Leonard M Savoie: Words from the Past, Thoughts for Today

Accounting Historians Journal, The, Jun 1998 by Jensen, Daniel L

Donald E. Tidrick, (ed.), Leonard M. Savoie: Words from the Past, Thoughts for Today (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995, 288 pp., $55)

This collection of 26 previously unpublished speeches by Leonard M. Savoie gives a clear picture of the issues confronting the accounting profession during the 1960s and 1970s from the perspective of a thoughtful and principled accounting professional. A 1946 graduate of the University of Illinois, Leonard Savoie became a partner in Price Waterhouse in 1960. He was partner-in-charge of accounting research and education when, in 1967, he left the firm to become the executive vice-president of the American Institute of CPAs, succeeding John L. Carey in a position later retitled president. In 1972, Savoie left the Institute to become controller and vice-president of Clark Equipment Company, a position he held until 1980. In that year, he became a professor of accountancy at Notre Dame University where, from 1983 to 1990, he served as chair of the Department of Accountancy. He died in 1991.

Leonard Savoie was a widely respected and most effective spokesperson on accounting issues. He delivered over 160 speeches and published approximately 50 articles during a career that spanned accounting practice, accounting regulation, and accounting academe. A career of such breadth and visibility was rare for its time and is even rarer today, a fact that is documented by testimonials from several of his well-known associates which are published with these speeches. This collection is divided into three sections -- Reports to the Council of the AICPA, General Professional Issues, and Accounting Standard Setting. In addition, the appendices present lists of his speeches and publications.

Savoie spoke his mind on general professional issues, including the value of auditors as "hard-nosed," third-party observers and "whistle-blowers," the importance of auditor independence, and the compatibility of auditing with other forms of service to clients. He was also a staunch advocate of toughminded financial reporting standards, and his addresses to the AICPA Council present thoughtful analyses of the political process surrounding the development of reporting standards. Several of his papers address issues of accounting education. He supported professional schools of accounting and believed in curricula that emphasize a common body of accounting knowledge as the basis for entry into all aspects of the accounting profession, leaving specialized training for continuing education programs or on-the-job experience: "The real education we are seeking is more a way of thinking which will enable us to solve problems, to learn new techniques and practices, and to approach future problems with creativity and imagination" [p. 88].

The editor should be complimented for bringing together this set of unpublished manuscripts. Taken as a whole, the speeches chronicle and clarify the issues confronted and choices made during an important era in the development of accounting, an era in which many present-day developments have their roots. They deserve a careful reading by anyone interested in building a perspective on the development of accounting in recent decades.

Reviewed by

Daniel L. Jensen

The Ohio State University