Message from the president [2001, Vol. 24, no. 1]

              Message From the President
Dear Academy Members,
First of all, I would like to thank you for the op­portunity
to serve you as President of the Academy.
I have been a member of the Academy since I be­gan
my career as an accounting academic in 1983,
and I have made many of my closest friends
through Academy activities. Indeed, the Academy
has in many ways shaped my career, and I am
grateful for the opportunities it has afforded me. I
would also like to thank all of you who have ac­cepted
committee assignments. All of the services
that the Academy provides would not be possible
without the hard work of the Academy's commit­tees.
There are several individuals whom I would
like to thank individually for their outstanding and
special service in the recent past. Dick Fleischman
handed over the editorial reins of The Accounting
Historians Journal to Steve Walker after the ap­pearance
of the last issue. The quality and signifi­cance
of AHJ have grown steadily over the years,
Dick being the most recent in a succession of edi­tors
who have contributed to the journal's matura­tion.
The journal, however, was ripe for Dick's in­tellectual
prowess and uncompromising standards
when he assumed the editorship. Thank you Dick
for consolidating the work of the previous editors
and moving the journal forward. The Academy is
most fortunate that Steve Walker has accepted the
editorship. We can rest assured that the journal will
continue to grow in stature with Steve in charge.
Another individual who deserves our thanks is
Elliott Slocum. Elliott has for a number of years
served as editor of The Accounting Historians
Notebook, but has handed his duties over to Joann
Noe Cross. Indeed, the last issue was his final one.
The Notebook is in many respects the lifeline of the
Academy, keeping us informed of the organiza­tion's
activities and members' achievements. Elliott
has faithfully performed his duties as editor, and we
thank him for his service. Elliott, however, has
hardly retired. He remains Director of the Acad­emy's
Accounting History Research Center at
Georgia State University and is working with Ram
Sriram and Kumar Sivakumar to organize the
Academy's AAA pre-conference in Atlanta Geor­gia
in August.
We owe a great deal of thanks to Kathy Sinning
for her work on improving the Academy's Home­page.
Kathy took on that responsibility during her
Presidency last year, and she has made a tremen­dous
difference. If you have not visited our Home­page
recently, you should do so (http://
weatherhead.cwru.edu/Accounting/). It is well de­signed
and easy to use. This year, Kathy has agreed
to serve as chair of the Information Technology
Committee and to see her efforts through. At her
suggestion, I asked Tommie Singleton to serve as
the Academy's Webmaster. Tommie is extremely
knowledgeable and will help us keep our Home­page
attractive and up to date.
At last year's business meeting in Columbus,
Ohio, the Academy voted to change its structure.
Although Kathy Sinning described the proposed
changes in her last President's message, they war­rant
recounting since they are far-reaching and now
in effect. In the past, there was a three-year path to
the Presidency. One served first as Second Vice
President, then as First Vice President, and finally
as President Elect before becoming President. The
duties of the First and Second Vice Presidents were
minimal. In addition, the primary duty of the Presi­dent
was to organize the Academy's fall research
conference. And since organizing the conference
also entailed choosing a location and negotiating
hotel space, planning the conference often occupied
the President's attention from the time he or she
was Second Vice President. Preoccupation with
the conference left little time for strategic planning
or visioning. To alleviate this problem, last year's
Strategic Planning Committee proposed transform­ing
the First and Second Vice President's offices to
functional offices. These offices are now Vice
President-Communications and Vice President-
Conferences and Partnerships. The Vice President-
Communications will oversee the operation of the
Academy's publications as well as any transitions
between editors. The Vice President-Conferences
and Partnerships will select conference sites, iden­tify
potential co-sponsors of conferences, and liaise
(Continued on page 6)
The Accounting Historians Notebook, April 2001 3