William Mitchell Lybrand

William Mitchell Lybrand (1867-1960) was the son of George and Sarah Ann (Aldred) Lybrand. George was a prominent Methodist minister in Philadelphia, PA. Lybrand married Lenore Dauphina (Montgomery) and they had no children. He contributed to the early practice of cost and public accounting as a charter member of the National Association of Cost Accountants, now the IMA, and as a partner in Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery, a public accounting firm that became part of Coopers & Lybrand and subsequently PricewaterhouseCoopers, now PwC.

Lybrand’s accounting education began as a clerk with Bement and Daughtery, a machine tool company that had adopted a complete cost accounting system. After promotion to assistant bookkeeper, he learned the intricacies of the system from its developer, the legendary John Francis. William was early among those who recognized the importance of integrating cost information with the full accounting system.

He was employed by the public accounting firm of Heins and Whelen and gained further knowledge about accounting and auditing. After four years, he became Heins’ junior partner, participating in organizing the public accounting profession in Pennsylvania. In 1898, along with, T. Edward Ross, Adam Ross, and Hall of Fame member, and brother-in-law, Robert Heister Montgomery, he formed Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery, which was a catalyst for a continuous improvement philosophy applied to the technical development of staff and was on the forefront of encouraging formalized education for accountants.

Lybrand was a foundational force in the creation of two professional organizations: the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs and the National Association of Cost Accountants (NACA). He served as treasurer and then president of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs for two terms beginning in 1902. He also was the second president of NACA. His accounting experience and organizational ability enabled him to influence the operational success of NACA. He supported the technical bulletin series that later became the publication Management Accounting and now Strategic Finance.

Believing that for accounting to be viewed as a profession, formal education was vital. He taught accounting evening courses sponsored by the Pennsylvania Institute, for which he guaranteed to cover program deficits when adopted by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Lybrand promoted cost accounting in presentations and conferences and made an agreement with Canadian accountants to cooperate on research, and publication of papers in business periodicals. His book, Accounting for Modern Corporations: Prepared Especially for the Instruction and Training of Students of the American School, was devoted to accounting education. Because of his commitment to education and to honor his work with NACA, in 1949 his partners in Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery established the Lybrand Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals that the IMA continues to award highly rated articles appearing in Strategic Finance and Management Accounting Quarterly.

William Mitchell Lybrand is the 115th member of The Accounting Hall of Fame.