2012 Recipient of the Haim Falk Award for Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Thought

Dr. J. Alex Milburn

  

On behalf of the CAAA’s Board of Directors, the Haim Falk Award Committee is pleased to name J. Alex Milburn, PhD, FCA, the 2012 Haim Falk Award recipient.

Dr. Milburn has contributed to the advancement of accounting thought, through his work  and related  activities, by facilitating  a  bridge between academic accounting research  and practice, and through his direct engagement with practitioners and standard setters in Canada and internationally. Over the years, he has brought a sophisticated understanding of financial economics theory to the development of a measurement framework for a wide variety of accounting issues. His prescience, in understanding the applicability of modern finance theory, and particularly the time value of money for accounting measurement issues such as loans, impairment provisions, depreciation, deferred tax provisions, financial instruments, and, more generally, fair value measurements, was quite evident in the late 1970s.

He has demonstrated a keen awareness of the history of accounting thought, the stewardship tradition in early accounting practice, and the importance of measurement reliability. From the outset, Dr. Milburn showed that he understood the need for a sound measurement framework that is rooted in generating reliable accounting numbers.  

With standard setters struggling to balance both relevance and reliability, Dr. Milburn was foremost in helping them to achieve that balance.  In his role as Director of the Ernst & Young Foundation/ Clarkson Gordon Foundation, he sought many formal and informal ways to bring practitioners, academics and doctoral students together so that they could learn from each other and work together to contribute to Canadian accounting thought. His participation in several measurement-related projects helped the Canadian accounting profession to have a disproportionate influence in international standard setting.

A significant impact of his work came from a book, he co-authored with Ross Skinner in 2001, which developed a model of accounting measurement and the evolution of Canadian accounting practice. This book, titled, Accounting Standards in Evolution, is widely considered to be a primary resource for understanding the first principles of accounting measurement. And it has had a major impact on accounting thought in practice, standard setting, and education. 

Dr. Milburn brought a sophisticated understanding of efficient markets theory and modern finance tools to the development of accounting standards, especially for financial instruments. He foresaw the limitations of strong and semi-strong form notions of market efficiency that were common in academia, and tried to guide standard setters to deal with problems created by imperfect markets. In hindsight, both academics and standard setters were a bit slow to grasp some of the fundamental limitations of market efficiency and current regulatory debates about fair value measurements are focused on issues that Dr. Milburn raised many years ago. 

Whereas it cannot be claimed  that any  scholar  singlehandedly dominate standard setting, it is reasonable  to  point to Dr. Milburn’s  prescient disposition  in anticipating many of the measurement  problems  accounting standard setters are debating today. As a result, it is fair to conclude that he has made a significant contribution to advancing accounting practice, standard setting, and education. His leadership, particularly in developing accounting standards for financial instruments, has had a significant effect, not only in Canada, but also more broadly in the international accounting standard-setting arena.

Letters received, from distinguished academics from across Canada and the U.S., as well as from esteemed national and international standard setters, in support of Dr. Milburn’s nomination, testify to his reputation for scholarly thought, his tremendous impact on their thinking, and their deep respect for his thought and opinions.

They point out how Dr. Milburn played a unique role in developing fundamental scholarly thought on complex accounting measurement issues and helped to synthesize and convey the work of academics to accounting practitioners and standard setters. Many of these letters drew attention to his many contributions in helping accounting professors and doctoral students to get access to data and other research resources.

Dr. Milburn represents a classic scholar who traversed academia, accounting practice, and standard setting. He serves as a role model for accounting scholars who seek to have an impact on both academia and the practice of accounting.

Admittedly, it is now much more difficult for academics to influence the profession so broadly; however, Dr. Milburn sets an example which can inspire future accounting scholars to engage in scholarship that is original, creative, and socially relevant. While we often think of teaching as a mechanism by which research is disseminated and influences society more broadly, Dr. Milburn’s career exemplifies an alternate path by which scholarly thought can influence practitioners, standard setters, and create value for society.

For his original and important contributions to accounting thought, we are pleased to recognize Dr. J. Alex Milburn with the 2012 Haim Falk Award.   

Members of the 2012 Haim Falk Committee: 

Karim Jamal, Chair
University of Alberta

Jeffrey Pittman
Memorial University

William (Bill) Scott
University of Waterloo (Emeritus)