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Arthur Ramer Wyatt (October 8, 1927 – November 17, 2017) was a prominent member of the accounting profession. In addition to being a well-known accounting professor at the University of Illinois Gies College of Business and a prominent partner at Arthur Anderson, he served as chair of the International Accounting Standards Committee, chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and president of the American Accounting Association. Art Wyatt was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame at the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business in 1998.

Early Life
Art was born on October 8, 1927 in Aurora, Illinois to Arthur P. Wyatt and Sally Sollenberger Wyatt. Neither of his parents attended college. He attended West Aurora High School where he lettered in multiple varsity sports and maintained the accounting records for the school's 45 student organizations. During school, he worked as a golf caddy, a position which allowed him to learn to play golf and interact with a number of public accounting partners.

Art graduated from high school in June 1945 and enrolled at the University of Illinois the following day in order to begin his studies before being called to serve in World War II. The war ended shortly after his enrollment and his military service was deferred. At the university, Art walked onto the men's golf team and later earned varsity letters. He would serve as team captain. In addition to his involvement in collegiate athletics, Art joined the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accountancy, graduating Bronze Tablet (highest honors), in 1949. He then enrolled in the graduate accounting program and began teaching as an assistant.

He would earn his Master of Science and Ph.D. in accountancy in 1950 and 1953 respectively. He was a CPA. Art continued teaching as an assistant professor at the University and served as an assistant men's golf coach. It was only until 1955 that Art was drafted. He served in the U.S. Army for two years.

Career
Prof. Wyatt's career had multiple iterations beginning with a teaching position at the University of Illinois, transitioning to private practice at Arthur Anderson, and then followed by a return to academia. His career was briefly interrupted by his two years of service in the U.S. military.

Academia
Prof. Wyatt began tenure track position at the University of Illinois after completing his Ph.D in 1953. He also concurrently served as the assistant coach to the University of Illinois men's golf team from 1952 through 1965. As a professor, Art mentored some of the future academic leaders in the field including Donald E. Keiso (Department Head, Northern Illinois University) and Jerry J. Weygandt (Department Head, University of Wisconsin - Madison)—both co-authors of a seminal accounting textbook. Prof. Wyatt would serve as the head of the accounting department. Prof. Wyatt was active within the campus community serving as a vice chairman of the Illini Publishing Company, chair of the Illini Union Board, and an advisor to the student senate.

Arthur Anderson and Standard Setting
Art left academia in 1966 for a position in Arthur Anderson. He would make partner two years later eventually running the firm's accounting principles group. The group formulated the firm's accounting policies. His tenure in the group largely corresponded with an arguably more risk-averse period of the firm's history. Art and the principles group challenged client accounting methods, notably confronting bank client practices surrounding loan losses. He was a frequent commentator on accounting standards in the popular and financial press, opining on or explaining such concepts as current cost accounting, accounting for income taxes, the role of the FASB and AICPA in setting auditing standards,

Art's views were often in opposition to industry groups and politicians such as Bob Dole.

Art briefly left Anderson in 1985 for a position on the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the group responsible for promulgating U.S. GAAP. Around the time he accepted the position, Art professed a belief in incrementalism and that changes in accounting standards should be evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. However, after joining the board, Art, on a number of occasions, criticized the Board for not moving quickly or boldly enough in advancing certain accounting standards. Some of these rules would have inhibited businesses from engaging in sale-and-leaseback transactions or would have mandated consolidation for majority-owned businesses, which could have increased the amount of debt shown on consolidated balance sheets. Art resigned from the Board prior to the end of his five year term, a move many believed was precipitated by Art's frustration of the growing role of industry groups in the standard setting process. Long after his departure, Art expressed a belief that business groups expected a special treatment from the FASB, a quid pro quo for their financial and research assistance, and that expectation threatened the FASB's independence.

Art returned to Andersen in 1987. After his return to Anderson, Art would serve as chair on another standard setting body, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), where he sought to harmonize international accounting standards to improve capital market efficiency. In his role at IASC, Art advocated for principles-based accounting standards rather than rules-based accounting standards. Principles-based standards required accountants and auditors to apply professional judgment to transactions rather than applying mechanical sets of rules.

Art fully retired from the Arthur Anderson in 1992 to return to teaching. At the time of his retirement, Art lamented the loss of authority the principles group had within the firm after management overruled a group accounting policy decision related to stock option expensing. Many, including Art himself, posited that the loss of authority contributed to the Enron scandal, which ultimately resulted in the demise of Anderson. Art believed that management increasingly focused on top-line revenue and short-termism at the expense of audit quality.

Institutional Affiliations and Memberships

 * Illini Publishing Company, Vice Chairman
 * City Colleges of Chicago, Board Member
 * AICPA Accounting Standards Executive Committee, Chair (1977-79)
 * AICPA Board of Directors (1980-84) and vice-president
 * FASB member (1985-1987)
 * International Accounting Standards Committee, Chair (1990-93)
 * American Accounting Association, President
 * University of Illinois Alumni Association

Selected works

 * A Critical Study of Accounting for Business Combinations, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Research Study (1963).
 * Accounting Standard Setting at a Crossroads, Accounting Horizons (1991).
 * Wake Up Call to American Business: International Accounting (with Jospeh F. Yospe), Journal of Accountancy (1993).
 * Accounting Professionalism—They Just Don't Get It!, Accounting Horizons (2004).
 * Accounting Professionalism: A Fundamental Problem and the Quest for Fundamental Solutions (with James C. Gaa), The CPA Journal (2004).