Accounting
AICPA Recognizes Accounting Academics for Contributions to Profession
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently recognized four outstanding academics for their teaching and research during the annual American Accounting Association (AAA) meeting.
Aug. 18, 2020
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently recognized four outstanding academics for their teaching and research during the annual American Accounting Association (AAA) meeting.
Tonya K. Flesher, professor of accountancy and Arthur Andersen Lecturer Emerita at the University of Mississippi, is the recipient of the 2020 AICPA Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award, while Mary E. Barth, at Stanford University; Wayne R. Landsman, at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Daniel J. Taylor, at the University of Pennsylvania, share the 2020 Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award.
The Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award honors full-time college accounting educators who excel in teaching and have achieved national prominence in the accounting profession.
“Over nearly four decades, Professor Flesher has been a true innovator in accounting education, often creating her own curricula and textbooks to best prepare her students,” said Steve Matzke, director, faculty & university initiatives at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. “Students praised her for the detailed feedback she provided and passion she shared, and students and faculty recognized her with numerous teaching awards.”
Flesher taught thousands of students during her 38-year career, in which she specialized in tax research and policy, and she was the first female dean in the University of Mississippi’s 171-year history. Flesher officially retired from teaching in 2017, but she remains active in accounting research.
Beyond teaching, she was an active contributor to the profession, serving on more than a dozen AICPA committees and several AAA committees.
The Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award is given annually to academic research that has withstood a rigorous process of screening and scrutiny based on originality, breadth of potential interest, soundness of methodology and potential impact on accounting education.
Barth, Landsman, and Taylor earned this recognition for their coauthored paper “The JOBS Act and Information Uncertainty in IPO Firms,” which was published in The Accounting Review.
The paper examined how Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act created a new category of companies that were exempt from mandatory disclosure requirements of traditional companies during an initial public offering, and how that lack of information affects IPO pricing.
“Investors need clear information about companies to assure they are making wise financial decisions,” said Matzke. “This study helps us better understand how those decisions change when investors lack certain pieces of information and can help us better value companies entering the public market.”