In 1969, NABA was established to address the unique challenges and limited opportunities African-Americans faced in the accounting profession. In that year, there were 136 African-American CPAs out of a total of 100,000 in the United States.

Today, through the efforts of NABA and other interested groups, there are over 200,000 African-Americans participating in the field of accounting, of which over 5,000 are CPAs. Today, NABA represents the interest of over 100,000 African-Americans and other minority professionals in accounting, finance and other business disciplines.