Looking Back … And Looking Forward

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this essay I reflect on my career in academic accounting and explore what has remained the same and what has changed over that time. I examine the people who enter academic accounting, the content of graduate studies, and the contents of the American Accounting Association's premier journal, all of which have changed. I consider how our research remains constrained by boundaries and some statistical approaches that we impose on it. I briefly discuss two significant changes facing students—the major impact of technology on their lives and the rapidly increasing cost of education. I note what I believe are some unsustainable features of our profession and end with a call to revisit our purpose—individually and as a profession.