E. Joe DeMaris on the Accounting Profession and its Forgotten Mission

“The Accounting Profession and its Mission Forgotten” is an unpublished manuscript by E. Joe DeMaris (1919–2010). It is reproduced here with an introductory note. DeMaris was one of the more prominent individuals among his generation of accounting academics, administrators, and observers of the accounting profession. The manuscript investigates the development of the accounting profession from the 17th century in Great Britain to the 20th century in the United States. The manuscript was written in 1997 and foreshadows several events of the 21st century, such as the tension arising from the cross-selling of consulting services to audit clients, the auditor capture that brought down Arthur Andersen, and the failure of “trickle-down economics” to bring about economic prosperity for the masses. Contemporary readers will find DeMaris’ manuscript pertinent as we reflect on the 50th anniversary of the Academy of Accounting Historians and consider the role of accounting in the 21st century.