ABSTRACT
The Imperial Treasury required accountants to verify the payment of taxes and the disbursements of public money, and apportion them under their proper heads, and to report to some authority. So the accountant in one of his most important functions got the name of auditor, for they examined the accounts, they heard the parties, and acted in a kind of judicial capacity. Some Romans kept private auditors, and required an audit, up to date, at their dinner-parties, for benefit of their guests. Particularly in relation of auditors to public companies, these grounds of liability of an expert do not necessarily coincide. They have to be taken together; that is to say, in so far as there are not express instructions either by statute or the constitution of the company as to the particular matter. The shareholders ought to realise that the auditor is appointed for their protection, and therefore when they elect an auditor they should take a sufficient interest.
