A White-Collar Profession: African American Certified Public Accountants since 1921

by Theresa A. Hammond

Among the major professions, certified public accountancy has the most severe underrepresentation of African less than 1 percent of CPAs are black. Theresa Hammond explores the history behind this statistic and chronicles the courage and determination of African Americans who sought to enter the field. In the process, she expands our understanding of the links between race, education, and economics.

Drawing on interviews with pioneering black CPAs, among other sources, Hammond sets the stories of black CPAs against the backdrop of the rise of accountancy as a profession, the particular challenges that African Americans trying to enter the field faced, and the strategies that enabled some blacks to become CPAs. Prior to the 1960s, few white-owned accounting firms employed African Americans. Only through nationwide networks established by the first black CPAs did more African Americans gain the requisite professional experience. The civil rights era saw some progress in integrating the field, and black colleges responded by expanding their programs in business and accounting. In the 1980s, however, the backlash against affirmative action heralded the decline of African American participation in accountancy and paved the way for the astonishing lack of diversity that characterizes the field today.

Genres: Accounting

230 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2002

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. My master's thesis is on diversity in accounting, focusing on African-Americans and women, and this is the only book I could find devoted specifically to diversity in accounting. The book is about the experience of African-Americans trying to enter the accounting profession and focuses on the stories of the first African-American CPAs. It covers the obstacles that African-Americans faced due to racism and discrimination in America and then conveys the success stories experienced by the dedicated people who overcame those obstacles. This is a must read because it is the only book that I have found that discusses diversity in accounting, even the accounting history books don't mention diversity. This is a shame since accounting is the least ethnically diverse profession when compared to other certified professions like doctors and attorneys. Many accounting firms, including one of the Big 4 (Deloitte & Touche), are still considered to be the "old boy's club", which means a group of non-Hispanic white males. This book is a quick read and good synopsis of diversity in accounting during the 20th century. Definitely a must read, and not only available on Amazon but also readily available at Chicago's public libraries.

[Callie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

had to read this for a class and other than the depressing ending and insane amount of outdated information at the end this was really interesting. I loved hearing about the beginning of the accounting world in america and how it has transformed over the years.

[Abby Cozart]

I’m not going to give this a rating. I read this for school; while it was very informative, it is over 20 years old.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, but it is over 20 years old