Report from AFAANZ representative to AAA Doctoral Consortium
2018 AAA Doctoral Consortium Report
Samuel Sherry, 4th year accounting PhD student at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
I was honoured to be chosen as the AFAANZ representative at the American Accounting Association (AAA)/Deloitte Foundation/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium, which was held at Deloitte University (DU) in Westlake, Texas from June 20-24, 2018. Opened in late 2011, DU is a purpose-built residential training facility located on a 107-acre property in the middle of Circle T Ranch approximately 20 minutes’ drive from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
The Consortium program was split between plenary sessions which consisted of presentations and panel discussions by the faculty, small group sessions where we presented our research proposals, and structured social interactions which gave us an opportunity to get to know each other and explore the DU campus.
My biggest takeaway from the Consortium was the importance of collaboration to one’s research career, as the most successful scholars are typically those who can communicate their ideas clearly, and work with different types of people. “Scholarship” involves more than just doing good research; more broadly, being a scholar speaks to a certain attitude towards life which is manifested in one’s approach to research, teaching and academic service. To see how this attitude was embodied in each of the distinguished faculty members who attended the Consortium was truly inspiring.
The faculty presentations covered a broad range of philosophies and subject areas. Anne Christensen conveyed the importance of enriching our careers through service. Charles Lee spoke about planning for research success, while Rob Bloomfield spoke about data gathering and research methods and Bjorn Jorgensen talked about analytical models. Other topics covered included corporate governance (Alan Jagolinzer); policy-oriented research (Jeff Hales); empirical tax research (Jake Thornock), managerial archival research (Mary Ellen Carter); non-GAAP reporting (Ted Christensen) and creativity and success in accounting research (Mohan Venkatachalam). Paul Fischer gave us his perspectives on the publishing process and being a referee, and Ed Outslay shared his thoughts on what constitutes exemplary teaching.
The breakout sessions gave us an opportunity to provide constructive feedback on each other’s research proposals. My group was chaired by Alan Jagolinzer, and I found the comments I received from Alan and the other students to be extremely helpful in revising my paper.
The Doctoral Consortium was an immensely enjoyable experience and I would like to thank AFAANZ and the University of Technology Sydney for giving me this opportunity. I would also like to acknowledge the Deloitte Foundation for their ongoing support of the Consortium.
(Photo of the International students at the Consortium, Sam Sherry is second from the left)
