The American Institute of CPAs recognized four accounting professors for their notable teaching and research during the annual American Accounting Association meeting.
This year’s honorees include:
- Tonya 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.
- Mary Barth of Stanford University, Wayne Landsman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Daniel Taylor of the University of Pennsylvania received the 2020 Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award.
The Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award honors full-time collegiate accounting educators who have reached 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 of faculty and university initiatives at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, in a statement. “Students praised her for the detailed feedback she provided and passion she shared, and students and faculty recognized her with numerous teaching awards.”
The Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award is annually awarded to academic research which has notable originality, potential interest, methodology and impact on accounting education.
Barth, Landsman and Taylor earned the award for their co-authored paper “The JOBS Act and Information Uncertainty in IPO Firms,” published in The Accounting Review. The paper investigated how the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act created new companies exempt from mandatory disclosure requirements 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 in a statement. “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.”
For more on the annual awards, head to the AICPA’s site here and the AAA’s site here.
