to successfully defend their rate structure in court.
The fourth technical session was devoted to accounting profits and audits. The first paper “The Profits of a Corporation” was presented by Arthur Lowes Dickinson. In the paper, Dickinson com-pared the corporate legal environment in England to that in the United States and described the different elements which enter into the determination of profits.

The second paper, presented by Walter A. Staub was entitled “Mode of Conducting an Audit.” In the paper, Staub discussed the three main objectives of an audit which were identified as (1) detection of fraud, (2) discovery of errors of principle, and (3) verification of the mechanical accuracy of accounts.

I found the Proceedings to be an interesting and informative link in the development of the accounting profession. The accounting practices and procedures described illustrate how far the profes-sion has evolved in the last seventy-seven years, and yet many of today’s generally accepted accounting procedures are only slightly changed since 1904.

The most valuable aspect of the book is the opportunity to read original writings by the early leaders of the accounting profession. These papers allow us to peek into their world and determine something of the character of these individuals. To me, these men are now more human and not just name.