Specialization: Have We Reached True Professional Maturity?

This article focuses on several attempts that have been made to adopt an accounting specialization program in both the U.S. and Canada. The formalization and maturity of a specialization program may, suggestively, have implications for accounting educators and practitioners. One of the most recent attempts towards this was initiated by the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants in 1983. The Colorado efforts culminated in the implementation of a program to accredit specialists and led to the adoption of a program in 1987 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The purposes of this article are to review the historical development of specialization in the accounting profession, discuss some of the major issues relative to specialist recognition, and encourage expansion of the existing AICPA program to new specialties. There are, suggestively, two major approaches for recognizing specialists within the profession. One approach is self-designation and the other is an accreditation program based on predetermined standards. Self-designation has the advantage of easing administrative and financial burdens of the agency responsible for regulating the program.