Report of the President 95 



IV. FINANCES, MAINTENANCE, ENDOWMENT 



Charles Lanier, Treasurer 



The method of recording the financial transactions of the 

 Museum has not differed from that of previous years. The 

 actual bookkeeping and other clerical details pertaining to 

 the accounts have been done at the Museum under the direc- 

 tion of the Bursar, Mr. Frederick H. Smyth. The moneys 

 of all accounts, except the Endowment and Investment 

 Account, have been deposited with the United States Trust 

 Company of New York as Assistant Treasurer, which has also 

 made the usual monthly audit of all the books of the Bursar's 

 office. The customary semi-annual audits of all the Treasurer's 

 books have been made by the Audit Company of New York 

 under the direction of the Auditing Committee. The full 

 details of the financial transactions will be found on pages 99 

 to 117 of the President's Annual Report. 



Under the present system of bookkeeping, all the expendi- 

 tures in the various accounts are segregated under the several 

 p. . fi . departments, irrespective of the purpose of the 



of Expenditures expenditure. Formerly, if the total expendi- 

 ture for any particular purpose, such as expe- 

 ditions, publication or preparation of specimens, was desired, 

 it was necessary to pick out the items from the departmental 

 expenditures. Such data are very essential for the prepara- 

 tion of clear reports for the Trustees and for the preparation 

 of the budget. To have such information readily accessible, 

 the Bursar has devised a loose-leaf ledger which is kept as a 

 supplement to the regular books of the Treasurer. In this 

 ledger all expenditures are segregated by subject and under 

 each subject apportioned to the respective accounts. 



The Bursar has also made a careful study of all the securi- 



... rrt ties of the Permanent Endowment, and 



Analysis of Permanent , ., , , 



Endowment Fund we now have available a complete history 



of the endowment, including the original 

 source of the securities, the original bequest or gift value, and 

 the present market value. 



