1917 American Institute of Accountants

1936 American Society of Certified Public Accountants merger

1887American Association of Public Accountants

1957 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

1987 The AICPA approves personal financial planning as the first area in which CPAs can be credentialed as experts.

1997 The AICPA offers the first exam for its Accredited in Business Valuation credential.

2000 CPA2Biz is formed, and the Certified Information Technology Professional credential launches.

2008 The Certified in Financial Forensicscredential launches.

1916 Institute of Public Accountants

100 years, 254,910 members! 1990: 295,633 members! 337,454 members!

Nearly 386,000 members!

1905Federation of Societies of Public Accountants merger

1,150 members!

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Evolution of thE CPA PROFESSIONthE first 100 YEARS thE Past 25 YEARS

1917The AIA approves rules of professional conduct and offers state boards a written test for aspiring accountants.

“Uniform Accounting,” a project spearheaded by the AIA and published in the Federal Reserve Bulletin, is the first authoritative written guidance regarding the income statement.

1887The AAPA is created and begins issuing certificates, based on experience.

1938The Institute’s Committee on Accounting Procedure effectively becomes the first U.S. accounting standard-setting body in the private sector.

1939After the highly publicized McKesson & Robbins fraud case, the AIA sets up a standing committee on generally accepted auditing standards.

1959The Accounting Principles Board replaces the CAP as the Institute’s authoritative financial accounting body.

1905The Journal of Accountancy’s first issue appears.

1906The AAPA forms a committee to create ethics standards for members.

1894The AAPA passes a resolution advancing its first standard, this one regarding the balance sheet.

2012A joint venture between the AICPA and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants creates a new designation: the Chartered Global Management Accountant.

1988The AICPA votes to require 150 hours of education for new members, targeting after 2000.

The AICPA makes peer review program mandatory.

1995For the first time, more AICPA members are employed in industry than in public accounting firms.

1996The Institute launches the CPA Vision Project to define the future of the profession.

2011The Horizons 2025 report outlines opportunities and challenges for the profession.

2006Feed the Pig launches as part of a financial literacy campaign targeting 25- to 34- year-olds.

1972The Wheat Committee, led by Francis Wheat, calls for an alternative to the APB. The AICPA endorses the proposal.

1973The AICPA’s Trueblood Committee, headed by Robert Trueblood, concludes that providing information to outside users is the primary purpose of financial reports.

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2002FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board agree to remove differences between international standards and U.S. GAAP.

2009FASB issues the Accounting Standards Codification as the single source of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

2011A blue-ribbon panel on private companies recommends a new board and modifications to GAAP that recognize the unique purposes of private-company financial statements.

2011For the first time, the CPA Exam is offered outside of the U.S. — in Japan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, with Brazil joining the list in 2012.

1986The American Accounting Association publishes the Bedford Report, which is critical of accounting education.

2004A new, computerized Uniform CPA Examination, focused more on research skills and problem-solving, replaces the paper-and-pencil version.

The AICPA launches 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy.

2006The AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy start an initiative that, by 2012, would result in 50 of 55 jurisdictions enacting mobility legislation.

2008The first International Financial Reporting Standards-based statements are filed with the SEC.

1943Mary T. Washington Wylie is the first black woman to pass the CPA Exam.

1953Thomas Coleman Andrews is the first CPA to head the Internal Revenue Service.

1922The AIA bans contingent fees and most advertising by public accountants and their firms. The ban on advertising lingers until 1978.

1936The phrase “generally accepted accounting principles” is first used.

1956The Commission on Standards of Education and Experience for CPAs recommends a five-year accounting degree as a qualification to become a CPA.

1940–50The accounting profession thrives. In 1940, there is one professional accountant for every 406 workers. By 1950 there is one for every 283 workers.

1932The New York Stock Exchange requires its listed companies to have audits.

1973The Financial Accounting Standards Board replaces the APB.

The International Accounting Standards Committee is formed.

1899Christine Ross becomes the first female CPA.

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1921John Cromwell becomes the first black CPA.

1919The Beta Alpha Psi honor society is formed.

1913 Federal Reserve 1914 FTC 1921 GAO 1934 SEC 1945 GAO Corp. Audits Division 2002 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board 2010 Financial Stability Oversight Council

1896New York Gov. Levi P. Morton signs the first CPA bill into law.

1905The Interstate Commerce Commission seeks to set up a uniform system of accounting for the railroads.

1914The new Federal Trade Commission puts increased government focus on private-sector audits and promotes official standards and independent audits.

1933–34The New Deal creates extensive banking regulations and federal programs requiring accounting oversight. New laws require independent audits but also limit accountants’ control over standards.

1941–45Wartime wage and price controls require extensive cost calculations.

Excess profits taxes are levied, with rates as high as 95%.

1965Congress creates Medicare and other Great Society programs involving very complex cost allocations.

1984The Single Audit Act requires a single audit for state and local governments receiving federal money.

1976Congress’ Moss and Metcalf committees recommend increased federal regulation of private-sector standard setting.

2004Accelerated filers must comply with SOX Section 404 by including an external auditor’s opinion on the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting.

2005The SEC allows voluntary submission of XBRL-formatted files as exhibits to periodic reports.

2010The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is passed. It permanently exempts small-cap firms from SOX Section 404(b) requirements.

The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the PCAOB.

2008In response to the financial crisis, FASB and the SEC release guidance on fair-value accounting, including how to measure fair value when no relevant market evidence exists. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act allows the U.S. Treasury to buy problem assets in an effort to improve balance sheets of financial institutions and keep credit flowing.

Tax

1909A federal excise tax is levied on corporate income.

1913The 16th Amendment is ratified, permitting a federal income tax.

1969Tax Reform Act of 1969 enacts AMT.

1965CPAs can now represent clients before the IRS.

1943The United States begins income tax withholding.

2002 Electronic signatures allowed for e-filed returns.

1990IRS e-file goes live; 4.2 million returns are e-filed.

2012The IRS requires preparers of 11 or more returns to file electronically.

1986The IRS launches a pilot program for the electronic filing of tax returns.

1986Tax Reform Act of 1986 overhauls tax code.

1985–88After hundreds of savings and loan institutions collapse, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., holds hearings investigating accounting standard setting and oversight of auditors.

2002Among other actions, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act creates the PCAOB to set public company auditing standards. Its most contentious area is Section 404, which requires an external auditor’s opinion on internal controls over financial reporting.

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Photo creditsWheat: courtesy of the Virtual Museum and Archive of the History of Financial Regulation, sechistorical.org/SEC Historical Society. Ross: AICPA Collection, University of Mississippi. Cromwell: by George Scurlock, courtesy of Anthony C. Hill. Comptometer: by Sean McCormick/Sean McCormick Photography.

Timeline by Infinia Group, infiniagroup.comCopyright © 2012 American Institute of CPAs. All rights reserved.

1903The Ford Motor Co. is formed, as the U.S. automobile industry begins to blossom.

1979VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet software, is introduced.

1941The United States enters World War II. CPAs in civilian and military roles support defense, military and industrial efforts to win the war. Many CPAs are decorated and serve in key positions throughout the armed services.

1929

1982–83Lotus 1-2-3 revolutionizes accounting for small and midsize businesses.

2001Enron restates its earnings back to 1997 and files for bankruptcy.

1887The Comptometer, one of the first key-driven calculators with a full numeric keyboard, is patented.

2008Bear Stearns becomes the first major casualty of the subprime mortgage crisis. Soon Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual are in bankruptcy.

2012The AICPA launches the Journal of Accountancy News App for iPad.

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