Northwestern University Accounting Reports

The series consists of various accounting reports, mostly dating from the 1930s to early 1940s. It is unclear why these reports were kept together. Some of the information in these reports was used to produce the University's annual Financial Reports (see Series 07/00/11 for a complete set of these). The reports were prepared by several different accounting firms over the years--Arthur Young (1922-1933), Price Waterhouse (1934-1938), George Rossetter (1940, 1943), and Baumann, Finney (1944).

In most cases, the date indicated is the year ending date, and the report covered the transactions of the entire preceding year. Exceptions are the audit and certificate dated December 3, 1903, which was prepared on the occasion of the retirement of Treasurer, Robert Sheppard, and covered the period from July 1 to December 1, 1903, and a supplemental report dated August 15, 1934. Another exception is the Report on Accounts with Milton Tilley, dated October 13, 1927. Tilley, the contractor for the construction of the Women's Quadrangle (sorority houses), had filed a claim against Northwestern University for over $113,000 in additional expenses. His claim was based on expenses incurred from delays by Northwestern and its architects, as well as from change orders that increased his costs. The report was undertaken at Northwestern's request by its accounting firm, Arthur Young & Company.