Accounting through time: Dates to remember

1887: Profession takes first step toward organization with the formation of the American Association of Public Accountants.

1896: New York State is the first to pass a CPA law in the United States; Maryland follows four years later as the third state to pass a CPA law behind New York and Pennsylvania.

1899: Maryland Association of Public Accountants was formed to lobby for passage of a CPA law in Maryland; Christine Ross becomes the first woman in the United States to receive a CPA certificate; she received New York State CPA certificate no. 143.

1900: Maryland becomes the third state in the U.S. to pass a CPA law to regulate the practice of public accountancy in Maryland.

1901: Maryland Association of CPAs founded; first CPA Exam administered in Maryland.

1902: Congress calls for audit reports; however, there are no formally accepted U.S. accounting principles, and companies continue to publish information as they see fit.

1904: Great Fire of Baltimore wipes out much of city.

1909: Elsa Doetsch (1886-1950) and Florence Hooper (1886-1979) become the first women to receive CPA licenses in Maryland and to become members of MACPA.

1913: The Sixteenth Amendment is ratified, permitting federal tax on incomes. A 1913 editorial in the Journal of Accountancy predicts that tax engagements "will undoubtedly lead in many cases to a realization by the clients of the wider usefulness of the work of accountants and so to more extensive instructions."

1913-14: The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 establish the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission, respectively, focusing government attention on audits and financial reporting.

1917: What could be considered accounting's first official pronouncement is published in the April 1917 issue of the Federal Reserve Bulletin, "Uniform Accounting." It is later reprinted as the pamphlet, Approved Methods for the Preparation of Balance Sheet Statements, which makes recommendations on audit procedures and financial statements. Aberdeen Proving Ground, the first testing center of the US Army, is established in Maryland.

1920: Women vote for the first time in Maryland.

1921: The first African-American CPA, John W. Cromwell Jr., passes the CPA Exam in New Hampshire.

1922: President Harding holds first presidential radio address from Fort McHenry.

1924: Title IX of the Revenue Act of 1924 creates a board of tax appeals to rule on disputed assessments made by what was then called the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Admission to practice before the board is limited to attorneys and CPAs, a boon to the CPA profession. Maryland becomes the first state to have an accountancy law to restrict the practice of accountancy and auditing to CPAs. This resulted from an amendment.

1929: Verification of Financial Statements, a revised version of the article in the 1917 Federal Reserve Bulletin, is published, stressing importance of internal controls. Stock market crashes, prompting "a public outcry against the business sector for violation of the public trust and [has] a significant impact on the direction of accounting practice," says Previts and Merino.

1930: The national organization, now called the American Institute of Accountants (later the AICPA), forms the committee on cooperation with stock exchanges to address pressing concerns in financial reporting.

1931: "Star Spangled Banner" becomes the national anthem.

1932: In the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, the Institute forms the special committee on the development of accounting principles.

1933: Women CPAs organize, forming the American Women's Society of CPAs.

1933-34: The Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 introduces the concept of "an independent public or certified accountant" to certify financial statements and imposes statutory liabilities on accountants. The SEC is created to regulate the financial markets and a chief accountant is appointed.

1934: MACPA membership reaches 136 members.

1936: Federal Reserve issues financial statement regulations. The 1917 Federal Reserve Bulletin article is revised a second time, superceding the 1929 edition.

1937: Maryland state income tax is instituted.

1938: The SEC delegates its authority to set accounting standards to the AIA and its committee on accounting procedure.

1939: The first auditing standard is set.

1941: USS Maryland is among ships to be attacked at Pearl Harbor.

1947: Maryland state sales tax is instituted.

1950: Friendship International Airport (now BWI) opens. MACPA hires George Robertson as part-time Administrative Secretary.

1952: Bay Bridge opens in Maryland.

1955: MACPA hires Helen Hottenbacher as part-time Administrative Secretary; Desegregation of Public Schools begins in Maryland.

1957: Benjamin L. King Sr., founder of King, King & Associates, becomes first African-American to receive a CPA certificate in Maryland and to become a member of MACPA. Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opens. The AIA becomes the American Institute of CPAs.

1958: MACPA established first permanent residence in the Keyser Building on Redwood Street in Baltimore City; Doris Meredith is hired as the full-time secretary.

1959: The Accounting Principles Board is formed.

1961: MACPA membership reaches 930.

1962: The Revenue Act of 1962 provides an "investment tax credit," effectively a tax reduction to stimulate investment in productive assets. APB Opinion No. 2 stirs controversy and AICPA council passes a 1964 resolution calling for disclosure of departures from APB opinions. The Baltimore Beltway (I-695) opens.

1964: William B. McCloskey, CPA, is hired as part-time executive director of MACPA. The Capital Beltway (I-495) opens.

1965: Public law 89-332 confirms the status of CPAs to practice on tax issues before the IRS, following years of controversy with the legal profession.

1966: Baltimore Orioles win the World Series in four games.

1967: Columbia, a planned community in Howard County, opens in Maryland.

1969: Benjamin King Sr., becomes the first African-American to be appointed to the Maryland State Board of Accountancy. Maryland Public Television (MPT) holds its first broadcast.

1970: MACPA hires its first full-time executive director, Lewis MacCubbin. The Penn Central bankruptcy calls regulators' and auditors' effectiveness into question.

1971: AICPA council resolution urges state boards to adopt mandatory CPE requirements. Thomas L. Woods becomes MACPA's full-time administrative vice president. MACPA membership grows to 1560.

1973: The Financial Accounting Standards Board trumps the APB. The second parallel of the Bay Bridge opens in Maryland.

1975: MACPA moves its offices to 1205 York Road in Lutherville. Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power plant begins operation in Calvert County.

1976: A law is passed in Maryland requiring CPAs to complete continuing professional education.

1977: AICPA forms the SEC Practice Section and Private Companies Practice Section to increase self-regulation.

1979: Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services is approved.

1980: Maryland and Virginia establish the Chesapeake Bay Commission to conserve and regulate bay resources. Harbor Place opens in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

1981: National Aquarium opens in Baltimore.

1982: The SEC rescinds Accounting Series Release no. 250, which had required disclosure in proxy statements of non-audit services performed by auditors.

1983: Patricia B. Bissell becomes the first woman president of MACPA.

1984: The Governmental Accounting Standards Board succeeds the National Council on Governmental Accounting to set standards for state and local governments. The Single Audit Act requires a comprehensive single audit for state and local governments that receive federal assistance.

1985: Fort McHenry Tunnel opens in Baltimore.

1985-88: Accounting is the focus of more than 20 oversight hearings, recounts Previts and Merino.

1986: MACPA moves its offices to 1300 York Road in Lutherville. Kurt L. Schmoke, is the first African American elected mayor of Baltimore.

1989: MACPA membership reaches 7,300.

1990: Barbara Zorn becomes the first woman executive director of MACPA.

1990s: Accountants' role in S&L failures is investigated in the early 1990s.

1992: Oriole Park at Camden Yards opens. Baltimore City light rail line opens.

1993: Maryland Legislature passes the 150-hour educational requirement to become a CPA.

1995: Cal Ripken breaks the record for most consecutive games played in baseball.

1997: J. Thomas Hood III, CPA, becomes the third CPA to serve as executive director of MACPA.

1998: MACPA becomes the first State CPA Society in the country to adopt the National CPA Vision. MACPA gets its 10,000th member. MACPA hosts and trains a delegation of Russian accounting professionals sent to the U.S. to study best practices of the profession. Middle East Peace Talks are held at the Wye Institute in Queen Anne's County.

1999: MACPA begins an internal restructuring process to align with the National CPA Vision.

2000: Maryland CPA law turns 100. Maryland legislature passes experience requirement for CPA licensure.

2001: MACPA turns 100.

Some material in this timeline was taken from the article, "Taking Account: Key Dates for the Profession," written by Anita Dennis, copyright © 2000 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

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