Archives West Finding Aid

Doris Stiefel interviewed Lawrence Ross on 14 June 2016. In the interview, Ross outlines his family's history. He grew up in the Madison and Madrona areas, attended local schools, and joined the AZA. His family belonged to Herzl congregation where he attended Hebrew school and had his Bar Mitzvah. As a student at the University of Washington he joined the Jewish fraternity of Sigma Alpha Mu. He graduated from the UW School of Business in 1959 with a BA in accounting. After passing the exam and completing the requisite two years of public accounting experience (with Wayne Droker), Ross obtained his CPA certificate. He then started his long career at the Seattle accounting firm, Friedman, Lobe and Block, and its successor firms. He details the history and growth of the firm. Founded as Friedman and Lighter in Seattle in the 1920s by Samuel Friedman and Jacob Lighter, it became Friedman, Lobe and Block and merged in 1969 with a national firm, Laventhol (Krekstein, Horwath) & Horwath. Subsequent to bankruptcy of the national firm, the Seattle partners regrouped and established the local firm, Bader Martin Ross and Smith, now known as Bader Martin. Ross comments on changes in the firm, on accounting practice in general, and in the Seattle Jewish community. Fewer students elect to go into accounting and there are fewer Jewish accountants coming into the profession. From being a predominantly Jewish accounting firm that had a large Jewish clientele and was actively involved in the Jewish community, it has evolved to a larger, more diverse firm that is no longer primarily Jewish and serves fewer Jewish businesses.