"I Ask the Profession to Stand Still": The Evolution of American Public Accountancy, 1927-1962

This paper traces the emergence of the AICPA as an effective national representative of the American profession. Central to this evolution was a broadening of the Institute's outlook to encompass all practicing CPAs and to embrace the benefits of public relations and lobbying. The paper begins with the Wall Street elite that dominated the Institute's predecessor, the AIA, and describes the pressures for reform that culminated in the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 and set this evolution in motion. The final section makes use of former AICPA president Marquis Eaton's papers to show how pressure from the Securities and Exchange Commission, from competing professions, and from a geometric increase in the profession's numbers brought a more pragmatic and aggresive leadership to the Institute, one that more closely resembles the modern AICPA.