The public accounting profession has achieved remarkable growth and stature in the United States since the beginning of this century, to the point that by the 1960s, some claimed the U.S. was the international center of the modern profession.

a. What factors contributed to the growth of the U.S. accounting profession during the first half of this century?

b. What evidence exists that supports the contention that the U.S. represented the modern center of the profession by the 1960s.

c. Contrast the role and state of development of the accounting professions in the Western world and countries comprising the former Soviet bloc.