American Woman's Society of CPAs and Accounting & Financial Women's Alliance

Susan B. Anders, PhD, CPA, CGMA

The American Woman's Society of Certified Public Accountants (AWSCPA) was formed in 1933 by nine women CPAs as a national organization based in Chicago. The low concentration of women CPAs in any one geographic area made the creation of local groups difficult at the time. The American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) was created in 1938 to allow for this generation of local networks, as well as for the participation of women who were not CPAs. The ASWA rebranded and expanded its outreach in 2012 to become the Accounting & Financial Women's Alliance (AFWA). Over the decades, these two organizations have developed distinct missions while working together on major projects.