Life Membership Award

The awarding of a Life Membership in the Academy of Accounting Historians will be based on the following criteria [1]. These criteria are not an exhaustive list but are intended to provide guidance to the Selection Committee in its deliberations and decisions:

  • international profile and recognition – the individual should have a global profile and not one simply within his/her country;
  • the quality, importance and originality of the individual’s research program;
  • the scholar’s scope of work, publication record in various academic journals and edited volumes;
  • his/her active participation in the academy (in the generic sense and not only the Academy of Accounting Historians), including contributions to the field as journal editor, editorial board member, conferences, etc.;
  • the individual’s work and efforts to popularize history and accounting history, including editing and publication of works, and efforts to bring accounting history's past into the present through the publication of old documents or records or the re-publication of forgotten texts; and
  • the individual’s participation in the training of doctoral students, support and mentorship of junior colleagues including those whose mother tongue is not English.

[1] Adopted unanimously at the Academy of Accounting Historians Annual General Meeting, August 2007.

Send nominations to: Academy Executive Committee at acchistory@case.edu.


Congratulations to the 2015 Recipient! Sarah A. Holmes

The Academy was honored to name Sarah A. Holmes a Life Member of the Academy for her extensive involvement with the Academy, her successful career and her support of accounting history research.

Academy Offices

2004 – 2006, Trustee

2003 – 2004, President

1994 – 2000, Treasurer

1995 – 1999, Editorial Board Member

Academy Presidency

Sarah served as president of The Academy during 2003—a year that focused on growing university archival collections and online access to the Accounting Historians Journal.  In 2003, the theme of the Academy’s Research Conference was “Accountability – Pre-Post Enron: Alternative Global Views”. The conference was held on November 6-8, 2003 in Denton, Texas at the Radisson Hotel with The University of North Texas serving as host. Holmes served as an organizer of the conference along with Alan G. Mayper and Barbara D. Merino.

Academy Awards

2005 - Best Paper Award - “The Role of Accounting Practices in the Disempowerment of the Coahuiltecan Indians”, Volume 32, December issue, Sarah A. Holmes, Sandra T. Welch, Laura R. Knudson

1989 - Richard G. Vangermeersch Manuscript Award - "A Historical Analysis of Depreciation Accounting - The United States Steel Experience"

BA, Duke University, 1963

MBA, Texas A&M University, 1980

PhD, University of North Texas, 1984

East Central University - Professor and Crabtree Family Professorship in Business, and Chair, Accounting.

Texas A&M University - Professor of Accounting and Holder of the Andersen Professorship in Accounting


Past recipients of the Award:

 2015  Sarah A. Holmes
 2014  Barbara Dubis Merino (Professor Emerita, University of North Texas)
 2013  Edward N. Coffman (Virginia Commonwealth University) & Daniel L. Jensen (The Ohio State University)
 2012  No Award Presented
 2011  No Award Presented
 2010  Thomas A. Lee (University of Alabama)
 2009  Richard K. Fleischman (John Carroll University) & Richard Brief (New York University)
 2008  No Award Presented
 2007  No Award Presented
 2006
 2005  Hanns Martin Schoenfeld (University of Illinois)
 2004  Richard Vangermeersch (University of Rhode Island)
 2003  James Don Edwards (University of Georgia)
 2002  Esteban Hernandez-Esteve (Bank of Spain) & Maureen Berry (University of Illinois)
 2001  Robert Gibson (Deakin University), Robert Parker (University of Exeter), David Forrester (Strathclyde University)
 2000
 1999  No Award Presented
 1998  Mervyn M. Wingfield (James Madison University)
 1997  Doris M. Cook (University of Arkansas)
 1996
 1995  Alfred R. Roberts (Georgia State University) 
 1994  Thomas J. Burns (The Ohio State University) & Eugene Flegm (General Motors Corporate HQ)
 1993
 1992  Richard Matessich (University of British Columbia, Canada)
 1991  Willard E. Stone (University of Florida)
 1990  Andrew Barr (University of Illinois)
 1989  Louis Goldberg (University of Melbourne)
 1988
 1987
 1986
 1985
 1984
 1983  Basil S. Yamey (London School of Economics)
 1982
 1981  S. Paul Garner (University of Alabama) & Ernst Stevelinck (Belgium)
 1981  Osamu Kojima (Kwansei Gakuin University) & Kojiro Nishikawa (Nihon University)

Accounting Historians Journal

First volume was published in 1974. We publish twice a year. Older volumes are available online at AAA Digital Library

Overview of acceptable submissions:

  • History of profession
  • Biography
  • History of accounting change
  • Entity case studies: industries, companies, governmental or NFP entities
  • Development of accounting theory
  • Critical examinations of new or old research
  • Does not have to be old to be a part of our history

Learn More

Accounting Historians Notebook

Submissions and any other Notebook editorial matters may be sent to Tiffany Schwendeman, Academy Administrator, at: acchistory@case.edu.

The October 2022 Accounting Historian's Notebook is now available online!

View it here now!