2024 AAA Annual Meeting President's Invitation

AAA President, Mark Taylor

I warmly invite and strongly encourage you attend the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Accounting Association which will be held in Washington, DC at the Marriott Marquis Hotel and the Westin Washington, DC Downtown Hotel in the heart of the city.

The Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting (CTLA), which will be held on August 10-11, 2024, will include sessions to help educators of all levels improve their teaching. The AAA Annual Meeting which will be held August 12-14, 2024, presents a tremendous opportunity to network with colleagues from the academy and the profession - from all over the country and the world - to push the boundaries of our research and teaching.

The theme of the Washington, DC meeting is "Revolutionizing Accounting Education." I spoke about this topic at the 2023 Annual Meeting in Denver and addressed the accounting student enrollment crisis that Past President Mark Dawkins highlighted in his remarks at the 2022 Annual Meeting, underscoring the urgency of fostering innovation within our field.

The accounting pipeline is fraught with challenges that require our collective attention and action to resolve. The issue is so significant, that for the first time that we know of three consecutive AAA presidents - Past President Mark Dawkins, myself, and President-Elect Audrey Gramling - are each focusing on elements of the enrollment declines with the goal for the academy to work together collectively with pipeline stakeholders to turn the tide. In late September, 2023, the three of us recently attended the Future Accountants Stakeholder Symposium, also convening in Washington, DC, and co-hosted by the AAA and the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). There were about 80 individuals representing numerous stakeholder organizations engaged - with the help of two fantastic facilitators, EY Foundation Executive Director Ellen Glazerman, and talented executive consultant Loretta Penn - about issues driving declines in accounting student enrollment and how to reverse them. We learned a great deal and hope that the efforts launched by the symposium will help resolve the issue.

Highlights of this year's meeting are a lead Keynote Speech by Steven M. R. Covey. Steven's deep insights into human effectiveness not only in work, but life will be super motivating. Steven's keynote will be followed by a panel session where members can further engage around the topics he will address. At Tuesday's morning plenary, we have two Presidential Scholars: current editor of the AAA's flagship journal The Accounting Review, Emory University's Goizueta Business School Schaefer Chaired Professor of Accounting Kathryn Kadous, and University of South Florida Professor of Instruction and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Jennifer Cainas. Both Kathryn and Jennifer followed different pathways in the academy, but who have made significant contributions overall. As generative artificial intelligence has burst onto the scene as an emerging topic with implications not only for accounting, but also business and life in general, Tuesday's luncheon speaker will be EY's Global Assurance Artificial Intelligence Leader Richard Jackson. Finally, Wednesday's plenary will feature President Elect Audrey Gramling, to whom I will pass the gavel, as it were. Audrey will address us regarding her focus for the next year of AAA's direction under her leadership.

Like previous meetings, the 2024 Annual Meeting will include At-Large Sessions and Concurrent Sessions focusing on research and teaching, current hot-topics in the profession including such things as generative AI, data analytics and technology, ESG, and sessions devoted to revolutionizing accounting education to reverse the trend in declining accounting enrollments.

I strongly encourage you to share your insights, volunteer to moderate sessions, and be a part of the crucial dialogue on how we can revolutionize accounting education to better attract, encourage, prepare, and retain our future accounting professionals! Your contributions will add immense value to our discussions and solutions.

The AAA Staff has designed the 2024 meeting to be family friendly. Washington, DC offers many, many attractions including the White House, the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, various memorials, and numerous Smithsonian Museums and Galleries for the whole family to enjoy and learn from. The AAA Annual Meeting website highlights family experiences and activities in the city and surrounding areas.

I look forward to seeing YOU in Washington, DC this August 2024 for an exciting AAA Annual Meeting!