AICPA Honors Three Professors with 2021 Accounting Education

The American Institute of CPAs has honored three professors for their excellence in teaching, literature, and advancing the profession.

Nancy A. Bagranoff, Professor of Accounting and University Professor at the University of Richmond (Virginia), was awarded the 2021 AICPA Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award. Jun Dai, Professor at Michigan Technological University, and Miklos Vasarhelyi, Professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, are the recipients of the 2021 Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award. This year’s awards were announced at the annual meeting of the American Accounting Association (AAA) in Washington, D.C.

The annual Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award honors full-time college accounting educators who are distinguished for excellence in teaching and have achieved national prominence in the accounting profession. Professor Bagranoff served as Dean and Professor of Accounting for the College of Business and Public Administration at Old Dominion University (2003-2010) and Dean and Professor of Accounting at the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond (2010-2019).

She recently returned to the classroom and is currently a Professor of Accounting and University Professor at the University of Richmond where she teaches the school’s Fundamentals of Financial Accounting course as well her newly developed course, Cybersecurity for Business. A prolific author, she has published over 15 books, 30 journal articles, as well as various position statements, reviews, speaker presentations, and op-eds.

“Professor Bagranoff has made substantial contributions to the accounting profession,” said Jan Taylor Morris, Academic in Residence, AICPA & CIMA “In addition to her innovative practices and volunteer service to the AICPA and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), her dedication as a mentor, educator and author demonstrates how deserving she is of this year’s award.”

The Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award is given annually to work which has withstood a rigorous process of screening and scrutiny based on certain criteria, such as originality, breadth of potential interest, soundness of methodology and potential impact on accounting education. Professors Dai and Vasarhelyi were honored for their co-authored paper

“Toward Blockchain-Based Accounting and Assurance,” Journal of Information Systems, Volume 31, No. 3, Fall 2017, pp. 5–21. In addition to the award, the recipients received $2,500.

“The subject of this paper has a major impact on current research in many different disciplines of accounting. Academics, as well as practitioners, regulators and standard setters will all benefit. This paper has been cited by more than 386 publications, denoting its relevance to and contribution to others’ research projects” said Taylor Morris “For these reasons, these professors are extremely deserving of this award.”

Eligibility requirements and additional information about the AICPA Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award and the Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award are available on AICPA’s website.