Alwin C. Ernst, also known as Alvin C. Ernst and A. C. Ernst ( CPA) (July 26, 1881 – May 13, 1948), was an American businessman who co-founded the

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 ...

firm of

Ernst & Ernst Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

, in 1903, and who is credited with devising

management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...

Biography

Alwin Charles Ernst was born July 26, 1881, to John C. and Mary (Hertel) Ernst, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He had, among his siblings, an older brother, Theodore C. Ernst (September 23, 1869 – 3 October 1946). After finishing

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, Ernst took evening courses at a

business college A business college is a school that provides education above the high school level but could not be compared to that of a traditional university or college. Unlike universities and even junior and community colleges, business colleges typically t ...

.Ernst & Young
Guardian, 26 October 2002

Career

In 1900, he and his older brother, Theodore, began working as bookkeepers at The Audit Co. in Cleveland. In 1903, the brothers founded the Ernst & Ernst

bookkeeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. Tr ...

service with an invested capital of $500. Ernst created the firm's "Special Services Department" in 1908, noted as "the predecessor of current management-consulting services." He is credited with pioneering the concept of using financial accounting data to inform business decisions, as well as with creating management consulting. Aggressive and ambitious, Ernst had already opened offices in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

by 1908 and in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

by 1909. He obtained an Ohio Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate in 1910, and continued a rapid expansion, adding offices in Cincinnati in 1911, and in St. Louis in 1913, growing the firm's locations to 16 offices by 1919, then 26 offices and by 1929. Ernst advertised and solicited new clients, in violation of Ohio state board rules; along with two of his partners, he resigned from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) when it acted against the firm for its brand of advertising. Ernst never rejoined the AICPA. In April 1913, Governor

James M. Cox James Middleton Cox (March 31, 1870 July 15, 1957) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th and 48th governor of Ohio, and a two-term U.S. Representative from Ohio. As the Democratic nominee for President of the United St ...

appointed Ernst secretary of the Red Cross Ohio Flood Relief Commission, following the

Great Flood of 1913 The Great Flood of 1913 occurred between March 23 and March 26, after major rivers in the central and eastern United States flooded from runoff and several days of heavy rain. Related deaths and damage in the United States were widespread and ext ...

in Southern Ohio.

Thoroughbred racing

Ernst owned and bred

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorses, primarily those that ran in

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

races. Among his best horses was multiple stakes winner Alorter whose wins included the 1943

Cowdin Stakes The Cowdin Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1923 through 2005 at Aqueduct Racetrack and at Belmont Park which at one time was a Grade 1 event. Background The Cowdin was first run in 1923 as the Junior Champion Sta ...

. Ernst also bred Algasir, dying prior the horse winning the 1948

and the

Flash Stakes The Flash Stakes was an important and prestigious race for two-year-old Thoroughbred horses and one of the longest running horse racing events in America. Run before races were graded, the Flash was won by a host of starry names. Begun before ...

, and setting a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for four

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

Death and legacy

Ernst was buried at

Knollwood Cemetery Knollwood Cemetery is a cemetery located at 1678 SOM Center Road in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Established in 1908, it is one of the largest cemeteries in Cuyahoga County. A mausoleum was completed in 1926, and an expansion finished in 1959. The ceme ...

Mayfield Heights, Ohio Mayfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is an east-side suburb of Cleveland. The population was 18,827 at the 2010 census. History Mayfield Heights was initially built up as a streetcar suburb of Cleveland. It was ...

. He was noted as "one of Cleveland's most charitable and philanthropic citizens." After Ernst's death, his estate was inherited by his four daughters and, in August 1948, they sold most of his racing stable through an auction at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

. There, Algasir was purchased by F. Ambrose Clark for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

106,000.Gelding Brings $106,000 at Saratoga Sale
Los Angeles Times, 22 August 1948

Biography

Career

Thoroughbred racing

Death and legacy

References

Further reading