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The minutes of the preceding meeting, on February 20, 1906, being printed in full in the March number of THE JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTANCY, their reading was ordered dispensed with.

The report of the board of trustees, incorporating the report of the executive committee dealing with the current business conducted by that committee during the preceding half year, was read, as follows, and ordered received and placed on file:

Report of the Board of Trustees.

The board report that they held their regular meeting at the Hotel Hartman, Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, October 23, when the following members were present:

J. S. M. Goodloe, Ohio, in the chair, in the absence of President Loomis; A. Lowes Dickinson, secretary; Guy H. Kennedy, treasurer; J. Porter Joplin, Illinois; H. M. Temple, Minnesota; Frank G. DuBois, New Jersey; J. E. Sterrett, Pennsylvania; Thomas P. Ryan, New York; E. W. Sells, New York; J. A. Cooper, Illinois; H. T. Westermann, Missouri; Harvey S. Chase, Massachusetts; Charles L. Hehl, Maryland; Lester Herrick, California; R. H. Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Durand W. Springer, Michigan; A. G. Platt, California; E. E. Elliott, Tennessee. At this meeting the executive committee, who, in accordance with the by-laws, have been entrusted with the conduct of the affairs of the association since the semi-annual meeting of the board on February 20 last, made the following report:

Report of the Executive Committee.

Meetings and Attendance.

Your committee beg to report that since the half yearly meeting of the board of trustees, held in New York on February 21, 1906, five regular meetings have been held, and that the attendances thereat have been as follows:

President Loomis, five: Secretary Dickinson, four; Treasurer Kennedy, two; Franklin Allen, three; E. W. Sells, five; J. E. Sterrett, three; Harvey S. Chase, two.

Finances.

Under the resolution of the board of trustees of October 18, 1905, bills to the amount of $3,828.17 have been passed for payment.

The following is a summary of the income and expenditures for the year as shown by the treasurer's statement:

Total income for year.

Total expenditures for year...

Income over expenditure.....

Surplus account Sept. 30, 1905..
Received from federation.

Net cost of banquet..

Expense prior period.

Adjusted surplus

Surplus Sept. 30, 1906...

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Your committee have appropriated the sum of $350.00 towards the expenses of the annual meeting, and recommend that this appropriation be confirmed as a charge against the income of the year 1906-7.

Dues in Arrear.

At the date of the half-yearly meeting there were 35 fellows-at-large and 12 associates at large in arrear with their subscriptions, of whom 30 fellows and 8 associates have since paid their subscriptions, while I fellow has resigned his membership. The dues of 1 fellow at large and 3 associates at large still remain unpaid. The initiation fees and dues of all fellows and associates at large elected during the year have been paid. Special Committees.

During the period that has elapsed since the half-yearly meeting your committee have appointed sub-committees on the following subjects:

Messrs. Henry A. Niles, J. R. Loomis, A. Lowes Dickinson, E. W. Sells and Arthur W. Teele were appointed a committee to co-operate with the committee on department methods of the United States Government (generally known as the Keep Commission) in the investigation of department methods and to assist that committee in framing recommendations for improving the business methods of the departments of the government. Messrs. A. L. Dickinson, Francis How, R. H. Montgomery, L. H. Conant and Leon O. Fisher, were appointed a committee jointly with a similar committee appointed by the New York State Society, to attend before the legislative committee on insurance at Albany and urge the audit of the accounts of life insurance companies by public accountants and the adoption of a better form of annual statement, drawn up on the basis of income and expenditure, instead of receipts and payments.

Messrs. J. R. Loomis, A. L. Dickinson and E. W. Sells, were appointed a committee to wait on the chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission, with a view to advocating the recognition and employment of public accountants in connection with the preparation of forms of accounts and books for the use of railroads under the new law recently passed.

Reports by the chairman of these committees have been submitted to and accepted by your committee, and are herewith submitted to the board of trustees with a recommendation that these committees be continued under direct appointment by the board.

C. P. A. Laws.

Correspondence has taken place and been referred to the legislative committee in connection with certified public accountant legislation in the States of Rhode Island and Louisiana. The report of the legislative committee which will be submitted to you will deal with these subjects, and it is sufficient to state here that a bill has been passed in the State of Rhode Island substantially on the lines favored by the association, while the bill in the State of Louisiana has not passed its preliminary stages.

Your committee also regret to report that a similar bill brought forward in the State of Ohio failed to secure final passage at the last session of the legislature, but is carried forward to the next session, when it will be taken up at the point at which it was left, and the prospects of its final passage appear to be good.

Dissensions in California.

The unfortunate dissensions which have arisen between two sections of practicing accountants in the State of California have received considerable attention from your committee, and endeavors have been made to reconcile these differences, without, however, any success up to the present time. These dissensions commenced last February with the formation by certain members of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants of a society entitled the "Associated Certified Public Accountants of California." This association has presented a petition "for a declaration that the State of California is not now represented in the

American Association of Public Accountants by any society or body of California public accountants, and that the petitioner be elected a member of the association." Your committee did not feel that they had power to deal with this matter, and it will come before your board for consideration today.

Chartered Accountants of Louisiana.

Pending the passage of a certified public accountant law of the State Legislature of Louisiana, the accountants of that state have incorporated a society under the title of "Chartered Accountants of Louisiana." This society is not yet fully organized, but intends as soon as possible to submit an application for membership to the American association.

Your committee have called the attention of the president of this society to the objections to the use of the term “chartered accountant," which has a well-known meaning in Great Britain and its colonies, including Canada, pointing out that in view of the closer relations which it is desired to establish between all English speaking accountants, it is undesirable to adopt a term for a degree identical with that granted in other countries, but with an entirely different qualification attaching to it.

The president of this society has been invited to attend the annual meeting, and it is suggested that he be asked to address the members on the subject.

Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants.

This society is in process of reorganization as a result of the passage of the C. P. A. law in that state. The chairman of the State Board of Examiners of Rhode Island, Mr. George R. Allen, thinks it desirable to defer any application for membership in the American Association until the reorganization has been effected. He is a fellow at large, and will be present at the meeting and glad to inform the members on the present situation.

Insurance Committee.

Your committee voted a sum of $500 towards meeting the expenses of the insurance committees of the American Association and the New York State Society. This sum, in addition to an annual amount of $250 contributed by the New York State Society, was expended in printing and circularizing among members of the legislature at Albany statements relating to a revised form of accounts, in remunerating the services of Mr. William Harmon Black as counsel for the committee, and in payment for the services of a press agent in obtaining insertions in newspapers throughout the country dealing with the proceedings of this committee. A further sum of approximately $500 was contributed by individual members of the association, and this was expended mainly in printing forms of income and expense accounts and balance sheets which the committee have recommended for adoption in substitution for those now required by the various State authorities.

Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

In the course of one of its meetings your committee received an interesting statement from Mr. Sterrett, the secretary of the Board of Examiners of the State of Pennsylvania and a member of your committee, to the effect that his board had adopted a resolution whereby certified public accountants from other states could, under certain conditions, have issued to them full C. P. A. certificates of the State of Pennsylvania. These conditions are understood to be that the applicant is practicing in the State of Pennsylvania and is able to satisfy the board of examiners as to his qualifications for the degree. Mr. Sterrett further informed the committee that his board has decided that in future two years' experience in an accountant's office, or the equivalent thereof, will be required before a full C. P. A. certificate will be granted. Your committee report this evidence of progress with much satisfaction as a long step in advance to

wards the requirement of higher qualifications for the degree of C. P. A., and in furtherance of the objects expressed in the resolution unanimously adopted at the half-yearly meeting in February last in favor of two examinations in the theory and practice of accounting, of which the second should be taken after the applicant had had three years' practice in the office of a public accountant.

Letters to the Press.

The letter to the press adopted at the semi-annual meeting of the association in February has been printed and distributed to the presidents of the various state societies with the request that it be sent by them to the chief newspapers in their districts, with a covering letter from the president of such society. These letters are now in process of circulation, and your committee have at present no information as to the results. They consider it, however, of the greatest importance to the future interests of the profession that continued steps should be taken to obtain from the press a greater recognition of the valuable work which members of the profession are doing and of the importance to the public of the proper certification by public accountants of the financial statements put forth in the annual reports of public corporations.

Society of Accountants and Auditors in Great Britain.

The Society of Accountants and Auditors has recently celebrated its twenty-first anniversary, and the president and secretary of the association were invited to attend the banquet held on that occasion. They were unable to avail themselves of this invitation, but forwarded to the secretary, Mr. James Martin, the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted by your committee at their last meeting:

"Resolved, That the American Association of Public Accountants desire to express their sincere congratulations to the Society of Accountants and Auditors on the celebration of the twenty-first anniversary of the foundation and incorporation of the society, to be held on October 5, 1906, and extend to the society their best wishes for its future prosperity; further

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'Resolved, That this action of the American Association be spread upon the records, and that a copy of the same be sent to the secretary of the Society of Accountants and Auditors."

As, owing to the summer holidays, the executive committee did not meet in time to insure this resolution reaching the society in time for its banquet, the substance thereof was cabled to Mr. Martin some days in advance.

Your committee report this occurrence as further evidence of the growth of friendly relations between the profession in this and other English speaking countries.

Accountancy Publishing Company.

Your committee recommend that a further grant of $250, in addition to the subsidy of $250 per annum, be made to the Accountancy Publishing Company in consideration of the fact that reports of meetings of the association published in THE JOURNAL are now accepted in lieu of special reports to members.

Your committee also recommend that the annual subsidy for the future be increased to $500 per annum, to include full reports of meetings of the board of trustees and of members, the publication once a year of a complete list of members, and the publication each month of the list of officers, trustees and committees. It should, however, be clearly understood that notices sent to THE JOURNAL, from time to time, dealing with matters of general interest to the profession, reports of official committees, etc., are to be treated as news items and published without charge.

New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants.

This society has applied for a refund of the dues paid by it to the association for the nine months ending September 30, 1905. The society applied for and was admitted to membership as of February 1, 1905, being desirous, as stated at the time of their election, of the honor of being the first society member.

No other societies joined the association until October 1, and all who so joined were admitted to vote at the annual meeting following.

The New Jersey society now claim that they received no benefit as members of the association prior to October 1, and that their dues for that period should be refunded. Your committee, in referring this matter to the board of trustees for action, would point out that the members of this society have each received a certificate of membership, dated February 1, 1905, and that a change in the date of their admission now would require the issue of new certificates at considerable expense to the association. Conclusion.

In concluding the report upon the work done during the past eight months, your committee wish to report the satisfactory progress made by the association towards a greater measure of recognition by the general public. Much, however, still remains to be done, and it is incumbent upon every member of the association to devote at least some of his own time to the promotion of the main objects of the American Association of Public Accountants as set out in the constitution.

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The reports of the treasurer and auditors were received and adopted and ordered to be presented to the annual meeting, and they will be submitted to the members in due course.

The reports of the following standing committees were presented by their chairmen, respectively, and ordered to be submitted to the annual meeting:

Committee on meetings, lectures, libraries and bulletins; committee on legislation; committee on journal. These reports will be submitted to you by the chairmen of those committees in due course.

The following special committees have also reported by their chairmen and their reports will be read in due course:

Insurance committee; committee on standard schedules for uniform reports on municipal industries and public service corporations; committee on uniform tariff rates; committee on department methods of government; committee on annual meeting, 1906; committee on interstate commerce commission.

Applications for membership favorably reported on by the committee on elections, qualifications and examinations were submitted to the board, and the following additional members were declared duly elected:

Fellows at Large.

C. M. Burlingame, New York City (transfer from associates at large as from January 25, 1905); Henry Schneider, Milwaukee, Wis.; William C. Lynne, Pittsburg, Pa.; Arthur W. Kenworthy, C. P. A., New York; Alfred W. D. Hogg, New York; Emil S. Fischer, Shanghai, China (transfer from associates at large).

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