Leonard William Hein (February 17, 1916 – 4 September 2000) was an American economist, accountant, and academic. He served as professor of accounting at the Los Angeles State College, and was known for his work on the history of accountancy and the development of contemporary

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

thought.

Life and work

Hein was born in Forest Park, Illinois to Harry Christian and Clara A. (Klein) Hein. He received his BSc magna cum laude at the

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

in 1952, and his PhD at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in 1954 with the thesis entitled "The Impact of the British Companies Acts Upon the Major Areas of the Practice of Accountancy in the British Isles." In 1955 he obtained his

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

certificate in the state of Illinois. Hein started his academic career as instructor at the

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

. He jointed the Los Angeles State College, now California State University, Los Angeles, in 1956. There he was promoted assistant professor of accounting in 1957, associate professor of business administration in 1959, and professor of accounting in the 1960s, which he stayed until his retirement in 1983. Hein came into prominence with the 1959 publication of "J. Lee Nicholson: pioneer cost accountant" in the ''Accounting Review.'' In the next two decades Hein published four books on the development of contemporary accounting thought, electronic data processing, and the use of

computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs ...

. He died in September 2000 at the age of 84.Leonard William Hein in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
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Selected publications

* Hein, Leonard W. ''The Impact of the British Companies Acts Upon the Major Areas of the Practice of Accountancy in the British Isles.'' PhD thesis, Los Angeles State College. * Hein, Leonard W. ''An introduction to electronic data processing for business.'' Van Nostrand, 1961. * Hein, Leonard W. ''The quantitative approach to managerial decisions.'' Prentice-Hall, 1967. * Leonard W. Hein. ''Contemporary accounting and the computer.'' Belmont, Calif., Dickenson Pub. Co., 1969. * Hein, Leonard W. ''The British Companies Acts and the Practice of Accountancy, 1844-1962.'' New York: Arno Press, 1978. Articles, a selection: * Hein, Leonard W.
J. Lee Nicholson: pioneer cost accountant
" ''Accounting Review'' (1959): 106–111. * Hein, Leonard W. "British Business Company: Its Origins and Its Control, The." ''U. Toronto LJ'' 15 (1963): 134. * Hein, Leonard W. "The Course in Computers-Is It Accounting? Mathematics? Engineering?." ''Accounting Review'' (1959): 132–134. * Hein, Leonard W. "The Auditor and the British Companies Acts." ''Accounting Review'' (1963): 508–520.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hein, Leonard W. 1916 births 2000 deaths Accounting academics American business theorists California State University, Los Angeles faculty DePaul University faculty Economists from Illinois Loyola University Chicago alumni People from Forest Park, Illinois University of California, Los Angeles alumni 20th-century American economists