Message from the president [1996, Vol. 19, no. 1]

              MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
I want to thank the
membership for providing
me with the opportunity to
serve the Academy of
Accounting Historians as
President. With your help, I
will work toward the
continuing growth and
development of the
Academy. The Academy
work depends tremendously
on the officers and the
committees. Committees
and task forces for 1996 were
included in the December
1995 issue of The Notebook.
Thank you very much for your
willingness to serve on these committees and
task forces.
Centennial Celebration of
the First CPA Law
The year 1996 is a very important year
because it is the 100th anniversary of the
first CPA exam and the first CPA law. On
April 17, 1896, the Governor of New York
signed into law "an act to regulate the
profession of Public Accountants." The law
prohibited anyone from using the title of
"Certified Public Accountant" unless he had
a certificate issued by the Regents of New
York University.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary
of this law, the Northeast Region of the
AAA combined with the New York Society
of CPAs for their regional meeting in New
York City, April, 17-20, 1996. Many of the
Academy members were on the program.
The officers, trustees and key members of the
Academy held their Spring meeting in
conjunction with this meeting in New York.
Minutes of this meeting are included in this
issue of The Notebook.
100th Anniversary of the First CPA Exam
After the CPA law was passed, the first
CPA examination was given on December 15
and 16, 1896, in Buffalo and New York City.
Doris M. Cook
Three prominent account­ants
were appointed by the
Board of Regents of New
York University to act as the
Board of Examiners and
administer the first exam.
These three were Frank
Broaker, Charles E. Sprague
and Charles Waldo Haskins.
The theme of the
December 5-7, 1996
research conference of the
Academy will be "The
Centennial Anniversary of
the First CPA Examination:
A Century of Professional
Progress." Plenary sessions
and papers will focus on topics related to this
celebration. Announcements of the
conference have been mailed to members and
another mailing will be made later.
Registration fee is $75 for members and $25
for students. The location is the Cleveland
Marriott Society Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
The City of Cleveland is also celebrating its
200th anniversary and asked that the
Academy meet there to help celebrate that
anniversary, also. The annual business
meeting will be held at the end of the
conference on December 7. We urge you to
attend this important celebration.
Receptions at AAA Meeting and 7th
World Congress of Accounting
Historians
The Academy will be co-host of the
opening reception at the 7th World Congress
of Accounting Historians at Queen's
University, Ontario, August 11-13, 1996.
Several Academy members are on the
program. The annual reception for all
members of the Academy at the annual AAA
meeting will be held August 14, 8-10 p.m.,
at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown
Chicago. Announcements of these receptions
have been mailed to all members Please try
to attend these important functions!!
2 The Accounting Historians Notebook, Spring 1996