Abstract In the ten years from 1896 to 1905, seven states of the U.S., had issued 644 certificates, largely, of course, upon waiver of examination. In that period the examiners in those states had decided upon subjects and scope of their examinations, and in each state they had prepared, given and rated from one to twenty examinations. Quite likely their bases for ratings differed, but they were in complete agreement upon the scope of the tests. In those first ten years all examinations were in four subjects, Commercial Law, Commercial Law, Practical Accounting and Auditing. Later some states added a few related subjects. In 1907 Pennsylvania combined the last three subjects into one test entitled "General Accounting," and from 1916 to 1942 those states which used the service of the American Institute of Accountants combined the second and third subjects into Accounting Theory and Practice. At the present time in 1943, the fifty-two Boards of Examiners are composed of one hundred and ninety-seven members besides the nine members of the Board of Examiners of the American Institute of Accountants. In 1905 the nine boards then existing were composed of twenty-nine accountant members.

Abstract The article focuses on the meaning of public accountants. It has different meaning for different individuals. The author is of the opinion that since some of the work of a public accountant is affected with a public interest, a definition suitable for use in a statute may be needed. But the best of definitions necessarily have their limitations. They will indicate the name of a larger group of which the item defined is a part and they will indicate one or at most a few characteristics which help to differentiate this item from other items in the larger group. It may be interesting, and possibly useful, therefore, to explore the historical background of the term public accountant as reflected in the literature of accountancy in the U.S. The administration of first Certified Public Accountant law was placed with the Regents of the University of the State of New York. To make effective the provisions of the new law, the Regents created the Board of Examiners for Certified Public Accountants that was authorized by Section 2 of the Act.