Minutes of 1999 ABO Annual Meeting

San Diego

ABO officers and members present: Tim Fogarty, Seleshi Sisaye, Don Finn, Jake Birnberg, Joan Luft, Jane Kennedy, Chee Chow, Sandra Vera Munoz, Stacey Whitecotton, Charles Davis, and others (names not recorded – 35 counted).  Also in attendance were members of AAA Oversight Committee: Craig Polhemus, Mary Stone, and Andy Bailey.

 Seleshi Sisaye presided. Jane Kennedy recorded minutes.

 Tim Fogarty described changes in the by laws.  He read a prepared statement (attached) by Sue Haka, chair of the bylaw committee, which apologized for her absence, thanked the committee and described the revision process.   She noted that the final draft of the bylaws was posted on the website during winter.  The primary changes involved making lines of authority and responsibility clearer, establishing a budgeting process, establishing a clear process for appointing committee chairs, editors, etc., that identifies their duties, and clarifies the role of officers as decision makers versus the executive board- advisory.

The topic of bylaws was open for questions.  None were asked.  There was a call for approval.  The motion to approve came from John Rigsby and was seconded by Von Radcliffe. All were in favor and the bylaws were approved.

 Jane Kennedy distributed the treasurer’s report (attached).  She noted that cash flow is the major issue.  In terms of the adequacy of funding, BRIA is the most expensive cash outflow. The year 2000 conference (if held in the Cayman Islands) could be a net cash outflow.  She asked whether the section should survey the members to determine attendance.  With respect to the 1999 conference, she asked if perhaps we would get some indication from Joan Luft on whether that conference was expected to cover its costs.  The section needs a $10,000 minimum cash balance. She said that she would be in favor of spending in the coming year based on receipts this year—in other words, only spend what we have on hand rather than what we expect to come in (or contemporaneously).  Presently we can afford one issue of BRIA.

The publication report came from Jake Birnberg.  He indicated that he tried to craft rules that parallel AAA policies in so far as they are relevant to the section. These “rules” should codify what good practice has been and should be.  Appointments are three-year terms for the newsletter, BRIA editor, and committee chairs.  These appointments are staggered.

 Tim Fogarty reported on the Operating Policies and Procedures Manual. It was decided at the October meeting that such a manual was needed.  Its purpose was to clarify and extend meaning/interpretation of the bylaws, i.e., who does what and when.  A draft was circulated and he is now incorporating suggestions.  The manual must be consistent.  It will be posted on the website to give the membership an opportunity to comment.  It was modeled after other sections’ manuals.

Stacey Whitecotton reported on submission to the AAA’s conference for the ABO section. There were 7 concurrent sessions and 1 panel.  Sixty papers were submitted, 31 accepted for sessions and the forum.  29 (48%) were rejected.

Sandra Vera Munoz presented the 1998 Outstanding Dissertation Award to John Barrick for his dissertation entitled “The Effects of Experience and Tax Professionals’ Knowledge Structures and Performance in a Research Task” completed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  His supervisor was Professor Paul Shoemaker and he was also awarded a plaque

Tim Fogarty presented the Lifetime Contribution Award to Jacob Birnberg. Jake asked to say a few words.  He thanked individuals and the membership. He remarked on how the research is maturing and becoming appreciated outside accounting.

Seleshi Sisaye presented Service awards to trustees Mary Stone, Andy Bailey and Craig Polhemus for their attendance at the business meetings, advice and guidance to the section.

Don Finn reported on the journal (BRIA).  His handout is attached. The last issue under his editorship is now being processed (Vol. 12).  It will be in print in February or March.  Vol. 13 is Sue Haka’s responsibility. He said that he enjoyed the editorship process and thanked the membership. Conference papers from the 1998 conference are part of the normal BRIA submissions.  One has been accepted and two or three rejected.  The rest are with Sue except for one.  Tim Fogarty presented Sue Haka’s report on BRIA.

Sue provided some statistics on the journal (BRIA) activities from May 1 through July 30, 1999.  She received 16 new manuscripts and inherited 11 from the previous editor Don Finn.  Of these 27 in process, 8 were rejected, 10 were still with reviewers, 8 were with authors, and 1 was with the editor.

Editor of the ABO Reported, Joe Fisher was not in attendance but he provided a fax.  He was not getting submissions on time.

 John Rigsby reported that he has circulated an email to members asking for information on working papers. .  There was a good response.  He planned to send another email soon and asked members to please respond.

Jean Bedard reported on the 1998 conference. She thanked those who participated and said that approximately 200 attended. She felt that the solution worked out regarding publishing conference papers was excellent with Don accommodating in his final issue of BRIA and Sue Haka in her first issue. A couple of papers will also appear in Advances in Behavioral Research.

Joan Luft reported on the upcoming 1999 ABO conference to be held in Costa Mesa CA October 8 and 9.  She distributed a flier with the program on it. Registration is available at the website.  There were 53 papers submitted to the conference and 22 accepted with 14 in the forum.  She expected a diverse program with high quality papers.  Abstracts are available on the section website. She expressed a very special thanks to Charles Davis for his work on the website.  The registration deadline for the conference is September 14, 1999.

 A 2000 conference had been approved at the midyear meeting but there was no discussion of where it would be held at that time.  Ken Ferris and Mark Haskins came up with a location in the Cayman Islands, which would be the first conference out of the US since the one at the London Business School in 1987.

A discussion ensued regarding the costs of the conference since the financial condition of the section is not as strong as it used to be.  Mark Haskins indicated that the Marriott there was no more expensive than domestically.  The tentative dates were October 13-14, which is the tail end of hurricane season.  The idea was to attract foreign members, and there would be no supplement issue of BRIA related to the conference.  Jane Kennedy asked if we should survey the members to see who was willing to attend.  Jean Bedard pointed out that willing was not able.  Many schools will not support travel to vacation spots due to public perception. Ken Ueske pointed out that some passports do not allow foreigners to come to the US but they could attend elsewhere.  Tim Fogarty asked how many attendees were needed to break even.  The consensus was that 50 would do it.  Discussion involving reasonable flight prices, a looming deadline for the call for papers, and prospects of hidden charges ensued.  Jean Bedard noted that without your name on the program it is difficult to get funding to attend.  Craig Polhemus cautioned against distributing a flier until a contract was signed. 

Tim Fogarty asked for a show of hands on whether the conference in the Cayman Islands was a good idea.  Elaine moved that we email the membership to get input based on more information.  Seconded by Jean Bedard.  Tim said he wanted to know what those in attendance thought. John Rigsby concurred that Mark needed to know if he could proceed right away.  A straw poll was taken.  Two voted in favor and more than 10 against. The motion was withdrawn.  Tim appointed an ad hoc committee.  Dennis Bline requested budget information on this and one or two other places.  Tim Fogarty said that he would be asking others to think this through in the next few weeks.  Ken Ueske said that Mark and Ken will lose too much time and that they need the deliberation to conclude by the end of the conference. 

Reports were taken from the regional meetings.  Sarah Reiter reported that three papers were presented at the NE meetings. In the SW, Elaine reported that seven papers were presented in two sessions. Von Radcliffe reported 8 submissions and 4 presentations at the Ohio meeting.  Seven papers were submitted and 4 accepted at the western meetings and the SE had two sessions.   Jaine Craighead reported that 1 session with 3 papers was at the Canadian meeting and John Brierley reported 3 papers for the BAA and 11 papers at the European meetings. In the future there should be a Europe coordinator and an Asian coordinator.  Kim Langfield Smith reported 19 behavioral out of 109 total papers.

Seleshi Sisaye officially announced the incoming officers: Chair-elect Jane Kennedy and Secretary/Treasurer Joe Fisher.  There were no objections to these elections.  Seleshi said he was pleased to hand the chair over to Tim Fogarty for the 1999-2000 year.

Tim Fogarty recognized the outgoing chair (Seleshi Sisaye) for his service.  He presented a plaque to Seleshi Sisaye. Fogarty said that he wanted the section to move forward and the number 1 task was to restore financial health to the section.  He also wanted to rebalance the section to reflect the teaching and nonresearch activities for members that are not active in research.  He expressed interest in CPE ideas.  CPE is a revenue generator and a way of reaching out to other members.  He would also like to think of ways to work with other sections.  He thanks the membership for their endorsement.

Dennis Bline moved to adjourn.  Seconded by Vaughn Radcliffe.  All in favor.  Adjourned.