The Award Committee is pleased to announce their selection of Prof. Guylaine Duval as this year’s Rosen Outstanding Educator. Prof. Duval is a faculty member in the Department of Economics and Administrative Sciences at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi as well as Director of the Specialized Graduate Studies Diploma program there. The committee was impressed with the outpouring of support from colleagues and former students for the significant role Prof. Duval has played in the success of her students on both the CFE exam (and its predecessor, the UFE) as well as the CGA national exam prior to unification of the profession. Through innovative and excellent teaching, as well as significant commitment to the development of pedagogical materials, Prof. Duval has provided undergraduate and graduate students with the necessary tools and skills to achieve their academic and professional goals. As indicated by one of her colleagues:

“Madame Duval’s devotion to candidates to the profession go well beyond her teaching activities, even extending beyond our institution. Over the years, she has coached approximately 60 teams of students in various competitions organized by the Order, including several award winners. This success has greatly enhanced the reputation of our university and our accounting programs, and has inspired many students to pursue accounting as a profession.”

We received the following from one of her former students:

“Madame Duval … understands better than most what kind of skills are required to be a professional CPA. Madame Duval is a woman who is passionate about what she does, and her enthusiasm for the profession is contagious. Her positive attitude motivates us and inspires us to continue in the profession.”

Prof. Guylaine Duval’s contributions to the accounting profession have recently been recognized through the conferral of the title Fellow of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec (FCPA). The committee believes that the significant contributions Prof. Duval has made to accounting education in Canada also make her a most deserving recipient of this year’s LS. Rosen Outstanding Educator Award.

L.S. Rosen Award Committee:  Theresa Libby (Chair), Linda Thorne, Krista Fiolleau

The committee is delighted to announce that Professor Efrim Boritz has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the Haim Falk Award for Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Thought. The Haim Falk Award Committee received a comprehensive package in support of his nomination that included several letters from a range of junior and senior colleagues.

Professor Boritz has an impressive publication history that spans the assurance, information systems, and financial reporting disciplines.  Besides his seminal contributions to research, Professor Boritz has focused intently on ensuring that his work plays a role in shaping practice.  Consistent with the award criteria, his research has had a major impact on theory, practice, and education.

The widespread support for his nomination reinforces the quality and relevance of Professor Boritz’s research program.   Excerpts from these letters illustrate his important contributions to accounting thought:

“[Professor Boritz] has a wide range of research interests that are supported by his vast knowledge in accounting, computer technology, and human information processing and decision-making behavior.  [Professor Boritz’s] research targets the most challenging issues faced by the accounting profession.  His work is not only important for advancing accounting/auditing theories, but also has had enormous impact on professional practice.”

  - Ping Zhang, Professor, University of Toronto

“His pioneering expertise on machine learning in accounting is recognized by a AAA Task Force on Research Impact. They cite in their 2009 commentary six papers that make significant contributions in artificial intelligence and expert systems research. Efrim is sole author of two of these six studies.”

  - Louise Hayes, Assistant Professor, University of Guelph

“His efforts in furthering our understanding of assurance and systems and their relationship to business and accounting has resulted in a significant and influential body of work…[t]here are seven articles in major mainline academic accounting journals, 22 publications in academic assurance and systems journals, plus seven other academic publications. He has authored 24 books and monographs plus an additional 14 chapters, and participated in producing six AICPA guides.”

  - Thomas Scott, Professor, University of Waterloo

The committee unanimously concluded that Efrim Boritz is a highly deserving recipient of the 2018 Haim Falk Award for Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Thought.

David Godsell, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Michel Magnan, Concordia University

Jeffrey Pittman, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Chair

The winning submission to the 2018 Howard Teall Award is a collaborative project in which students improved their professional skills by delivering a program of accounting education to primary school managers in Haiti, focusing on sustainable accounting practices for their institutions. Via a five-month planning period and three-week project delivery in Haiti, students employed skills they will need as future CPAs – project management; adapting theory to practice; a global outlook and engagement; understanding an unfamiliar working environment and context; delivering results in oral and written formats; adopting professional ethics; and practicing accounting for the public good. Since their return from Haiti, the students have continued their work, educating others about the project within their home province. The second wave of this award-winning endeavour took place in May 2018.

Oxner designed this experiential, applied activity to improve students’ own financial literacy while assisting in developing the financial literacy of the community. In the context of the project, several populations were identified (e.g., new mothers, seniors, varsity athletes). Students were expected to identify and adapt financial literacy content relevant to these populations, and liaise with population representatives to tailor and deliver a financial literacy workshop.

With over 30 course videos for intermediate management accounting, intermediate financial accounting II, and advanced management accounting, Steve Janz has created a valuable additional resource to assist students in their learning journey. The videos, delivered via the “Lightboard” Janz developed using open-source technology, are divided into pre-class, theory, and post-class materials. Janz has plans to further improve the lightboard video technology to support learning in a real-time environment.