Leading accounting and finance academics paid tribute to Professors Ray Ball FCPA and Philip Brown FCPA, best known for releasing a paper heralding the start of market-based accounting research, at a dinner in Sydney last month.
The Ball and Brown Conference Dinner, held on 14 July, marked the 40th anniversary of their publication 'An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers', which was published in the Journal of Accounting Research in 1968.
Professor Alec Cameron, dean of the Australian School of Business, told the conference, 'The Ball and Brown paper has been widely acknowledged as the most influential piece of accounting research at that time. It truly represented the start of modern capital markets-based accounting research.
'Ray and Philip's research transformed our understanding of the effect of corporate disclosure on share prices, and of earnings releases in particular,' he said.
CPA Australia New South Wales director, Ron Switzer, attended the dinner and said it is important to recognise how far the accounting profession has come over the past few decades.
'CPA Australia is pleased to recognise the exemplary work Professor Ball and Professor Brown have done in developing thought leadership,' said Mr Switzer.
Professors Brown and Ball spoke about their careers in accounting and how the profession has evolved and developed over time. The two academics first met at the University of New South Wales when Brown was Ball's first year tutor in introductory accounting. They both continued their research at the University of Chicago, which was renowned in the area of accounting and economic research.
Representatives from CPA Australia attended the dinner, including CPA Australia president Alex Malley and New South Wales president Ivor David. CPA Australia proudly sponsored the event.
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