Geoffrey Teignmouth Clarkson
Geoffrey Teignmouth Clarkson FCA | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 23, 1878 |
| Died | June 22, 1949 (aged 70) |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | Accountant, Auditor, Corporate Rescuer |
| Known for | Specialism in banking audits and corporate rescue |
Geoffrey Teignmouth Clarkson (October 23, 1878 – June 22, 1949) was a Canadian accountant and auditor known for his expertise in banking audits and corporate rescue. He played a role in shaping the insolvency and bankruptcy law of Canada.
Early life and education
[edit] |
Geoffrey Teignmouth Clarkson was born on October 23, 1878, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the son of Edward Roper Curzon Clarkson, a notable Canadian accountant and insolvency receiver, and Amy Boydell Lambe. His mother was a grand-niece of John Boydell, her father and grandfather were Wine Merchants and purveyor to King George III and farm landlords to Arthur Young (agriculturist).
Geoffrey grew up in a family deeply involved in the accounting and financial sectors. His family owned William Mulock's former home at 71 Avenue Road, nearly a quarter of Toronto Island (of which Geoffrey's father surveyed), and Glenavy Point, Muskoka.
Career
[edit]Clarkson followed in his father’s footsteps and became an accountant. He gained recognition for his work in banking audits and corporate rescue. His expertise in these areas made him a sought-after professional in the Canadian business community.
As a managing partner at Clarkson Gordon & Co, Clarkson helped develop key bankruptcy and insolvency reforms in Canada. The firm’s training and practices, particularly those of Clarkson, have been used as foundations for modern insolvency and bankruptcy law in the country.[1]
His critics - especially those who arose during his receivership of Abitibi-Consolidated - called him a “bank man". At the receivership's conclusion in 1947 was the longest receivership in the history of Canada. It ran 14 years Through that role he earned $600,000.
He was once external auditor of five chartered banks at the same time. During a single year in 1901 that included Canadian Bank of Commerce, the Colonial Investment and Loan Company, Bank of Toronto, Dominion Bank, Imperial Bank and the Standard Bank of Canada.[2] In another year, his business covered the Imperial, Toronto, the Metropolitan Bank of Canada, and the Standard. Politicians at public hearings in Ottawa called him the “bank undertaker” for his reputation for acting as liquidator for defaulted banks and had made such an indelible impact on Conservative Party men through his dutiful service to Government on various royal commissions and crown corporation audits that he was once recommended as Minister of Finance, made the first external auditor of the Bank of Canada, and asked to help the war effort by helping stabilize monetary policy.
Political influence and notoriety
[edit]GT was noted for being particularly private but politically savvy. He, like ERC was a conservative and GT was extremely close with Ontario Premiers Howard Ferguson. GT frequently advised conservative governments on department efficiencies and was appointed to several royal commissions.
Toronto's Hush magazine claimed in the 1930s that GT was known as "Jesus Christ" amongst the Provincial Conservatives in Queen's Park.[3] A fact which so angered GT that he tried to sue the magazine for libel. He was frequently called upon to provide expert evidence at Queen's Park and in Parliament.[4] GT's opinion was deemed critical when drafting the Banking Act 1923 and no changes to the legislation when in committee were to be made without his approval. He often corresponded with Arthur Meighen when Meighen was both Prime Minister and a Senator when giving evidence to the Select Standing Committee on Banking and Commerce in the House of Commons. Indeed his ties to the government were so strong that he was offered the Minister of Finance position under Arthur Meighen's government following the King-Bing affair at the urging of prominent Toronto Conservative figure and lawyer I.E. Weldon.[5]
His role as liquidator to failed banks covered at least four by 1923: the Ontario Bank, Home Bank of Canada, the Sovereign Bank, Farmers’ Bank, and the Monarch Bank and had liquidated dozens of other financing institutions including the Dominion Permanent Loan Company. His recommendations as liquidator of the Home Bank of Canada in 1923 set the groundwork for the creation of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Geoffrey Teignmouth Clarkson was married and had children.[citation needed]
GT, like his father, provided the accounting and auditing services of the firm to non-profit and charity organisations, particularly educational institutions free of charge. He served on the board of governors for Havergal College, Upper Canada College, Wycliffe College, and the Hospital for Sick Children.[7] ERC provided the auditing for the University of Toronto until his death and the Canadian Bankers' Association.[8]
He died on June 22, 1949, and is buried in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ Walter Gordon Walter Gordon: A Political Memoir, Volume 10 of Canadian lives, Formac Publishing Company, 1983
- ^ Financial Review, 1923 pages 101, 110, 129
- ^ Walter Gordon Walter Gordon: A Political Memoir, Volume 10 of Canadian lives, Formac Publishing Company, 1983
- ^ The Financial Times 14 June 1944, page 12 “Expert Opinion Behind Stand on Bank Reserves: GT Clarkson Says that to Reveal Them would be Unwise and Dangerous”
- ^ Meighen Papers Series 4 (M.G. 26, I, Volume 140) Reel C3477 file 0355
- ^ Lawrie Savage “From trial to triumph: how Canada's past financial crises helped shape a superior regulatory system” School of Public Policy SPP Research Papers, Volume 7, Issue 16 (May 2014)
- ^ Hospital for Sick Children, Report 1921
- ^ President's Report For the year ending 30 June 1923, “Statement regarding the Biological Museum” to the Board of Governors of the University of Toronto 1917/18-1923/24, p 78 AXX-4814