Professional Accountancy Travels Across the Globe
George Watson (1645-1723), one of the early Scottish accountants, trained in Holland and passed along
instructional materials used by his fellow professionals. By the middle of the19th century, England was
in the midst of prosperous times brought on by the Industrial Revolution. It was the leading producer of
coal, iron and cotton textiles, and was the financial center of the world. With this financial surge came a
demand for accountants, both for the healthy concerns and those companies declaring bankruptcy in
the midst of the competition.
In 1880, the newly formed Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales brought together all
the accountancy organizations in those countries. In addition to the 587 members initially enrolled, an
additional 606 members were soon admitted on the basis of their experience. Standards of conduct and
examinations for admission to the Institute were drawn up, and members began using the professional
designations "FCA" (Fellow Chartered Accountant, for a firm partner or proprietor in practice) and "ACA"
(Associate Chartered Accountant, signifying a qualified member of an accountant's staff, or a member
not in practice).
In the late 1800s, large amounts of British capital were flowing to the rapidly growing industries in the
United States. Scottish and British accountants traveled to the U.S. to audit these investments, and a
number of them stayed on and set up practice in America. Several existing American accounting firms
trace their origins to one or more of these visiting Scottish or British chartered accountants.
City directories from the year 1850 list 14 accountants in public practice in New York, four in
Philadelphia and one in Chicago. By 1886, there were 115 listed in New York, 87 in Philadelphia and 31
in Chicago. Groups of accountants joined together to form professional societies in cities across
America. In 1887, the first national accounting society was formed - the American Association of Public
Accountants, predecessor to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.