The Hourglass Award of the Academy of Accounting Historians is presented annually to an individual who has made a demonstrable and significant contribution to knowledge through research and publication in accounting history. The judging panel will echo the tradition of openness and flexibility associated with the Award and will emphasize the importance of contribution as the fundamental criterion. To that end there is no restriction as to who may make a nomination, the country in which the nominee is resident, or the paradigms and methodologies employed in the nominee’s work. Nominators are asked to supply a 200 word (maximum) statement summarizing the reasons why the nominee should be considered, full contact details of the nominator and nominee and a list of relevant contributions and any other relevant documentation supplied by the nominee who has agreed to be nominated.
As the sands of time pass through the funnel, when you flip the hourglass over the past becomes the future.
Each year the Academy of Accounting Historians section presents the Hourglass Award to an individual who has made a demonstrable and significant contribution to knowledge through research and publication in accounting history. This year’s award was given to Professor Hiroshi Okano of Osaka City University in honor of hi
s body of research regarding the historical, social, and organizational aspects of management accounting. Most notably for this award is his sole authored book, History of Management Accounting in Japan: Institutional & Cultural Significance of Accounting, published in 2015 and winner of the Emerald Group Publishing Award for Excellence in 2016 as an Outstanding Author Contribution to Accounting & Finance. In the preface to this work, the following observations are made by Dr. Bill Black, now editor of the Accounting Historians Journal:
“That there is a distinctive Japanese-style or approach to manufacturing management is commonly accepted; the corollary proposition that there is also a Japanese-style or approach to cost accounting is seldom considered, at least in the professional literature. For a process to succeed and an enterprise to thrive, the information available as the basis for management decision making must reflect the essential features of the process, and accordingly Japanese-style cost accounting is a key component in the Japanese manufacturing management environment. Understanding Gentan-i (standard usage per unit) as applied in Japanese companies is just one of the lessons provided in this volume.
Professor Okano provides a welcome exploration of the history and development of the culturally distinctive Japanese-style cost accounting environment and its conceptual connections with more familiar (Western) approaches to cost identification, classification, summarization and reporting. In particular, his discussion of cost invisibility highlights major cultural differences between Western views of the world and the subtlety required to support manufacturing organizations built around Japanese perspectives. The case studies and experiences of the author discussed in this volume also highlight the management and accounting challenges faced by Japanese and other businesses as they expand on the scale of their operations to sustain global enterprises.”
Past recipients of the Award:
1973 Stephen A. Zeff, Rice University
1974 Michael Chatfield, Southern Oregon State College
1975 Hanns-Martin Schoenfeld, University of Illinois
1976 Osamu Kojima, Kwansei Gakuin University
1976 Basil S. Yamey, London School of Economics
1977 Antonie van Seventer, San Francisco State University
1978 David A. R. Forrester, Strathclyde University
1979 Murray Wells, University of Sydney
1980 Barbara D. Merino, University of North Texas
1980 Gary J. Previts, Case Western Reserve University
1981 H. Thomas Johnson, Portland State University
1982 Williard E. Stone, University of Florida
1983 Richard P. Brief, New York University
1984 Esteban Hernandez Esteve, Bank of Spain
1985 Edgar Jones
1986 Leonard P. Spacek, The Ohio State University
1987 M. Ernest Stevelinck
1988 Peter L. McMickle, University of Memphis
1988 Richard G. Vangermeersch, University of Rhode Island
1989 Greg Whittred, University of Auckland
1990 Anne Loft, Copenhagen Business School
1991 Philip D. Bougen, University of New Mexico
1992 Basil Yamey, London School of Economics
1993 James Don Edwards, University of Georgia
1994 John Richard Edwards, Cardiff Business School
1995 Esteban Hernandez Esteve, Bank of Spain
1996 Michael Chatfield, Southern Oregon State College
1996 Richard C. Vangermeersch, University of Rhode Island
1997 Edward N. Coffman, Virginia Commonwealth University
1998 Robert H. Parker, University of Exeter, UK
1999 Richard K. Fleischman, John Carroll University
2000 Yannick Lemarchand, Universite de Nantes
2001 Stephen A. Zeff, Rice University
2002 Dale A. Buckmaster, University of Delaware
2003 Richard V. Mattessich, University of British Columbia
2004 Lee D. Parker, University of Adelaide
2005 Stephen P. Walker, University of Edinburgh
2006 Warwick N. Funnell, University of Wollongong
2007 Salvador Carmona, University Carlos III de Madrid
2008 Geofrey H. Burrows, University of Melbourne
2009 Mahmoud A. Ezzamel, Cardiff University
2010 Thomas N. Tyson, St. John Fisher College
2011 Oktay Guvemli, Marmara University
2012 Alan J. Richardson, University of Windsor
2013 David A. McCollum-Oldroyd, Durham University
2014 Dale L. Flesher, University of Mississippi
2015 Alan Sangster, Griffith University
2016 Massimo Sargiacomo, University g.d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara
2017 Royce Kurtz, University of Mississippi