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2023 AAA Annual Meeting Welcome

I invite you to attend the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Accounting Association to be held in Denver, Colorado. The theme of the meeting is "Sustaining Our Profession." The Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting, to be held August 5–6, includes sessions to help educators of all levels improve their teaching. The Annual Meeting, to be held August 7–9, is an
opportunity to network with a variety of experts to improve our research and teaching.

Given the rapid changes taking place in higher education including declining enrollments, it is imperative that we find ways to sustain our profession as accounting educators in our teaching, research, and service. Our featured plenary speakers were carefully selected to share perspectives and expertise that will help us think about ways we can help sustain our profession.

Carla Harris is a Vice Chairman, Managing Director, and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley, and she will kick off the annual meeting as plenary speaker on Monday, August 7. In her 30-year career, Ms. Harris has had extensive industry experiences in the technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial, and healthcare sectors. Ms. Harris was named to Fortune Magazine’s list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America”, Fortune’s Most Influential List, U. S. Bankers Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance (2009, 2010, 2011), Black Enterprise’s Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business (2017), and “Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street.”

Ms. Harris is actively involved in her community and heartily believes that “we are blessed so that we can be a blessing to someone else,” and so her passion lies in helping others. While climbing the corporate ladder, Carla had her own personal missteps amidst numerous victories. She vowed that when she reached senior management and people came to her for advice, she would provide them with the tools, strategies, and pearls of wisdom honed by her own experience. “Carla’s Pearls” have become the centerpiece for her many speeches and television appearances. Carla is also the author of the books, Strategize to Win (2014), Expect to Win (2009) (Hudson Press), and Lead To Win (2022), and the AAA will distribute copies of Lead To Win at the 2023 Annual Meeting until supplies run out.

As a Wall Street executive and board member at Walmart and Cummins, Carla will share her perspectives on the value, importance, and role of accounting and financial information for sustaining effective and efficient markets.

Drs. Carolyn M. Callahan, University of Louisville, and Thomas Lopez, University of Alabama, have been selected as the 2023 AAA Presidential Scholars and will be our plenary speakers on Tuesday, August 8. Both Professor Callahan’s and Professor Lopez’s research has been published in the top accounting research journals, and they have been involved with The PhD Project since it was founded in 1994 with the goal of diversifying corporate America by diversifying the role models in the front of classrooms. Both Professor Callahan and Professor Lopez were inducted into The PhD Project Hall of Fame in 2012.

Since 2013, Dr. Callahan has served as the Brown-Forman Endowed Chair and Professor of Accounting at the University of Louisville. Her research interests are focused on the analytical and empirical examination of models that link accounting information to equilibrium prices in aggregate markets, and she has served as an expert witness in litigation matters related to accounting and financial reporting. She also has extensive administrative experience with progressive promotions to central leadership: Associate Provost-Faculty Affairs (University of Louisville, 2014-2015); Dean of the Business School (University of Louisville 2013-2014); Director of the School of Accountancy and PhD Coordinator (University of Memphis 2009-2013); Associate Provost-Graduate Student Affairs (University of Arkansas 2005-07); Director of Doctoral Program (University of Arkansas 2001-2004).

Since 2009, Dr. Lopez has served as the Steven Ross-Hugh Culverhouse Chair of Accountancy in the Culverhouse School of Accountancy at the University of Alabama. His research interests are primarily in the areas of non-recurring items, executive compensation, and various aspects of analysts’ forecasts. He previously served on the editorial board of The Accounting Review and has been affiliated with The PhD Project in various capacities since he spoke at their first conference in December 1994.  

Siri Lindley, a World Champion Triathelete and High-performance Coach, barely knew how to swim when she began the training regimen that would lead her to conquer prestigious triathlons such as the ITU World Championships. Today, as the world’s former #1 ranked triathlete, an in-demand coach, one of Tony Robbins' favorite motivational speakers, and cancer survivor, Siri has made it her business to change lives for the better. She shares fear-shattering strategies for changing the thoughts, habits, and behaviors that hold people and organizations back. With an infectious and authentic passion, she empowers audiences to strive for peak performance, work through and ultimately conquer the demons of fear and self-doubt.

During her pro career, Siri dominated the International Triathlon Union World Rankings; she was the 2001 ITU World Champion, won 13 World Cup races including the World Cup Series in 2001 and 2002, when she was the number one ranked triathlete in the world. As a coach, she has mentored and trained numerous #1 ranked triathletes to achieving Olympic medals and World Championship crowns distances.

In late 2019, Siri faced her most difficult battle yet when she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Given less than a 10% chance of survival at the time of her diagnosis, she was fortunate to become eligible for a new treatment and was pronounced cancer-free by her doctors in May of 2020. Today Siri helps teams win by living fearlessly, developing the critical traits needed for authentic leadership, and building business team mindsets for resilience and success. She establishes a remarkable connection with every audience member and gets to the heart of habits and rituals that drive high performance. 

In her book, Surfacing: From the Depths of Self-Doubt to Winning Big and Living Fearlessly, Siri offers a breathtakingly honest and bold account of her journey to self-belief and self-discovery and unlocking the champion within. Siri’s second book, Finding a Way: Taking the Impossible and Making it Possible (2023), provides readers with the tools needed to overcome their struggles and achieve the life they want to live.

Dr. Mark Taylor, AAA President-Elect and Professor at the University of South Florida, will be our plenary speaker on Wednesday, August 9 when he will assume the role of AAA President. Mark is the director of the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy and began his duties over the summer of 2019, coming from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. There, he was the department chair and accounting professor, and was with Case Western Reserve University since 2009 and was the Andrew D. Braden Professor of Accounting and Auditing, teaching courses in corporate governance and auditing assurance areas. Mark is a past president of the Auditing Section of the AAA, and he also served on the Auditing Section Executive Committee. For three years, he was on the Senior Technical Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Auditing Standards Board. He also is the audit committee chair and independent trustee on three investment company trusts and has had research sponsored by the Center for Audit Quality. Mark earned a doctorate from the Eller School of Business at the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management.

In addition to the above-listed plenary speakers, the concurrent sessions during the Annual Meeting will include some thought-provoking At-Large panel sessions that we hope you can attend.

The Annual Meeting is a major undertaking and would not be possible without the incredible efforts of our member volunteers and the AAA Professional Staff. There are many challenges facing higher education and the accounting academy. The Annual Meeting offers a wide variety of opportunities for you and your colleagues to think about how we will meet these challenges and how they will impact your teaching and research going forward. I hope you will all join us!