Beyond Sarbanes-Oxley:;
Can the Accounting Profession Meet Its Ethical Mandate?

Ninth Symposium on Ethics in Accounting

Held as a CPE Session at the AAA Meeting
Beginning Noon Saturday, August 7 and Ending Noon Sunday, August 8

The AAA’s Professionalism and Ethics Committee invites you to attend the Ninth Symposium on Ethics in Accounting, to be held immediately preceding the 2004 AAA Annual Meeting in Orlando.

Scope and Aims of Symposium
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act will be fully implemented before the meeting, providing an opportunity to reflect on its implications and to evaluate its initial effects. Rules have changed, but is there evidence that the accounting profession has a strategy for assuming the ethical mandate assigned by society? The current environment provides a unique opportunity to make a difference in the ethical climate of business. Is the accounting profession up to the challenge?

The conference was opened to any papers related to ethics in accounting. We have especially encouraged authors to develop and communicate a theoretical understanding of why the accounting profession continues to struggle through a series of ethical failures. Positive, empirical explanations of "what is" were encouraged as well. But this is an opportunity to also think theoretically of why things are the way they are, and to provide a road map based on theory that gives direction for change.

Based on submissions received, we expect to have three tracks at the conference: a theory track, an empirical/experimental track, and an ethics education/case track. This should lead to a lively interchange of ideas, potentially including time for informal "discussion sessions" with authors to aid them in fleshing out ways to apply ethics theory to the problems confronting the profession. The goal of this conference is to stimulate creativity in the accounting ethics community and to allow networking opportunities. We still welcome your suggestions (e-mail mshaub@stmarytx.edu) on how to make this the most interesting accounting ethics conference you have ever attended. We want all members of the accounting ethics community to be included in this event.

Both presentation and forum sessions will be included in the program. All faculty and doctoral students are invited to attend; enrollment fee waivers are available for doctoral students, with registration covered by the Professionalism and Ethics Committee.

Location and Dates
The symposium will be held in Orlando as a CPE session, immediately prior to the 2004 AAA Annual Meeting. The meetings will be held in the main convention hotel, or within a convenient walking distance from the hotel.

For further information, contact:

Dr. Mike Shaub
School of Business and Administration
St. Mary’s University
One Camino Santa Maria
San Antonio, TX 78228-8607
Phone: (210) 431-2036
Fax: (210) 431-2115