Indonesian Association of Accountants Founded

VIVAnews - 51 years ago today, on 23 December 1957, Ikatan Akuntan Indonesia (IAI) or Indonesia’s Association of Accountants was founded by Prof. Soemardjo along with Basuki Siddharta, Hendra Darmawan, Tan Tong Djoe, and Go Tie Siem. The last four were the first Indonesians who earned a degree in accounting from a local university. Prof. Soemardjo himself was the second Indonesian who became an accountant after Prof. Dr. Abutari.

Prof. Dr. Abutari was the only accountant Indonesia had up to the 1950s. In 1956, Prof. Soemardjo became the second after graduating from a Dutch university. A year later, four other Indonesian accountants graduated from the University of Indonesia. Together, they began efforts to found the first Indonesian association of accountants. At the time, there were only two accountant associations in Indonesia, NIVA (Nederlands Institute Van Accountants) and VAGA (Vereniging Academisch Gevormde Accountants). Both were Dutch-affiliated organizations.

Unwilling to join both organizations, during the third meeting of all Indonesian accountants in the University of Indonesia on 23 December 1957, Prof. Soemardjo and 10 other accountants agreed to found the IAI and Soemardjo was elected as the first chairman of the association.