CPA Australia archives

As one of the oldest professional accounting associations in the world, our extensive archival collection - the Jill Bright Archives - provides valuable insights into the development of the profession and the business community it serves.

To preserve and manage this collection we have secured an Australian Research Council Linkage Project grant in association with the University of Melbourne and the National Archives of Australia. Together we are developing a framework for managing the archive and enabling access through the use of digital technologies.

The archives represent the corporate memory of CPA Australia and its previous incarnations. These archives are a unique collection of records extending back over 130 years, to the handwritten minutes of the first meeting held in 1886.

Other material in the collection includes:

• pictures of members and events 
• marketing collateral 
• the history of the brand 
• the evolution of the CPA Program.

Some of the material shows signs of deterioration, with the damage attributable to several factors, including handling, storage and the age of the items. The collection is stored on-site at our Melbourne office and is accessible by appointment.

Achievements so far include:

• completing detailed inventories (including the assignment of a unique identifier for each individual item) 
• developing the decision (weighting) matrix to determine the priority list for digitisation.