James O. McKinsey

James Oscar McKinsey was born on June 4, 1889 and died on November 30, 1937 at the age of 48. He is best known for founding McKinsey and Company.

McKinsey grew up in Missouri where he attended the Warrensburg Teachers College (since renamed as the University of Central Missouri) where he earned his Bachelor of Pedagogy. He then proceeded to the University of Arkansas to study law, attaining his degree in only one year. Following his law degree, McKinsey received his Master of Art in Commerce from the University of Chicago and passed his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam.

McKInsey taught accounting at the University of Chicago intermittently from 1917-1935. He was also involved in several boards and committees including his position as chairman of the board at Marshall Field and Company and chairman of the American Management Association.

McKinsey wrote many volumes on accounting and related matters including Bookkeeping and Accounting, Principles of Accounting, and Budgetary Control.

McKinsey and Company is a management consulting firm that McKinsey established in 1926 during his tenure at the University of Chicago. It is known as one of the “Big Three,” the name give to the world’s three largest consulting firms.