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Remembering the First Female CPA in the US: Christine Ros
Born in Nova Scotia, Canada around 1873, Christine Ross relocated to New York in her early twenties to take the CPA exam. In December of 1896, New York became the first state to offer the exam for the first time. Two years later in June of 1898, Ross sat for the exam and placed within the top three of those in her test group. While the 11 men who also passed that exam were immediately awarded their certificate, Ross’ scores were not released and she was not awarded her certificate until December of 1899—nearly eighteen months after she had taken...
Remembering the First Black Woman CPA: Mary T. Washington Wylie
Mary T. Washington Wylie was the first black female CPA in the United States and the 13th black CPA overall. There would not be another black female CPA for 25 years, making her milestone all the more significant. Born in Mississippi in 1906, Wiley moved to Chicago at the age of 6 to live with her grandparents after her mother died. She quickly developed a love for math and, while in high school, worked as a bookkeeper on afternoons and weekends. After graduation, she began working at Binga State Bank of Chicago as assistant to Arthur J. Wilson—the country’s second...