Is the Public Accounting Profession in Decline?
By Mary Ellen Oliverio How to answer the question: Is the public accounting profession in decline? Input from executives, financial analysts, underwriters, and others who have direct contact with CPAs who perform the attest function are helpful, but here Im going to try a different perspective: focusing on the public comments of the regulatory agencies responsible for public accounting in the United States. Early efforts. In an 1889 address, James Yalden, then president of the American Association of Public Accountants (an ancestor of the AICPA), noted: On the occasion of this our first annual gathering since the organization of our association, I have to congratulate the members on the success it has so far attained a success which has enabled us to bring the profession of accountancy prominently before the public. President Yalden was putting a positive spin on the situation at that time, but he did go so far as to say, [O]ur association is not stronger in numbers. At the time of his
