Frank K. Ross

Frank K. Ross was born on July 9, 1943, on the island of St. Kitts and moved to the United States as a child. He built a career in accounting that ran from junior auditor to the top ranks of a global firm. The Journal of Accountancy identifies him as one of KPMG's early Black partners and a co-founder of the National Association of Black Accountants, known as NABA.

In 1969, when he was 26 years old, Ross and eight other Black accountants founded NABA in New York City, and he served as the organization's first president. In an interview, Ross recalled joining colleagues to help newly hired Black accountants adjust to unfamiliar workplaces and cities, efforts that were part of the reason they formed the association. He also described experiencing racial abuse at a partners' gathering after his promotion, part of the professional environment in which that work developed.

His own rise came at Peat Marwick, the firm that became KPMG, where the Journal of Accountancy identifies him as the first African American partner. He spent 38 years with the firm and served as its Mid-Atlantic Area managing partner before retiring.

The organization grew from those beginnings into a national body dedicated to advancing Black professionals in accounting, finance and business. In 2014, the American Institute of CPAs honored Ross with its Gold Medal, recognizing his work leading the Center for Accounting Education at Howard University. In 2024, the American Accounting Association inducted him into its Accounting Hall of Fame as its 119th member. He also wrote about his career in the book Quiet Guys Can Do Great Things.

Howard University credits Ross, a retired KPMG managing partner, with leading the reestablishment of its Center for Accounting Education. He has served as the center's director and as a distinguished visiting professor at the university's business school. The center describes programs spanning entry into accounting and leadership development, alongside research and collaboration with accounting firms and professional bodies.