ACCOUNTING, BEHAVIOR AND ORGANIZATION SECTION

AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION

 

MINUTES OF BUSINESS MEETING

OCTOBER 9, 1999

Costa Mesa, California

1:30 to 3:30 pm

 

ABO Officers and members present: Joan Luft, John Rigsby, Dennis Bline, Sue Haka, Tim Fogarty, Stacy Whitecotton, Jane Kennedy, Laurie Pant, Jane Cote, Chee Chow, Sara Reiter.

 

Tim Fogarty presided. Minutes were recorded by Jane Kennedy.

 

  1. The budget prepared by Jane Kennedy was discussed. The Section’s financial well-being is recovering but still should be considered precarious. The group agreed that no special expenditures should be made and that all efforts should be made to run a solvent annual meeting.
  2. ABO Reporter. John Rigsby reported that good cooperation had been received from the membership to fill the ABO Reporter. John reminded the group that Joe Fisher will assume newsletter duties next year.
  3. ABO Bylaws. Some minor issues of interpretation were discussed. It was agreed that no changes to the by-laws were needed at this time.
  4. Annual meeting Program Chair. Stacy Whitecotton reported that she is ready to work as program chair for her second year. She summarized what she had learned from last year. The idea of a second year was endorsed by all members. Stacy reported that Jordan Lowe will be her assistant.
  5. Policy and Procedures Committee. Tim Fogarty distributed hardcopies of the draft of the ABO Policies and Procedures Manual. He reminded the group that the purpose of the document was to implement, clarify and expand upon the newly revised and adapted by-laws. He solicited comments from the group and suggested that this could be a longer-term project than initially conceived.
  6. Publications. General satisfaction exists regarding the content of Section publications. Following up on the conversation at the 1998 mid-year meeting, the group distinctly favored caution in the expenditure of funds to support extra publications.
  7. 1999 Meeting: Joan Luft reported on the meeting that just concluded.  She reviewed some of the difficulties that she and Chee Chow had in organizing the event and dealing with the hotel.  While final numbers were not available at this time, she expected that the meeting would at least break even.  Discussion mostly centered around explaining the lower than expected turnout.  Most people concluded that the west coast trip that most east coast academics took in mid-August created some resistance for this trip.  In a nutshell, bad timing.  People were pleased with the content of the current meeting.
  8. 2000 Meeting: Dennis Bline reported on the factors that led to the selection of the downtown Chicago venue.  The financial condition of the section has created the imperative that the financial viability of the event be a central consideration.  Tim Fogarty reported that things were on schedule.
  9. Regional Reports: Various individuals reported on the state of behavioral accounting research on the programs of the regional meetings that they had attended during 1999.  For the most part, the Section is maintaining its profile.  However, attendance is down at regional meetings in general.
  10. Incoming chair comments: Jane Kennedy promised to keep up the good work of the section and looks forward to working with the gathered group and others.

 

MEETING ADJOURNED 3:30 pm