FORENSIC ACCOUNTING SECTION AWARDS

The Forensic Accounting Section seeks award nominations for the best research paper, the best teaching innovation, and the best dissertation paper dealing with forensic accounting, to be presented at the AAA Annual Meeting. Each award has a cash prize. For coauthored work, the cash prize will be divided among the authors.

Please send nominations for these awards to Diane Matson, Chair of the Awards Committee, by March 1, annually at dmmatson@stthomas.edu. Electronic submission is required.

Best Research Paper Award 

The Best Research Paper Award in forensic accounting. Papers published within the last three years are preferred, although exceptional working papers and papers published less recently may be considered. Criteria upon which nominations will be judged include but are not limited to:

• • Originality.
  • Empirical, experimental, or methodological design.
  • Contribution to the body of knowledge.
  • Potential impact on practice.

2024 Best Research Paper Award Winner(s):
Sunita Goel, Siena College, Nishani Edirisinghe Vincent, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for Qualitative Analysis of Risk Disclosures Post Security Breach

2023 Best Research Paper Award Winner(s):
Eric Negangard, University of Virginia, Andrea Roberts, University of Virginia, and Jennifer Winchel, University of Virginia for Is Fraud Normal? The Impact of Informal Norms on Asset Diversion at Nonprofit Organizations

2022 Best Research Paper Award Winner(s):
Xin Geng of Berry College for The Effects of Perceived Leader Emotional Intelligence and Group Prototypicality on Subordinate Whistleblowing Intentions

2021 Best Research Paper Award Winner(s):
William H. Black of University of North Georgia and Lari B. Masten of University of Denver for Empirical Investigation of Alternative Measures of Central Tendency 

2020 Best Research Paper Award Winner(s):
Joseph M. Wall of Marquette University, Darin (Kip) Holderness of West Virginia University and Andrea Scheetz of Georgia Southern University for Outsiders Looking In: Do Non-Permanent Workers Whistleblow?

The Best Teaching Innovation Award 

The Best Teaching Innovation Award pertains to a course in forensic accounting. Preference is given to teaching innovations that have been published or that have other external evidence of quality to help the committee evaluate the contribution. The teaching innovation might include, but is not limited to:

• • The development of a new framework or paradigm.
  • The development of a creative learning technique or methodology.
  • The use of original cases or other course materials designed by the instructor.
  • The integration of ethics or communications skills into forensic accounting courses.

2022 Best Teaching Innovation Award Winner(s):
Rania Mousa of University of Evansville for Fraud in the Public Park Community School District

2021 Best Teaching Innovation Award Winner(s):
Mark Holtzblatt of Cleveland State University, Craig Foltin of Cleveland State University, and Norbert Tschakert of Salem State University for Learning from Ethical Violations in Public Accounting: A South African Audit Scandal and a Firm’s Transformation 

2020 Best Teaching Innovation Award Winner(s):
Ronald J. Daigle of Sam Houston State University, David C. Hayes of James Madison University, and Dwayne N. McSwain of Appalachian State University for Solving the “Mystery” of Profiling Fraud:  Teaching Students About Occupational Fraud by Examining Episodes of Mystery Diners

The Timothy Pearson Best Dissertation Paper Award 

The Timothy Pearson Best Dissertation Paper Award is given to the author of a dissertation related to forensic accounting that was completed within the last three years. Candidates must submit a working paper from the dissertation. Criteria for the best dissertation include:

• • Originality.
  • Empirical, experimental, or methodological design.
  • Contribution to the literature.
  • Impact on practice.

2022 The Timothy Pearson Best Dissertation Paper Award Winner(s):
Amanda Sanserverino of Manhattan College for The Impact of Anti-Corruption Laws: Evidence from the U.K. Bribery Act’s Extraterritorial Reach

2021 The Timothy Pearson Best Dissertation Paper Award Winner(s):
Megan Jones of Xavier University for Audit Quality: Detection of Material Misstatement

2020 Best Dissertation Paper Award Winner(s):
Khanh Nguyen, Dissertation from University of Southern Queensland, Australia for The Occurrences and Potential Mitigation of Occupational Fraud in the International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) Sector in Vietnam:  An Empirical Holistic Approach