Both advertisers and auditors wrestled with the truth of their text during the Progressive Era (1880-1940). Although in North America, advertisers adopted "truth in advertising" as a theme, auditors rejected "true and fair" as a description of financial statements. Auditors instead adopted the weaker statement that financial statements were "consistent with accepted accounting principles." It is paradoxical that auditors compared with advertisers made the greatest progress toward professionalization during this era. This article documents debates about the concept of "truth" in each profession during the Progressive Era and examines the professional and legal consequences of each profession's engagement with truth.

The Progressive Era, roughly the period from the depression of the late 1880s through to the late 1930s, represents a period of institutional, technical, and social innovation. During this period, most developed economies made the transition from rural to urban and from agrarian to manufacturing economies. It is a period when sectional interes

Coherence Coherence with a body of propositions

The Auditor is advised to "select a few items of importance and compare with the things themselves." Unfortunately, however, we are none of us possessed of sufficient knowledge to make such an examination effective... an appraisal being always the result of an individual opinion while original cost is an undeniable fact. (Parton 1917, 95)

Ontological realism

1. Misleading statements, insinuations, and illustrations that give impressions of value or service not inherent in the product.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Progressive Era, North America, Wheeler-Lea Act, Authors Parton, Chartered Accountant, Truth Criteria, Advertising Club, Charybdis Gregory, Bradley Blanshard, James Dewey, financial statements, truth advertising, advertising industry, version truth, progressive era, truth claims, book desk, false advertising, truth criteria, professional status, canadian chartered accountant, pi model statute, true book desk, independent object world, associated advertising clubs,
Approximate Word count = 11196
Approximate Pages = 45 (250 words per page double spaced)