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Today, May 13, is Accounting Day! To celebrate this year, we decided to highlight important dates and facts that surround accounting, NASBA and the CPA Exam. For example, do you know which three states were the first to offer the CPA Exam? Or, do you know when schools of accountancy were first created? History is made every day with accounting, and it’s important to know when and where it all started.

On a personal level, take a minute today to phone your favorite CPA/accountant or take him/her out to lunch and wish them a “Happy Accounting Day.” Much has been accomplished by accounting professionals! After all, who else has the skills, knowledge and desire to turn messy accounts and books into beautiful, balanced numbers? It takes a special person!

Are you in the accounting field and want to take your accounting degree/position to the next level? Find out what it takes to become a CPA!

Did you know…

Homer A. Dunn, a noted author on accounting-related topics and a respected speaker, was NASBA’s first president (1908 – 1909).

The CPA Exam was first offered in 1917 with three states using it: New Hampshire, Oregon and Kansas.

It wasn’t until 1952 that all states and territories were using the CPA Exam. There were 20,000 candidates.

In the 1950s, C. Aubrey Smith predicted that deans would recognize the advantages of professional schools. But, he was wrong. It would be two decades later, in the late 1970s, schools of accountancy were created (despite opposition from many business school deans).

Nathan Garrett was the first African-American NASBA president (1992 – 1993).

Calculators were first allowed on the CPA Exam in 1994.

Kansas was the first state board to notify NASBA that it had approved the mutual recognition agreement that included the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The first computer-based CPA Exam was administered in April 2004 at Prometric Testing Centers throughout the United States.

In 2004, NASBA opened a computer testing center in Guam. The Guam Center has become the largest CPA testing center in the nation. Many candidates from Asian countries travel to the Guam site to sit for the CPA Exam.

The CPA Exam was first offered in international locations in August 2011 and is currently offered in 10 countries outside the United States.