Complex problems of this type require complex solutions including an assembly of skills and specializations. Accordingly, the accounting profession comprises specialists from a wide range of disciplines including accountants, systems analysts, computer programmers and operators, auditors, engineers, operations researchers (including mathematicians and statisticians), behavioral and social scientists, among others. These diverse backgrounds are welded together by learning the common body of knowledge in accounting, by qualifying for membership in terms of academic standards and by demonstrating proficiency through a professional examination.
It is, however, the set of unique problems and adherence to a common service ideal which bind the diverse members of the profession.
An insight into the work of the public accountant is provided in the following description which is extracted from the recruiting brochure of a major CPA firm: You begin your career with Price Waterhouse as a staff accountant in the office of your choice. Typically, you will be assigned to audit engagements with two or more other staff members, including a senior. This provides the individual training and supervision which assures a sound professional relationship with your colleagues from the very start of your career.
Within this broadened context, accounting can be defined as the science which deals with the design, management, and evaluation of information systems as they relate to decision-making processes incident to societal and enterprise goals. The objective of accounting is to facilitate effective resource allocation, and accordingly is concerned with all elements which affect this process. These include: (a) decision-making, (b) policy-making, (c) planning, (d) control, (e) evaluation of results, (f) utilization of resources with particular emphasis on human resources, and (g) interaction among institutions in relation to each other and their social and physical environments.
Accounting is essentially a measurement and communication science. It is in constant pursuit of better measurement and communication, defined in terms of goal achievement rather than by abstract theoretical standards. "Good" measurement and communication lead to changes in behavior which are beneficial to personal, enterprise, and public welfare.
Given the traditional bias of accounting toward quantitative and economic measurement on the one hand and formal information systems on the other, it must be emphasized that these boundaries no longer exist. Increasingly, ac-counting is concerned with measurements of all types, especially qualitative and non economic factors. Similarly, accountants recognize that informal information, perceptions, and other intangible factors may be as important as the formal system in terms of decision processes and goal achievement.
Defining accounting as a science does not preclude what has commonly been referred to as the "art of accounting." To the degree that science inappropriately carries the connotation of quantitative measurement and formal inquiry, art is needed to add the necessary qualities of perception, intuition, imprecision, and non-quantitative assessment.
Coming Of Age
That the profession is coming of age is documented in its literature as well as in its practice. The current career literature of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is in marked contrast to its former publications. The publication We Are Involved appeals to aspiring accountants in these terms:
. . . every significant event in modern society-commercial expansion, technical breakthroughs, government programs, social services, the conduct of international relations-requires assessment of resources in manpower, materials and money. Accountants stand squarely in the middle of these activities, recording and budgeting the input and outgo of mankind's work.
Mention is made in this career literature of the "three-pronged professional," referring, of course, to the functions of reporting, attesting, and advising. These statements mirror the realities of accounting practice today.
Far from being limited to the audit function, we find that accountants, and particularly the large accounting firms, are involved in activities which cover the socioeconomic spectrum. In this broader context they are acting not only as verifiers but as designers. Their skill is that of administrative and efficiency experts. Their expertise ranges beyond accounting know-how to include subject matter in engineering, mathematics, computing methods, and behavioral science.
It would come as a surprise to many to discover that accounting firms are developing cost-benefit models for the California public schools, or serving as efficiency experts to the U.S. Postal Service. An accounting firm did the cost engineering for the Feather River Water Project in California; another firm brought programmed budgeting to Pennsylvania schools. Certified Public Ac-counting firms have assisted in urban renewal projects, the study of transit pat-terns for the Northeast Traffic Corridor, the restructuring of state welfare pro-grams, and programs for curbing alcoholism and drug abuse. They have been active in developing management information systems for improved health care and engage in many other activities which are far removed from traditional ac-counting functions.
Looking to the future, the sociologist Montagna observes that the accounting profession is a serious contender for supremacy of the "multi-professional area of administrative science" and "because of [its] unique position as auditors and advisers in financial and related areas to major American and world institutions, [it is] destined to play an increasingly important role in social policy and planning."
Wilensky's well-respected classification of professions, notes that accountants attained professional status in the 1880's, but that much has happened in the intervening period. While no milestone marks the spot, the profession has matured most decisively in recent years and stands on the threshold of assuming an even larger role in the conduct of social and economic affairs.
Accountants are in the mainstream of the information revolution. The accounting system has always been the base to which the other components of an integrated information system are added. The rules which govern the processing and reporting of financial information derive from accounting. Accountants help to define user needs, conduct feasibility studies, design and install computerized systems, specify controls to minimize fraud, and monitor and audit these systems. They have come a long way from quipu to computer.
