Eminent Accountants during World War II

Profiles of Service in the War Departments

Mark E. Jobe, PhD, CPA, and Dale L. Flesher, PhD, CPA

Seventy-five years ago, in service to the public, CPAs rendered services to the nation in its hour of need. During the desperate struggle of World War II, the U.S. government's administrative and control systems underwent drastic change. The United States needed men of integrity, ability, and leadership to facilitate this transformation, which led them to call upon accountants. Encouraging and reinforcing this vocation, the American Institute of Accountants (AIA) labored to place the best that accountancy had to offer into leadership positions within a host of newly created government bureaus and agencies. This article offers a glimpse into the contributions to the war effort made by these eminent accountants.