Modern accounting began with the technique of double-entry bookkeeping, which was codified in the 15th and 16th centuries by Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician. The Industrial Revolution fueled demand for accountants as business operations grew more complex.
Ever since the first U.S. mutual fund, the Massachusetts Investors Trust, was launched in Boston in 1924, accountants have helped manage the financial aspects of fund operation. In the last two decades, demand has grown for accountants and auditors as a result of the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which requires higher levels of financial accounting and disclosure from all publicly held companies; a major mutual fund industry scandal in 2003, which prompted closer government scrutiny of the industry; and the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which requires investment management firms with more than $150 million in assets under management to register with the Securities & Exchange Commission and provide higher levels of financial reporting. A review of the asset management industry currently being conducted by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (which was established under Dodd-Frank) may also create more demand for accountants and auditors. The election of Donald Trump to a second term in November 2024 has created uncertainty in regard to future levels of regulation of the mutual fund and other investment fund industries.