Among notable CPAs in South Carolina history, Dr. Joseph L. “Joe” Boyd (certificate No. 572) is believed to be the first African American CPA in South Carolina in 1971. At the University of South Carolina, he earned his B.S. in Accounting (1969), a Master of Accountancy (1976) and a Ph.D. in Accounting with a minor in Tax and Tax Law (1977). He went on to a distinguished career in academics and became dean of Texas Southern University’s Jesse H. Jones School of Business.

Dr. Joseph L. “Joe” Boyd

Dr. Boyd shared some insight about his path in this email to SCACPA:

“I graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1969 with major in accounting. I then joined Arthur Andersen in Charlotte and worked for three years as a staff accountant.

“During my second year of employment, the firm asked me to voluntarily teach a course at Johnson C. Smith, an HBCU. I enjoyed teaching the course so much, I changed my career path and decided to pursue a career in academia and focus on increasing the number of minorities in the accounting profession.

“I returned to USC in 1974 and received my PhD in accounting. I worked at the University of Illinois for one year but then returned to teach at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina, for five years to actively engage in preparing minorities for careers in accounting.

“I moved to Norfolk State as dean of the school of business in 1983 with the dual goals of getting the School AACSB-accredited as well as actively prepare minorities for careers in accounting working there for 15 years.

“In 2001, I was actively recruited by Texas Southern University to become Business School Dean. Initially I was not interested, but upon visiting Houston I realized the tremendous opportunity of working in a city that was second only to New York City in Fortune 500-headquartered companies. I could continue my goal of preparing minorities for the profession in a major corporate setting. I performed in the role as dean for eight years and now serve as a distinguished professor of accounting.

“I am pleased to have had the opportunity for 40 years to participate in increasing the number of minorities who are CPAs.”

Louis Wilson Buck (certificate No. 794) is believed to be the first African American member of SCACPA, joining in 1974. After retiring from the Army and after passing the CPA Exam in 1974, he began a 27-year career as associate professor of accounting at the University of the District of Columbia. He now resides in North Las Vegas, Nevada, and is a retired lifetime member of SCACPA.

Timothy “Tim” Randolph McConnell (certificate No. 1099) owned and operated the first African American-owned CPA firm in the state, T.R. McConnell and Co., and went on to serve as president and CEO of Victory Savings Bank, the first and for many years the only black-owned bank in South Carolina. He earned his CPA license in 1976 and joined SCACPA in 1989. During his lifetime, he served an appointment as Tax Commissioner and received the Order of the Palmetto from Gov. Carroll Campbell. You can read more about McConnell’s life at https://scafricanamerican.com/honorees/timothy-r-mcconnell/.

The South Carolina Association of CPAs would like to thank these men for their exceptional years of service to the profession.

Source: Based on information in SCACPA’s History of South Carolina CPAs, 1915-2015