Message from the president [1998, Vol. 21, no. 1]

              MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
As the Academy begins
its twenty-fifth year, we can
look with great pride on the
accomplishments of the past
and the challenges of the
future. The many contribu­tions
of individual members
and supporting institutions
and firms have made it possi­ble.
I especially want to
thank you who have so read­ily
volunteered to serve the
Academy in various capaci­ties
this year.
The committees are cur­rently
working on the many
activities of the Academy. In
the areas of membership and
education, I believe that we need to formu­late
long-term plans which will encourage
new members and better maintain and serve
existing members. Each year, we appear to
begin anew, whereas, we need to establish
more continuity and to build on accomplish­ments
of previous years. Your suggestions
will be greatly appreciated.
Expanding membership, participation,
and service internationally continues to be
an area of challenge. Based on suggestions
from prior year committees, the interna­tional
relations committee has been
expanded to include greater numbers of
members in other countries with an objec­tive
of improving communications and
membership. A new proposal is under con­sideration
for development of a new interna­tional
group in "comparative accounting
history research" to encourage research
efforts globally among members, especially
younger members. I am especially pleased
regarding the potential of this new group to
expand international involvement in the
Academy and research in accounting history.
The difficulties the Academy experi­enced
in 1996 and early 1997 with the dis­tribution
of The Accounting Historians Journal
Elliott L. Slocum
have been dealt with, and we
do not believe such problems
will occur in the future.
I want to thank Barbara
Merino, Ross Tondkar, Gary
Previts, Alan Mayper,
Richard Fleishman, and
other members who con­tributed
much effort in this
matter. I particularly appre­ciate
your patience and
understanding regarding the
delay and replacement of
missing issues.
Due to the suggestions of
several officers and members,
we will have a session
regarding accounting history
research at the Annual Meeting of the
American Accounting Association in New
Orleans. Finley Graves and Vaughan
Radcliffe will offer a CPE session prior to the
regular program. The planned program will
focus on various types of accounting history
research.
Work is continuing regarding the
Academy's 1998 Research Conference in
Atlanta, at the Atlanta Hilton, on
November 12-14. This conference will cul­minate
the activities of the Academy's
twenty-fifth year, and we plan for the confer­ence
to be a celebration. The program com­mittee,
in choosing the theme, "The
Evolution of Business Disclosures," expects
to provide a program which will trace the
origins and purposes of reporting and disclo­sures,
structure and content of financial
statements, and the social, economic, and
political influences on accounting disclo­sures.
We especially encourage papers con­cerning
these issues from international
members in order to illustrate comparative
developments among countries. Regardless,
make plans to come to Atlanta an join in the
scholarly discussions and celebration.
Elliott L. Slocum
2 The Accounting Historians Notebook, April, 1998