ABSTRACT
Accountancy, in the opinion of the majority of its women practitioners, is an excellent career for women. It is only recently that the particular advantages of a career in accountancy appear to have become apparent to women. It fell to one woman, Miss Mary Harris Smith, born in 1847, to open the profession of accountancy to women in England and Wales. She was the daughter of a banker and, with her father’s encouragement, developed a keen interest in accounts. During this period accountancy was in the process of establishing itself as a profession. From 1870 onwards Institutes and Societies of Accountants were founded, including in 1880, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and in 1885, the Society of Accountants and Auditors. Numerical ability was another highly influential factor in the adoption of an accountancy career. Most accountants therefore withdrew from work for a time when their first child was born.
