Welcome from the AAA President

I invite you to attend the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Accounting Association to be held in San Diego, California.  The theme of the meeting is Growing Our Impact.  The Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting, to be held July 30-31, includes sessions to help educators of all levels improve their teaching.  The Annual Meeting, to be held August 1-3, is an opportunity to network with a variety of experts to improve our research and teaching.

For those not able to attend the Annual Meeting in person, we are offering a subsequent Virtual Annual Meeting to be held August 11-12.  Those who attend the Annual Meeting in San Diego will also be able to attend the Virtual Annual Meeting at no additional charge.

Given the increasing costs of higher education, it is imperative that we find ways to grow our impact as accounting educators in both our teaching and our research.  Our featured plenary speakers were carefully selected to share perspectives and expertise that will help us grow our impact.  Janine Guillot, CEO of the Value Reporting Foundation, will kick off the annual meeting as plenary speaker on Monday, August 1.  The Value Reporting Foundation was created through the merger of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).  Janine also serves as Special Advisor to the Chair of the recently created International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).  Janine will share important perspectives on the creation and preservation of organizational value through holistic reporting.  Sustainability reporting represents an important opportunity for accounting educators to conduct meaningful research and help guide our students to a growing set of opportunities in a changing world.  Janine’s message will provide important insight to help us grow our impact as accounting educators.

Dr. Patricia M. Dechow, University of Southern California, has been selected as the 2022 AAA Presidential Scholar and will be our plenary speaker on Tuesday August 2nd.  Professor Dechow’s research is published in all of the top accounting research journals.  Her research has been cited more than 50,000 times, according to Google Scholar, and has also been discussed in various press articles and books including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Institutional Investor, and The New York Times.  She currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of Responsible Research in Business & Management.     

Derreck Kayongo, former CEO of the Center for Civil and Human Rights, Social Entrepreneur, Global Soap Project Founder and CNN Hero will be our Tuesday luncheon speaker.  Derreck’s compelling story and guiding principles are likely to stay with us long after his talk concludes.

Dr. Mark Dawkins, AAA President-Elect and Professor at the University of North Florida, will be our plenary speaker on Wednesday August 3rd when he will assume the role of AAA President.  Mark served as Dean of the College of Business at University of North Florida from 2015-2020 and as Associate Dean for Academic Programs at the University of Georgia from 2008-2014.  Mark is widely published in a variety of academic and practitioner journals.  His research interests include bankruptcy, accounting education, and issues related to diversity and inclusion.  Mark was inducted into the PhD Project Hall of Fame in 2015. Mark is the recipient of multiple teaching awards and has also been recognized for his service to the profession.

In addition to the plenary speakers, the concurrent sessions will include thought provoking panel sessions, research presentations, and teaching presentations.  The Annual Meeting offers a wide variety of opportunities for us to consider new ways to grow our impact as accounting educators.  I hope you will be able to join us in San Diego July 30-August 3rd.

Bob Allen
2021-2022 AAA President