ABSTRACT
During the 30 years from 1934 to 1964, Carman George Blough played a significant role in virtually every development in the field of professional accounting. He was without doubt one of the most influential “high priests” of the profession during the Twentieth Century. Blough was in the center of critical development within the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), namely, the decision to let the private sector take the lead in establishing a set of accounting principles so that the areas of difference in practice could be narrowed. Blough communicated the decision of the Commission to the profession at the American Institute’s annual meeting in the fall of 1937. During the period from 1938 to 1942, Blough learned much at firsthand about some of the problems that confronted a large national auditing practice. His experience with Arthur Andersen & Co. laid the foundation for his activities later on as Director of Research for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
