Reviewed by Anthony T. Krzystofik University of Massachusetts

This book is a revision of the history of the Texas Society of Cer-tified Public Accountants, first written in 1962. The book has been updated to include the twenty year period since the first publication. This history is unique among state society histories in that it is written by a professor of history (University of Houston) and not a society member as is often the case with books of this type.

The book contains ten chapters and three appendices. The first chapter presents a brief overview of the emergence of professional accounting in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, setting the background for accounting in Texas at the turn of the century. The remaining nine chapters cover vari-ous landmark periods of Texas Society and public accounting history beginning with the period that led to the passage of the Public Accountancy Act of 1915, continuing through to the Act of 1979 and the present period. The three appendices list the past officers of the Society and Educational Foundation and recipients of various Society honors and awards. As is typical of books of this type, the book is replete with names of members who played important roles in the history of the Society or the public accounting profession in Texas, most of whom are probably not recognizable outside the state. Brief biographical sketches of the Society presidents are included in the chapter covering the period in which the president served.

Each chapter covers topics that were important in the period dis-cussed. The chapters include material on various Society issues, activities, committees, structure, finances, and staff changes. Issues that were major areas of concern in one period, such as relations with bankers or controversies with lawyers, give way to new issues in a later period. The history reflects the rapid growth of the pro-fession in Texas as well as the changes in related societal attitudes during a seventy year period and how the Society responded to these changes in what now ranks as the third largest in total membership among the state societies in the United States. The author paints the Texas history with a broad brush, covering many areas, some with uneven coverage. Several potentially important history areas, such as the activities in the late nineteenth century and the court cases involving two-class regulation, could have been expanded at the expense of the detailed biographical sketches.

A first reading of the text makes it appear somewhat of a vanity type publication, or at best a collection of annual reports taken from the Society board of directors and committee meetings, of interest mainly to those whose names appear in print. However, a closer reading of the text, and the approach taken by the author, can be of value to accounting historians and those interested in the development of the public accounting profession in the United States.

In each of the chapters discussing a landmark period of Texas ac-counting history, the author has related state activities, problems, or issues with those occurring at the national level and in professional organizations such as the AICPA. Using this approach the author has presented an excellent case study of how national policies are implemented at the state level. The efforts of Texas practitioners to pass state legislation on the regulation of public practice, ethics enforcement, continuing professional education, solicitation, etc., are probably similar to what other states have experienced. The discussion of Society political and legal activities in getting legislation passed or cases defended in court illustrates the efforts made at the local level in establishing the profession as it is practiced today. For the accounting historian the book is a case study of the growth of the profession in the United States, as well as, a case study of the important role state societies play in the implementation of policies initially enunciated at the national level. While in time most of the recommendations do become adopted, it is interesting to read of the efforts made at the local level in the implementation.

For those who become impatient with the slow acceptance of current issues such as professional schools of accounting, the 150 hour education proposal, uniform experience requirements, etc., one can only look to a history of a state society to see what an important role local efforts will play in the implementation of such proposals. And a state history, such as this one of Texas, is a clear indication of the important roles that a large number of dedicated (and sometimes unknown) individuals play in the development of the profession as it exists today in the United States.