In 1978, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics of Andalas University established Accounting Department, which started at Level II (Bachelor I), at that time the study was still the level system, and the majors were done on the second level. To overcome the shortage of lecturers, Accounting Department cooperated with BPKP West Sumatra, Head of Tax Office of Padang, PT Semen Padang, and accountants from Ernst and Young. The department also built cooperation network with universities that have accountancy courses such as Gajah Mada University (UGM) and University of North Sumatera (USU).

Official permission from the Directorate General of Higher Education was obtained in 1984 with Decision Letter no. 58 / DIKTI / Kep / 1984 dated July 31, 1984. The accounting department is directly supervised by Accounting Department of FEUI. Chairman of the Department of Accounting directly held by the Secretary of UI Accounting Department, Drs. Amir Abadi Jusuf, MAcc, and Drs. Gafar Salim, Ak became Secretary of the Department. The FEUA Accounting Department made significant progress during its affiliation with UI's Accounting Department. Accounting Department Unand graduated its first alumni in November 1983. Entering the second decade since its establishment, JAFEUA marked its development milestone with an accounting development grant program (PPA), funded by the World Bank. JAFEUA utilizes PPA for academic development activities, capacity building of faculty, and investment in learning and research facilities and infrastructure.

Along with coaching by UI, some lecturers are also awarded scholarships through PPA Project (Accounting Development Program) to follow advanced study at domestic and abroad. In the era of 1989 - 1995 most of the lecturers follow advanced study S2 and S3 at domestic and abroad with scholarships from PPA.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, JAFEUA won various prestigious award competitions such as DUE-Like and QUE Project. JAFEUA is the only accounting major outside Java to receive a competitive grant from the QUE Project. The era starting in 2000 has further strengthened JAFEUA's position as one of the higher education institutions providing quality, reputable and dignified accounting education in Indonesia.

The development of the department is also supported by the participation of alumni who are members of the FKKBA. In 2003, the department received an A accreditation from the National Accreditation Board (BAN) for Higher Education (SK No. 05815/Ak-VII-S1-024/UADAKT/VIII/2003). After that, successively getting A results in 2011 ((SK No. 042/BAN-PT/Ak-XIII/S1/I/2011), 2015 (SK No…), JAFEUA managed to maintain its A accreditation status in year 2020 which is valid until 2025 (SK No. 7841/SK/BAN/BAN-PT/Ak-PPJ/S/XII/2020). In addition, the Accounting S1 Study Program has also received International Recognition through the AUN-QA Certificate in year 2018.

In 2004, the department established the Professional Accounting Education (PPAk) and started accepting students in 2005. This professional education continues to operate and accepts students to this day. Until 2021, PPAk FEUA has accepted 26 batches of students. In 2008 the Master of Accounting Program was established by taking advantage of the moment of cooperation with the STAR-SDP program which was funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). At its inception, the Master of Accountancy Program offered a specialty in government accounting to produce prospective government sector managers who understand the need for information for decision making. Furthermore, the Master of Accounting Program has offered other specialties such as management accounting and financial accounting. The accounting master's program has received enough attention and interest from academics and practitioners as a place to continue their post-graduate education.

In general, it can be said that the Unand Accounting Department is currently one of the choices for high school graduates and undergraduate graduates to become accounting graduates. This is indicated by the increasingly fierce competition to enter this department from year to year. JAFEUA is always committed to improving internal processes to gain wider recognition in the form of obtaining accreditation or other international certifications. JAFEUA is currently in the process of waiting for the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) visitation to be held on 14-17 February 2022.

JAFEUA has been led by nine generations of Department Chairs and Secretaries to date. The following are the chairpersons and secretaries of the departments who have/are currently managing the departments:

1. Amir Abadi Jusuf dan Gafar Salim (1982-1994)

2. Fauzi Saad dan Suhairi (1994-1997)

3. Eddy R Rasyid dan Sri Daryanti Zein (1997-2002)

4. Syahril Ali dan Rahmi Desriani (2002-2005)

5. Syahril Ali dan Riwayadi (2005-2009)

6. Yuskar dan Riwayadi (2009-2013)

7. Efa Yonnedi dan Firdaus (2013-2017)

8. Rahmat Febrianto dan Rahmat Kurniawan (2017 - 2021)

9. Fauzan Misra dan Annisa Rahman (2021-sekarang).