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| TEICHMANN ON AUDITING: A GLIMPSE AT OUR PAST
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By Stephen E. Loeb
Ernst & Young Alumni Professor of Auditing,
University of Maryland, College Park
and historian, Maryland Association of CPAs
A driving force behind the founding of our profession in Maryland, Max Teichmann served as the initial president of both MACPA and what is now the Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy.
While the MACPA was incorporated in February 1901, little is known of the first three years of its existence due to the destruction of the association's records in a major fire that occurred in Baltimore in February 1904. However, an early American accounting journal provides evidence that in its first year of existence, the MACPA provided continuing professional education for its members.
For example, the June 1901 issue of Business and the Public Accountant contains on page 226 an article by Teichmann entitled "Auditing and its Requirements." The article contains a footnote that states this was "the first of a series of lectures before the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants ..." This connotes that even in the year of its founding, the MACPA had a strong commitment to the professional education of its membership, a commitment that continues to exist 100 years later.
The article (lecture) is reprinted here. When Teichmann refers to the "auditor," he seems to be referring to the independent auditor. The remainder of my comments are based on this assumption. There are some interesting issues mentioned by Teichmann that seem timeless. For
example, Teichmann:
- notes that the "... auditor is an impartial judge ..." (This suggests Teichmann's recognition of third party responsibility of the independent auditor);
- discusses the "qualifications" of an independent auditor;
- discusses the issue of reliance on a "predecessor" independent auditor;
- mentions the concept of auditing particular industries, such as banking;
- mentions the behavior of the independent auditor while serving as a
witness in a legal proceeding.
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