Institutional Dances : How the First Accounting Degree in Canada Came to Be at the University of Saskatchewan

This paper tells how the School of Accounting and the Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree were established at the University of Saskatchewan. Archives, various published histories and contemporaneous periodicals serve as the main sources of information. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan plays a key role in the history and it is evident that the establishment of the accounting program was critical for the legitimacy of both the University and the Institute. A claim is made in the paper that the University of Saskatchewan had the first school of accounting and the first accounting degree in Canada. A brief overview of the development of other business-oriented degrees and diplomas in universities across Canada is provided in order to support this claim. Based on the history provided and some additional contextual material, some speculation is offered as to why the University of Saskatchewan should be the first to offer an accounting degree instead of one of the older, more established universities in Eastern Canada. The paper makes three contributions. First, it fills a void in the literature with regard to the history of the School of Accounting and the accounting degree at the University of Saskatchewan. Second, it provides a bird's-eye view of the establishment of business education programs at other universities in Canada. Third, it adds to our understanding of the relationship between the accounting profession and academe as the paper demonstrates how people and institutions align to create new educational mechanisms