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From the PricewaterhouseCoopers archives:
Columbia's first accounting professor, Robert H. Montgomery,
seated second from left in this photo of the First
International Congress of Accountants in St. Louis, 1904.
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PricewaterhouseCoopers
has donated to Columbia's Rare Book and Manuscript Library the
archives of its two predecessor firms, Price Waterhouse (founded in
1890) and Coopers & Lybrand (founded in 1898 as Lybrand, Ross
Bros. & Montgomery). This addition to Columbia's already
significant holdings on the subject will create one of the nation's
largest accounting archives.
The gift consists of about 160 boxes of material relating to the
history of the firm, including photographs, printed materials,
business papers and clippings that document the activities of the
firms and their partners. Many of the Coopers & Lybrand papers
were created by a partner, George O. May, who wrote extensively on
the history of his profession. The gift will include a $100,000
stipend to be used to archive, maintain and create an online search
aid for the collection.
Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr., PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. chairman
and senior partner, announced the gift. "We felt that Columbia's
Rare Book and Manuscript Library was the right place to house our
archives," he said. "We consider it a jewel of a library, and it has
a collection that already includes material from Robert H.
Montgomery, one of the founding partners of Coopers & Lybrand,
as well as archives of other major American companies, such as
Random House and W.R. Grace and Company."
Jean Ashton, director of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library,
said, "We are delighted that PricewaterhouseCoopers has generously
bestowed this major gift. It will be a tremendous resource to
scholars of business history and will significantly augment our
holdings on the subject. It complements our collection of books on
the history of accountancy, including manuscripts and ledgers,
donated in 1926 by professor Montgomery, and results in one of the
largest accounting archives in the country."
Montgomery taught the first course in accounting at Columbia in
1910 and became a full professor in 1919. The materials from the
Montgomery collection were featured in a 1987 Rare Book and
Manuscript exhibit entitled "The Origins of a Great Profession."
Stephen Penman, George O. May Professor of Business at the
Business School, said, "The accounting profession is changing
dramatically at this moment. This archive documenting the history of
these two major accounting firms will be of great value not only to
academics and researchers, but also to journalists exploring the
standards of the accounting profession and historical development of
those standards over the years."
The Rare Book and Manuscript Library, on the 6th floor of Butler
Library, is home to more than 600,000 rare books in some 20 book
collections and 26 million manuscript items. A series of exhibitions
feature special collections throughout the year and are open to the
public Monday, 12:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday,
9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The public may call 212-854-5153 for
information on current exhibitions.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is the world's largest professional
services organization, with a staff of 150,000 in 150
countries. |