Abstract There is no mystery to public relations. Any certified public accountant would consider himself well qualified to deal intelligently with each individual phase of a public relations program. As a profession grows more complex, the transmission of ideas is quickened, competitive forces are multiplied and expanded, it becomes increasingly apparent that the profession must win and hold the approval of others if it is to survive the welter of competing forces struggling for public favor. This recognition leads to the development of public relations. Public relations is not a commodity that can be purchased like durable goods at the corner store. However, it does find its worth, and its proofs, in the realm of the tangible as well as the intangible. One thing is unalterably true. Public relations must be based on sincerity of purpose and honesty of expression. Otherwise it will have no lasting value. Public relations for the accounting profession, or any group for that matter, begins and ends with the individual. The first essential of good public relations for certified public accountants is good work of professional character, a strict adherence to the principle of independent judgment.