THE LAST OF THE GREAT CPA STATESMEN--PHILIP A. DEFLIESE

The CPA Journal notes with sadness and a sense of loss the passing of Philip A. Defliese in October 1997. Defliese did it all. First and foremost, he was a leader in the accounting firm of Lybrand Ross Brothers & Montgomery, now Coopers & Lybrand (soon to be Price Coopers?). His first role was that of teacher, educator, and author on behalf of the firm. He brought the concept of internal staff training to new heights. For many years he was the lead author of Montgomery's Auditing, which before the proliferation of the APBs and FASBs was the number one authority in accounting and auditing. His keen mind and sound judgment ultimately took him to the position of managing partner of the firm. Along the way he was chairman of the Accounting Principles Board, the Auditing Standards Board, and the American Institute of CPAs. After his retirement from Coopers he became a professor at Columbia University and went on to be one of the part-time members of the Government Accounting Standards Board.

He was active and highly regarded in the academic community and its American Accounting Association. One of his last interactions with the profession and the academic world occurred in December 1996 when he attended the AAA's Accounting History conference in Cleveland. There, the gathered accounting historians benefited from his remarks, both formal and informal, on the historic perspective of the profession.

The CPA Journal's Managing Editor, James L. Craig, Jr., in noting his passing, boasted that Defliese signed his letter of experience qualifying him for the CPA credential.

Philip A. Defliese will be remembered as perhaps the last of the great CPA statesmen. *