The Artificial Intelligence tools (like ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, Gemini, Grok, Meta, Grok, and Perplexity) can provide much useful and nearly instant information about subjects in a concise format, especially when they have been pre-trained on a large volume of information about the subjects.
1) My maternal grandfather, Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976) worked at Marston's Department Store in San Diego from 1905 to 1960, starting as a "cash boy" and becoming an accountant and auditor. I wondered what his job entailed, and asked Anthropic Claude for information about an accountant and auditor job.
2) My Prompt was: "Lyle Carringer worked at Marston's Department Store in San Diego from 1905 to 1960. He started as a cash boy and floorwalker, and became an accountant and auditor at the store - what tasks would he have performed in those roles on a daily, monthly and yearly basis?"
The Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 response was:
Lyle Carringer's Accounting and Auditing Duties at Marston's Department Store (1920s-1960)
I've created a comprehensive overview of the accounting and auditing duties that Lyle would have performed at Marston's Department Store throughout his career from the 1920s to 1960. The tasks are organized by frequency (daily, monthly, yearly) and reflect the manual, paper-based systems that were standard during that era.
The duties include sales tracking, inventory management, accounts receivable and payable processing, all done with the tools available at the time - ledger books, adding machines, and extensive filing systems. Department stores had unique accounting challenges including seasonal fluctuations, credit management, and tracking profitability across multiple product categories.
Lyle's role would have been crucial to Marston's operations, ensuring accurate financial records, managing cash flow, and providing the detailed reporting that management needed to make decisions about inventory, pricing, and credit policies. His 46-year career spans the evolution from purely manual bookkeeping to the early mechanization that preceded the computer age.
Daily Tasks
Sales and Cash Management
Daily cash reconciliation: Balanced cash registers from all departments against sales receipts, identifying discrepancies and investigating shortages or overages
Sales recording: Posted daily sales figures by department (men's clothing, women's wear, home goods, etc.) into ledger books using pen and ink
Credit sales processing: Recorded charge account transactions, updated customer account cards, and calculated interest on outstanding balances
Deposit preparation: Prepared daily bank deposits, ensuring currency, coins, checks, and money orders were properly counted and documented
Inventory Control
Receiving documentation: Verified incoming merchandise against purchase orders and bills of lading, recording quantities, costs, and condition of goods
Inventory tracking: Maintained perpetual inventory records using the retail inventory method, tracking cost price and selling price for each department
Markdowns and markups: Recorded price changes, seasonal sales adjustments, and promotional markdowns in inventory valuation books
Stock shrinkage monitoring: Investigated and documented inventory discrepancies, theft, or damaged goods
Accounts Payable and Receivable
Vendor invoice processing: Matched invoices to purchase orders and receiving documents, calculated payment terms and early payment discounts
Customer account management: Updated individual customer charge accounts, processed payments, and calculated finance charges
Collections work: Prepared aging reports for overdue accounts and assisted with collection efforts for delinquent customers
General Bookkeeping
Journal entries: Posted daily transactions to the general journal using double-entry bookkeeping principles
Ledger maintenance: Updated general ledger accounts including cash, accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, and sales
Payroll support: Calculated employee wages, commissions, and deductions; maintained payroll records and time cards
Monthly Tasks
Financial Statement Preparation
Trial balance: Prepared monthly trial balances to ensure debits equaled credits across all accounts
Departmental reports: Generated profit and loss statements for each department, calculating gross margins and identifying top and bottom performers
Inventory valuation: Conducted monthly inventory counts by department and reconciled physical counts with book records
Bad debt analysis: Reviewed aged accounts receivable and recommended write-offs for uncollectible accounts
Management Reporting
Sales analysis: Prepared detailed sales reports comparing current month to previous month and same month prior year
Expense reports: Analyzed operating expenses by category and department, identifying unusual fluctuations
Cash flow statements: Tracked cash receipts and disbursements to help management plan for seasonal fluctuations
Budget variance reports: Compared actual results to budgeted figures and provided explanations for significant variances
Tax and Compliance
Sales tax reconciliation: Calculated and remitted monthly sales tax to California state authorities
Payroll tax filings: Prepared and filed monthly payroll tax returns and made required tax deposits
Yearly Tasks
Annual Financial Statements
Year-end closing: Conducted comprehensive year-end closing procedures, adjusting entries for accruals, deferrals, and estimates
Annual inventory: Supervised and participated in complete physical inventory counts, typically conducted after Christmas
Depreciation calculations: Calculated annual depreciation for store fixtures, equipment, and building improvements
Financial statement compilation: Prepared annual income statements, balance sheets, and supporting schedules
Tax Preparation
Corporate tax returns: Prepared annual California corporate income tax returns and federal tax filings
Property tax support: Provided documentation for annual property tax assessments on inventory and fixed assets
Employee tax documents: Prepared annual W-2 forms for all employees
Auditing Functions
Internal audits: Conducted systematic reviews of cash handling procedures, inventory controls, and credit policies
Fraud investigation: Investigated suspected employee theft, cash shortages, or irregularities in accounts
Policy compliance: Ensured adherence to company accounting policies and credit procedures across all departments
Bank reconciliations: Performed detailed monthly bank reconciliations and investigated outstanding items
Planning and Analysis
Budget preparation: Participated in annual budget preparation process, providing historical data and trend analysis
Cost analysis: Analyzed departmental profitability and recommended pricing strategies
Credit policy review: Assessed customer credit policies and recommended changes based on collection experience
Tools and Methods of the Era
Manual Systems (1920s-1940s)
Ledger books: Large bound books with columns for debits and credits, maintained in pen and ink
Adding machines: Manual mechanical calculators for daily calculations and reconciliations
Filing systems: Extensive paper filing systems for invoices, receipts, and customer records
Cash registers: Mechanical registers that provided daily sales totals by department
Early Mechanization (1940s-1960)
Bookkeeping machines: Semi-automated posting machines that could simultaneously update ledgers and prepare statements
Electric calculators: Faster electric adding machines and calculators for complex calculations
Carbon paper systems: Multiple-copy forms to create simultaneous records
Addressograph systems: Mechanical systems for addressing customer statements and promotional materials
Special Challenges of Department Store Accounting
Seasonal Fluctuations
Managing cash flow during slow summer months and peak Christmas season
Adjusting inventory levels and staffing based on seasonal sales patterns
Planning for major sales events like back-to-school and holiday promotions
Credit Management
Evaluating customer creditworthiness before opening charge accounts
Managing installment payment plans for major purchases like furniture and appliances
Balancing customer service with credit risk management
Multi-Department Complexity
Tracking profitability across diverse product lines with different markup structures
Managing relationships with hundreds of vendors across various product categories
Coordinating pricing strategies across departments to maintain store-wide profitability
Evolution Over Lyle's Career
Early Career (1920s-1930s)
Emphasis on basic bookkeeping and cash control in a smaller, family-owned operation
Personal relationships with regular customers and their credit histories
Manual systems requiring careful penmanship and attention to detail
Mid-Career (1940s-1950s)
Introduction of more sophisticated accounting methods and financial analysis
Growth in credit sales requiring more complex accounts receivable management
Implementation of early mechanical aids to reduce manual calculation time
Later Career (1950s-1960)
Adoption of more automated bookkeeping systems and early business machines
Increased emphasis on financial analysis and management reporting
Preparation for modern retail accounting methods that would emerge in the computer age
Lyle's progression from cash boy to accountant and auditor reflected both his personal growth and the evolution of retail accounting during a transformative period in American commerce. His daily work involved the meticulous attention to detail that built the financial foundation for one of San Diego's premier department stores.
4) Anthropic Claude searched its' pre-trained information and online resources, and provided some answers about my grandfather's work life.
5) I have no idea about Lyle's job titles over time. The census records aren't very helpful:
- 1920: An auditor
- 1930: Office worker, works in dry goods store
- 1940: Office clerk, in retail department store
- 1950: Office man, invoice office in department store
6) I like how the LLMs work - they answer the question, they organize the answers into sections, and they provide descriptive text that makes sense. They are well-trained on historic events and social history.
7) Do you know the details of the job of your grandparents or parents in the 20th century? Ask AI !
Now I'm wondering about my mother's English teaching experiences in the early 1940s when she was just out of college and before she married my father.
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Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.
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