ABSTRACT
The practices of most of those who held themselves out as public accountants in the United States prior to 1900 sprung from the needs of management for expert help in setting up bookkeeping systems, in keeping the accounts, and in preparing statements from them. Even today, most of the work of many of the public accountants who serve small businesses is limited to this type of service and to assisting clients in the settling of problems growing out of the income tax laws.
