Academy of Accounting Historians Details

On December 28, 1973, the Academy of Accounting Historians incorporated with a charter for a non-profit organization in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. The following year, the Internal Revenue Service granted the AAH status for tax exemption, beginning a history of supporting practitioners and academicians to further study how accounting has evolved in practice and thought.

Other than encouraging research and exchanging scholarly ideas among historians, the Academy has resolved to demonstrate how this history was relevant to modern-day accounting. The AAH seeks to establish seminars and workshop activities that assist in the development of historical dissemination methodologies.

This organization emphasizes using experimental, conceptual, and quantitative measures for the continued development of accounting history research models. The Academy also promotes coursework within historical accounting curricula while coordinating the activities of international accounting history groups.

Example of the Academy of Accounting Historians

This is a not-for-profit organization with scholarly roots, having been envisioned by a university of Alabama professor of accounting, Gary John Previts. The Academy of accounting historians focuses on the rules of accounting, economic history, and their interaction with forces affecting business.

Currently, the AAH is transitioning to serving within the structure of the American accounting association without ceasing its mandate and operations. This focus group identifies as a printing and publishing entity, but it's resolved to encouraging research, teaching, and personal interaction in all accounting history phases.

In relation to its exempt purpose, the AAH holds conferences, provides grants, scholarships, and awards while working towards the establishment of an international accounting history congress. With its international membership participation, this organization holds congress meetings where research papers are submitted for review.

Significance of the Academy of Accounting Historians

The Academy of Accounting Historians' objectives includes publishing, encouraging research, and personal interchanges while augmenting interrelations with economic and business history. Any person interested in accounting history can join the AAH as long as they can pay membership rates for conferences and maintain subscriptions to the publications.

The Academy publishes a semi-annual newsletter called the Notebook alongside the Accounting Historians Journal that puts out issues each year. These two papers have been the AAH’s outlets and communication to update and educate its members and those involved in contributing to the accounting history.

Apart from an annual general meeting of its members, the Academy of Accounting Historians holds meetings for its officers, trustees, and key active personnel that transact the organization's affairs.

History of the Academy of Accounting Historians

As a prelude to the Academy of Accounting Historians' founding, the American Accounting Association (AAA) established the Committee on Accounting History in 1968. Among other duties, the committee was charged with creating proposals for guideline development and objectives for accounting history research.

On submitting a report of recommendations, and not getting a response from the AAA, a small group of accounting scholars set about to form an organization that advances accounting history interests. Professors S. Paul garner and Gary john Previts were notable among those that spearheaded the Academy of Accounting Historians' formation in 1973.

Previts added the name Academy to accounting historians to better establish the group's unique identity after seeing it on the back of a toothpaste tube. He later became the first president-elect for the organization, establishing the research paper evaluative World Congress of Accounting Historians.