Content area
Full Text
A WHITE-COLLAR PROFESSION: AFRICAN-AMERICAN CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS SINCE 1921
The University of North Carolina Press; 232 pp.; hardcover, $339.95, ISBN. 080 782 7088; softcover, $1695, ISBN:080 7853 771
Reviewed by Raymond P. Jones, CFE, CPA, Watson Rice LLP
I was extremely moved by the history of the African-American CPA that this book presents, especially its portrayal of John W. Cromwell, the first African-American to receive licensure, in 1921. I have often heard of the difficult times experienced by those who have paved the way for me, but I never truly understood the complete history.
Theresa Hammond's chronicle begins in 1921 and takes the reader up to the present day. African-Americans often hear the phrase "We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us," but this phrase is much more significant for those who have become CPAs in the past 30 years. Hammond describes one of the challenges of obtaining the experience requirements necessary to receive the CPA accreditation. Many early African American CPAs were forced to wait...