The Public Accountant and Local Government Accounting.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to convey some idea of the relationship of the public accountant to local government accounting, and not to attempt herein to lay down any rules for the accounting procedure of local government. Remarks made by the author will apply to the smaller divisions of government and will not embrace the accounts of the Federal Government, states or the larger cities. Very likely the smaller units merit your attention to a greater extent since there are departments functioning to some degree for the auditing of the accounts of at least many of the bureaus of the Federal Government, the states and larger cities. However, it cannot be said that the public accountant may be of no service to the larger units of government, since his worth along these lines has been repeatedly demonstrated. The principal problem facing us today is not to effect a realization of the importance of governmental accounting in the opinion of public accountants, or the existing opportunities for service, especially to those who practice in the municipal field, but to stimulate an appreciation in the minds of the leaders and taxpayers of municipalities of the services which the public accountants are capable of rendering.