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 himself that it has been arrived at in a systematic manner. . . . In some cases it is desirable to ascertain whether much of the stock has been on hand for a long period; as it may lead the auditor to form the opinion that the price taken credit for should be reduced, either owing to depreciation in the goods themselves, or to the inability of the manufacturer to sell at former prices."

Incidentally it may be observed that all these endeavours recommended by Mr. Pixley to the auditor seem to be designed to secure that this asset shall be stated at the "realizable" value, which, as we saw above, was maintained by him as not being the true meaning of the figures set against the items on the credit side of a balance-sheet.

Everyone, however, will agree that the auditors cannot possibly be expected to value the whole property of the company every year before they certify the balance-sheet. We can expect them to verify the cash and check the prices of the quoted securities. Beyond that, although their skill and discretion and experience may be of immense service to shareholders, we cannot expect more from them than what they claim to have done in the usual