=29. Lengthy Statements Undesirable.= That we may have "too much of a good thing," and that even those things worthwhile may be overdone, is true in the matter of statements. The general tendency seems to be to elaborate rather than simplify, and to crowd into the tabulation a lot of figures representing details which are almost always passed over without examination, or are even hardly looked at. If the same amount of time is spent in studying such a statement that is spent in its preparation, it would not be altogether without value, but the fact remains that it seldom is thus considered. The size of a company's statement is oftentimes all out of proportion to the size of the business; some of the smaller industries present reports of their operations so voluminous in size as to rival that of the United States Steel Corporation, or that prepared by the actuary of one of the mammoth insurance companies. It should be remembered that a busy manager is more interested in economical management than in wholesale bookkeeping, and has but little use for a formidable array of figures, except in so far as they show general results. Such a statement, when presented to him, is usually tossed aside to be examined later, while if it were condensed and served up to him in a more attractive form, it would probably be eagerly examined and studied with interest. A multitude of figures is more apt to confuse than to enlighten the situation, is a waste of an accountant's time, and, being a source of displeasure to the employer, thereby defeats the very object for which it was made. Detailed records should always be kept, and in such shape as to be immediately available when called for, but it is hardly necessary to incorporate them in a tabulation intended to show results. It will be well, in submitting figures to the manager, to always bear in mind an imaginary notice over his desk: "This is my busy day; be brief." It is safe to say that a good statement should contain as few figures as possible to intelligently show the desired result. =30. Tabulate the Essentials.= The data for a good statement should be well chosen. A manufacturer wants results. He is in business for profit making, and wants to know the true condition of his shop operation and the expense, in a concise presentation of facts, and has but little use for comparisons beyond those necessary for showing him the result of his management. He is not often found to be a philanthropist, eager to load down his expense account so that his clerical assistants may use his time to pursue their studies in the science of accounting. He wants to know what his costs of production and the expense of operation are, and where they may be cut, and it is as much to an accountant's interest to show him this in a clear and self─explanatory statement as it is by an elaborate and dazzling array of statistics to show his own ability in handling figures.