experience, and that therefore it is beyond question the wisest course for all who may contemplate taking up Accountancy as an occupation to proceed according to the regulations laid down by the Institute in its Charter of Incorporation and to be articled to some Chartered Accountant in practice.

The wisdom of this step must be apparent even to those who may hold the view that in the near future some reorganisation of the profession is inevitable. It is impossible for the profession of Accountancy to be learned in less than five years, and it is equally impossible that it should be learned even in that time unless the student has an opportunity of acquiring that experience of all classes of Accountancy business which can only be gained by going through the routine of the office of an Accountant in first-class practice. That being so, and in view of the further fact that almost all the really first-rate firms of Accountants in England are members of the Institute, it will be seen that no possible advantage can be gained by departing from the course laid down by that body, even if it be thought (which is by no means certain) that admission to the Society will eventually lead to admission to the Institute itself. In Accountancy-more, perhaps, than in any other professionactual experience is absolutely necessary before proficiency can be attained, and, as already stated, the only way to attain that experience, and at the present time the only way to obtain admission to the Institute, is by following the course prescribed by the Institute's Charter. It will therefore be assumed throughout the course of this work that all who intend to make a profession of Accountancy will do so by following the prescribed course of becoming articled to a member of the Institute and presenting themselves in due course for the examinations prescribed by that body, and it will be the object of the succeeding chapters to describe the means by which this course may be most satisfactorily pursued.

CHAPTER II.

ON BEING ARTICLED.

SUBJECT

UBJECT to the modifications introduced during the earlier years of the Institute (which no longer apply), it is necessary that all who now aspire to become Chartered Accountants should serve under articles with a practising member of the Institute. This is provided by clause 12 of the Charter, which states that "No person shall be "allowed to present himself for the Final Examination under this

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our Charter unless he has served for five years at the least as a "Public Accountant's clerk, or if he shall have graduated in any of "the Universities of our United Kingdom for the time being, then "unless he has served three years at the least as a Public Accoun"tant's clerk; and in the case of all examinations held after the expiration of five years, or in the case of graduates as aforesaid "three years, from the time when the first Bye-Laws made under "this our Charter come into operation, service shall mean service "under articles to a member of the Institute." It will thus be seen that for all practical purposes it is now necessary that the student should become articled to a member of the Institute for a term of five years, except in the case of graduates, who may serve for a reduced term of three years. It is probable that this concession to graduates has been made with a view to encouraging a University education upon the part of Accountants; and the encouragement afforded is substantial, seeing that it is open to anyone to graduate at a University and to pass through his articles to a Chartered Accountant in six years, which is only one year longer than the non-graduate would require. On the other hand, as we have pointed out in the previous chapter, five years is none too long a term in

which to become familiar with all the ramifications of an Accountant's business; and if, therefore, time is an object it seems desirable not to graduate but to be articled at once. At the same time it cannot be disputed that the courses of instruction provided by the Faculties of Commerce in the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester (leading to the degree "B. Com.") should prove an invaluable preliminary training to anyone seeking to become a skilful professional Accountant.

The next question that naturally arises is the choice of a member of the profession to whom to be articled, and in this connection it seems desirable to point out that it is by no means in every Accountant's office that thorough proficiency can be gained in all branches of Accountancy work. The actual range of business conducted in Accountants' offices may be stated as follows :1. Opening books.

2. Writing-up books.

3. Keeping books.

4. Auditing.

5. Secretaryships.

6. Directorships and Managerships.

7. The keeping of Executorship and Trust Accounts.

8. Investigations on behalf of new companies.

9. Investigations on behalf of shareholders of companies when the position is unsatisfactory.

10. Finance and company promoting.

11. Receiverships.

12. Liquidations.

13. Bankruptcies.

14. Special managerships.

15. Preparation of statements of affairs in bankruptcies and

company liquidations.

16. Trusteeships under private arrangements.

17. Reconstructions of companies.

18. Arbitrations.

It will thus be seen that this opens a very wide field with which the student will require to make himself acquainted. The various classes of work may, however, be grouped as follows:

1. Work requiring a knowledge of accounts.

2. Work requiring a knowledge of business methods and practice.

3. Work requiring a knowledge of commercial law.

The difficulty in selecting an office in which to be articled consists in that, leaving upon one side the very largest firms of Accountants, it will be found that there are very few who do not, to a great extent, concentrate their energies upon one of these groups. Thus some Accountants are chiefly concerned with audits and the opening and writing up of books; others devote themselves to secretaryships, directorships, and company promotion; while others again find their chief practice in bankruptcies and company liquidation. It is hopeless for the student to expect to obtain a thorough acquaintance with all the branches of an Accountant's profession in such offices as these, and consequently it is very desirable that, at the outset, careful inquiry should be made as to the precise extent of the practice of the Accountant with whom it is contemplated entering into articles. On the other hand, the offices of Accountants in a very large way of business present the obvious disadvantage that in the nature of things it is impossible for the principal to give any personal attention whatever to the articled pupil. His time is so occupied with important matters that this is necessarily left to one of the managing clerks, and that managing clerk will naturally only have charge of one department; so that, for all practical purposes, it would have been better for the student to have been articled to an Accountant whose main practice lay in one particular direction, seeing that, even if he be articled to an Accountant carrying on a very large and varied business, he is not likely to obtain familiarity with more than one department of that business.

What should be aimed at, rather, is the medium class of practice in offices which are neither too small to allow the student an opportunity of acquiring familiarity with all classes of business, nor yet so large that it is necessary, in the ordinary course of office organisation, to place him permanently in one department. There are further advantages in adopting this course, which will be duly dealt with in a later chapter, but for the moment it is sufficient to say that it is only in offices of medium size that the student is ever really likely to become practically acquainted with every branch of Accountancy, and, obviously, it is in the highest degree undesirable that his acquaintance with every branch should be of a purely theoretical nature.

Little definite information can be given with regard to the terms upon which Accountants are prepared to receive articled pupils; but, speaking generally, it may safely be laid down that in all cases a premium will be required, and only a small salary will be paid during the term of articles. To a considerable extent the amount of the premium and of the salary will depend upon the ability and promise of the proposed pupil, but still more will depend upon the position of the Accountant with whom articles are to be entered into. It may, however, for general purposes, be laid down that the premium varies from 100 to 300 guineas, and that the amount of salary will vary from nothing up to such an amount (generally paid during the last two or three years of the articles) as will entirely absorb the premium paid. A very usual arrangement with highclass firms is to fix the premium at from 250 to 300 guineas, and the salary paid during the course of the last three years at about £100 or £150.

The Institute has prepared a form of articles for the use of those who may agree to its terms, and this form will be found in an Appendix to the present work. It is noticeable that no provision is there made for the payment of any salary.

Before leaving this subject it would be well to point out that, although it is impossible to give any definite information upon