2024-2025 AAA-AACSB-RRBM Award for Research Impacting Societal Challenges Committee

Thank you to the AACSB for generously supporting the AAA-AACSB-RRBM Award for Research Impacting Societal Challenges!

Nominations Deadline: January 31 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time
 

To volunteer for this committee, please click HERE

 

Charge

Carry out all activities to select the recipient of the AAA-AACSB-RRBM Award for Research Impacting Societal Challenges Committee which is presented at the AAA Annual Meeting. Specifically:

  • Actively seek and submit nominations.
  • Review and evaluate nominations and select one recipient of the award based on the award criteria.
  • The Board of Directors Liaison may attend committee meetings but may not vote in the committee's deliberations.
  • The Chair writes a thank you email to the award sponsor representative (AACSB) for their support of the award.
  • The Chair must submit at least one report per year to the Board of Directors. This report should include accomplishments and suggested modifications and should be sent to the AAA President, the Committee's Board of Directors Liaison, and Professional Staff Liaison, Barbara Gutierrez at barbara.gutierrez@aaahq.org.
  • The Chair and award sponsor representative (AACSB) present the award at the AAA Annual Meeting.
  • The Chair moderates a 90-minute concurrent session of the AAA Annual Meeting during which recipient of the award present their research.
  • If the Chair has any questions about the charge or responsibilities of this committee, s/he should contact the Chief Executive Officer, the President, or the Committee's Board of Directors Liaison.

Committee Composition/Required Knowledge and Expertise/Conflict of Interest Rules

  • Committee members plus a voting Chair are appointed annually prior to the Annual Meeting by the Council Committee on Awards Committee.
  • The Committee consists of seven members, including a voting Chair.
  • The committee Chair should be an accomplished scholar who maintains an active research program with societal impact (for example, with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)/sustainability implications), and has published papers in, and has reviewed for, refereed accounting journals.
  • Four of the members are selected from academia and should be accomplished scholars who have a wide range of expertise, who are knowledgeable about research that has societal impact and have ideally published research in this area.
  • Three of the members are selected from practice. Members from practice should have an appreciation for, and understanding of, research with societal impact, and the implications of the findings for practitioners, regulators, and other stakeholders.1 
  • Current Committee members who are nominated for the award will be asked to either recuse themselves from the Committee or remove their nomination from consideration.

The potential pool of practitioners includes, but is not limited to, (1) public accounting practitioners (e.g., in audit, consulting, tax) with a range of expertise in ESG/sustainability-services; and (2) ESG/sustainability experts invited to participate as guest speakers and panelists at the annual AAA/ESG Sustainability Conference.

 

Members

Name / Affiliation Contact Term Length Term Expires
Chair

Anup Srivastava
University of Calgary

anup.srivastava@ucalgary.ca

 
1

 

08/2025

Members

Jeffrey Hales
The University of Texas at Austin

jeffrey.hales@mccombs.utexas.edu

1

08/2025

Nicole Holden
Boise State University

NicoleHolden@boisestate.edu
 

1

08/2025

Wee Meng (Eric) Lee
University of Northern Iowa

eric.lee@uni.edu

1

08/2025

Adrienna Huffman
The Brattle Group

adrienna.huffman@brattle.com

1

08/2025

Ned Leiba
Leiba & Bowers, CPAs

ned@leibacpa.com

1

08/2025

Didrik Thrane-Nielsen
EFRAG-- European Financial Reporting Advisory GroupEuri
Norway

Didrikth@gmail.com

1

08/2025

Board of Directors Liaison

Jacqueline Hammersley
University of Georgia
Vice President–Research & Publications (2024-2027)

jhammers@uga.edu

3

08/2027


Committee Roles & Responsibilities Timeline

September - January 31 February - April 15 June August
  • Actively seek and submit nominations.
  • Review nominations, participate on virtual calls and email discussions, at the discretion of the Chair.
  • Chair is allowed to vote in the award committee's deliberations.
  • Select recipient based on award criteria.
  • Chair notifies the Professional Staff Liaison, Barbara Gutierrez, of the recipient by April 15th at barbara.gutierrez@aaahq.org.
  • Chair writes a thank you email to the award sponsor representative (AACSB) for their support of the award.
  • By June 30, Chair must submit report to the Board of Directors. This report should include accomplishments and suggested modifications and should be sent to the AAA President, the Committee's Board of Directors Liaison, and Professional Staff Liaison, Barbara Gutierrez at barbara.gutierrez@aaahq.org.
  • Chair and AACSB representative present the award at AAA Annual Meeting
  • Chair moderates a 90-minute concurrent session of the AAA  Annual Meeting during which recipients of the award present their research.