The Cleveland Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. originated in the name of The Black Accountants Society of Ohio, Inc. (BASO) in 1969. The latter was accomplished primarily through the efforts of the late Mr. Edwin J. Williams, a staff member of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association at the time.

BASO, as the organization was more commonly known, was created to address the concerns of minority practitioners in the field of accounting. Within the first year of its existence, BASO became acquainted with The National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA). NABA originated in New York in 1969. The two organizations quickly became affiliated with each other through their common goals. Because of the national focus of NABA, the BASO became the Cleveland Chapter of NABA. The Cleveland Chapter of NABA was chartered in 1971, making it one of the oldest chapters of NABA. Membership in the Cleveland Chapter has been as high as 120 members over the years. The Cleveland Chapter has been involved with national and regional NABA events, such as, hosting a National Board Meeting in 1983, hosting the Central Region’s planning retreats in 1984 and 1990, hosting the Central Region Student Conference in 1995 and 1996, and hosting NABA’s biggest event – the National Convention in 1987.

Locally, the Cleveland Chapter has awarded over $50,000 in scholarships to worthy accounting and finance students since 1978 and has sponsored several local high school students attending the Accounting Careers Awareness Program (ACAP) with close to $10,000 in contributions to ACAP. ACAP is a week-long program held annually on the campus of The Ohio State University to introduce high school student to the variety of careers and opportunities within the field of accounting. Guest speakers are invited to our general body meetings, which are held on the third Wednesday of the month from October to May.

The chapter is the co-host of the Annual Spring Accounting Conference with the Ohio Society of CPAs and the Department of Accountancy at John Carroll University. The chapter often participates in joint events or meetings with the National Black MBA Association – Northeast Ohio Chapter and the Cleveland Chapter of Black Data Processing Associates. In 2001, the chapter joined the Consortium of African-American Organizations (CAAO).