Harry Anson Finney (November 19, 1886 – May 8, 1966) was an American accountant, and Professor of accounting at the

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. He is known as prolific author in the field of

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

. who had written a leading textbook in accounting, entitled "Principles of accounting" (1935). M. Chatfield & R. Vangermeersch (eds.)
History of Accounting: An International Encyclopedia: An International Encyclopedia
.'' (2014). p. 265

Biography

Born in

Postville, Iowa Postville is a city in Allamakee and Clayton counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It lies near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of U.S. Routes 18 and 52 and Iowa Highway 51, with airport facilities in the neighboring comm ...

to Solon B. and Ellen Bike Finney, Finney obtained his BA in economics in 1913 at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. In 1917 he obtained his CPA license for the state of Illinois. After graduation Finney taught economics at a high school, and later at the Walton School of Commerce in Chicago. In 1920 he moved to the

, where he was Professor of accounting until his retirement in 1944. Over the years he also worked as accountant. In 1923 he had joined the Haskins & Sells accountancy firm, and later founded Baumann, Finney & Company. Finney was editor for the ''

Journal of Accountancy The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States, with more than 428,000 members in 130 countries. Founded in 1887 as the America ...

'' from 1920 to 1928, and was elected President of the Illinois Society of CPAs for the year 1928–29. Finney authored and co-authored a series of successful textbooks on accounting, from which he sold in total more than two million copies.

Selected publications

* Finney, Harry Anson and Joseph Clifton Brown. ''Modern Business Arithmetic,'' (1916) * Finney, Harry Anson. "Introduction To Actuarial Science." American Institute of Accountants. (1920) * Finney, Harry Anson. ''Consolidated statements for holding company and subsidiaries.'' Prentice-Hall, Incorporated. (1922). * Finney, Harry Anson. ''Principles of accounting.'' (1935). * Finney, H. A., Miller, H. E., Gentry, J. A., & Johnson, G. L. ''Principles of accounting: advanced'' (Vol. 2). Prentice-Hall. (1965). * Finney, Harry Anson, and Herbert E. Miller. ''Answers to Questions and Solutions to Problems in Principles of Accounting: Intermediate.'' Prentice-Hall. (1965). * Finney, H. A., Miller, H. E., Johnson, G. L., & Gentry, J. A. ''Principles of accounting.'' Prentice Hall. (1970).

References

External links

Harry Anson Finney
The Accounting Hall of Fame - Illustrations fo
Figaro illustré cover 1894
an
1895
by Harry Finney {{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Harry Anson 1886 births 1966 deaths American accountants American business theorists Accounting academics University of Chicago alumni Northwestern University faculty People from Postville, Iowa Place of death missing