August 2004

Dr. John H. Engstrom attended the first meeting of the (now) Government and Nonprofit Section (GNP) of the American Accounting Association (AAA) in 1976 when it was first organized as the Public Sector Section of the AAA. Over the years John has contributed greatly to the section serving in many ways, but maybe none so important as compiling this treasured look back over the history of the section.

John has painstakenly maintained and collected the section newsletters and minutes, along with other section members and officers, to create this document which took years to put together. John felt it was important to capture the activities of the GNP section which show not only the evolution of many of our members' careers, but also the evolution of governmental and nonprofit accounting. Many of the people mentioned in these pages have dedicated their professional careers to advancing the accountability of public and nonprofit entities in the United States through quality financial reporting and auditing.

We have produced a limited set of printed bound copies of this booklet so that we could present John and the attendees of the 2004 American Accounting Association annual meeting a copy. However, our plan is to post these on the GNP section website by year and edit them as we get more information or corrections from members.

We gratefully acknowledge the contribution that Penny Wardlow made on the project as she reviewed the years as John completed them.

Sue Kattelus
Past President of GNP section