The History and Mystery of the Public Accounting Firm of Barrow, Wade, Guthrie & Co. (1883–1950)

The late 1880s saw the rise of early public accounting practice in the United States and the origin of emerging national firms, one of which was Barrow, Wade, Guthrie & Co. (BWG). BWG served a broad range of clients, from railroads to breweries, and a variety of financial and other commercial enterprises. This project was started as a search for the answer to a mystery surrounding early audit reports and then developed into a history of BWG from its origin until the merger with Peat Marwick in 1950. Throughout its existence, BWG was at the forefront of the trends in public accounting practice. The firm and its employees were leaders in all aspects of the developing CPA profession. The paper contributes to historical literature and advances the understanding of the earliest periods of public practice by emerging public accounting firms.