When William Aiken (’63, MBA ’70) began his career as an accountant in the 1960s, he learned firsthand of the challenges facing African Americans in the profession. To become a certified public accountant, he knew he’d need to not only pass the four-part CPA examination but also gain experience working for a major firm. The latter was a formidable goal for any African American at the time: In the late 1960s, of the 100,000 CPAs in the U.S., only about 150 were African American.
But Aiken was undaunted. It was 1967, and he was working full time for the New York State Insurance Department and studying part time for his second Baruch degree, while actively seeking a position as an auditor in a Big 8 firm. At first he mailed potential employers his resume, an approach that resulted in many first interviews followed by speedy rejection letters. “I realized that with the name ‘William Aiken’ I could be anyone,” says the pragmatic alumnus, who subsequently adjusted his job-seeking tactics and hand-delivered his resume. “That way they could see me,” he says of his proactive strategy to diffuse racially motivated rejections.
Success! Aiken was hired as an auditor at Arthur Young (precursor to today’s Ernst & Young), an opportunity he credits to a progressive managing partner in its New York office. Aiken was the third African American auditor hired by the firm; the first was hired just two years earlier.
Accountant-Activist: Aiken and NABA
Not long after joining Arthur Young, the trailblazing auditor became part of the newly formed National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), the first professional organization of and for accountants of color. The association was borne of a meeting, in December 1969, of nine African American accountants from the New York offices of major accounting firms. Frank Ross of Peat Marwick Mitchell served as NABA’s first president; Aiken, its second president (he was also elected president to three additional terms in 1972, 1983, and 1984).
In recalling NABA’s formative years, Aiken lauds Arthur Young for its support of the fledgling organization. Not only did the firm offer NABA its partners’ boardroom as a meeting space, in 1971 it also offered Aiken the services of its graphics department to help him design NABA’s logo.
A Logo and a Legacy of Opportunity
By his own admission, Aiken is no designer. But he knew he wanted the logo to reflect NABA’s primary goal: lending a helping hand to African Americans seeking entry into and those already in the accounting profession. “Two or three ideas with hands were developed,” he remembers. “But I didn’t want a handshake; I wanted hands reaching down and pulling up.”
The final logo (shown here) of strong, clasped, vertically positioned hands inside an unbroken circle was approved by NABA’s board. Like its mission, NABA’s trademarked logo has remained constant for more than 40 years (the logo was updated slightly in 1993, when the apt motto “Lifting As We Climb” was incorporated). Not coincidentally, the iconic image also speaks to Aiken’s own strongly rooted values of giving back. “You have to recognize the need to make the lives of others better,” he states simply.
Under Aiken’s leadership, NABA enjoyed phenomenal growth in status and membership, with dues-paying members increasing fivefold in his first year as president. Today’s numbers bear out its continuing vitality: 5,000 members and 150 active professional and student chapters—among them, a chapter at Baruch.
Says Aiken, “So much might not have occurred if not for my affiliation with NABA”—words that sum up his career and, importantly, those of thousands of CPAs. “Now African Americans are in virtually every office of the Big 4 accounting firms,” he says proudly.
—Diane Harrigan
[box sid=”box-1395679060-” width=”500px;” style=”background-color:#ccc9ae;” align=”left”]More About William Aiken
Like many other Baruchians, Bill was the first in his family to attend college. His parents—both of whom hailed from South Carolina—had ninth-grade educations that belied their innate intelligence and aspirations. His mom Ida was a “presser” in the garment industry. “She helped me with long division and completed the Daily News crossword puzzle every day,” he remembers. Dad Eugene Sr. dreamed of becoming an electrical engineer, but the day’s discriminatory practices forestalled his dream. “He went to school to become an electrician,” says Aiken. “During World War II, he wired ships, buildings, etc. But he was denied access to the electricians’ union. . . . He ended up ‘firing’ huge boilers in a laundry.”
As a young man, Aiken realized he wanted better and was willing to work hard for it. Out of high school, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, honorably discharged three years later having earned the rank of sergeant. Back home, he “decided I wanted to be successful, so I applied to college.” At City College’s Baruch School of Business and Public Administration, he majored in accountancy, working full time as a senior account clerk and taking courses part time, sometimes in split shifts—both before and after his day job.
Aiken’s long accountancy career has been full of groundbreaking moments, including:
- Authors the influential study “The Black Experience in Large Public Accounting Firms” (published by NABA in 1971 with the support of Arthur Young and by the AICPA in its Journal of Accountancy, August 1972)
- Co-founds the African American public accountancy firm Aiken Wilson & Brown in 1972
- Named the first African American to serve on the New York State Board for Public Accountancy in 1974 (he served in various capacities on the board through 1994)
- Joins the Edward Koch Administration as assistant deputy commissioner of the Human Resources Administration of the City of New York in 1978
- Partnership in Main Hurdman and later KPMG Peat Marwick from 1980 to 1988
- On cover of New Accountant magazine in 1986
- CFO of Long Island Rail Road from 1990 through 1993 (the first black officer in the railroad’s 157-year history)
- CFO of the Jewish Child Care Association of New York from 1996 through 2000 (its first African American officer in a 162-year history)
- Named president of the Manhattan/Bronx chapter of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants from 2001 to 2002
- Currently serving his third year as a member of the Board of the New York State Society of CPAs
Today Aiken is a published poet (Compelling Joy: A Poetic Journey Through Life) and a working actor. Visit his website at williamaiken.com.[/box]
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