5. Auditors classified.—In view of the importance of the work which the auditor is called upon to per form, legislators have seen the wisdom of protecting the public, as far as the law can do so, against the entrance of incompetent persons in this special field. In England, Scotland, Canada, and in the greater portion of the United States, the law now regulates the practice of public accountancy by compelling those who are about to enter it to have certain educational and professional qualifications. The law stipulates that upon those who qualify upon examination, a spe cific title shall be conferred. In the United States, one admitted to practise publicly is known as a Certi fled Public Accountant. One who is qualified to prac tise in England, Scotland or Canada is known as a Chartered Accountant.
6. Laws regulating the profession are not uniform. —Unfortunately, however, the laws in the various states show a marked difference in the qualifications demanded for accountants. In an instance in which a certain state passed a C. P. A. law the legislature subsequently granted an exemption to individuals to qualify as certified public accountants without ex amination. In other states, the educational require ments are not insisted upon, so that the title of Certi fied Public Accountant has less significance than if all the states had uniform laws and practices on this subject.
7. Qualifications of an auditor.—Nbt everyone is qualified, either by nature or by training, to practise the art of auditing, and as there are many unqualified men in the field, it is the more desirable that the busi ness man should know something of the proper quali fications of those who practise accounting publicly. The qualifications may be divided into three classes: natural qualifications, general training and education, and professional training and education.
8. Natural qualifications.—Nature has endowed certain individuals more than others with the analyti cal and interpretive faculty. Those who are possessed of these faculties have the power to weigh and co ordinate facts, to think clearly without prejudice and to arrive at their results by what almost seems to be intuition. Furthermore, they are enabled to accom plish these results quickly and correctly. It is self evident, therefore, that those who do not possess such natural qualifications will not make good auditors.
9. General training and education required.—Nat
ural abilities should be reenforced by an excellent gen eral training and education. The laws of most states which regulate the practice of public accountancy gen erally require that those who hold the state degree shall have at least a high school education. The ad vantage of this requirement has been questioned by some, because there are many excellent auditors in actual practice who have not had the complete educa tion offered by the secondary school. The excellent work of these men is used as an argument against what is called the narrowing and restrictive policy requiring a certain aMount of elementary school edu cation for those who are to practise publicly under the approval of the state authorities.
If the view is held, however, that the auditor is more than a mere bookkeeper, not content with check ing the accuracy of the accounts; or if it is be lieved that his functions are constructive and often creative, it would seem that the general training and education required for an auditor should include at least a high school education. In fact, it should em brace a knowledge of the science of economics, finance and the entire field of business—in brief, the knowl edge which a man derives from pursuing a course of study such as is offered by the Modern Business Course and Service. If the auditor does not bring to his work the benefit of this broad, general training he will probably fail in his mission, and his clients will not receive the benefits from his services that they are justified in expecting.
10. Professional training and education.—Before one can practise auditing publicly, in Great Britain, it is necessary to have served an apprenticeship in the office of a practicing public accountant. In the United States the laws of some of the states provide that those who pass the written examination for ac countants, before they receive the degree of certified public accountant, shall have had a certain number of years of training in the office of an accountant, and shall have studied a certain number of years in a recognized school of accountancy. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the necessity of the requirement for broad professional training and education. - The time required by the majority of states for the train ing of accountants, under their present laws, appears to be altogether too short.