Will O’Hara, accounting lecturer and friend of the Department of Accounting, was awarded The Eyes of Texas Excellence Award for the Spring 2013 semester.

O’Hara earned his BBA in Accounting from the McCombs School of Business (then College of Business administration) in 1968 before starting on a successful 33 year career in retail, world trade and financial services, retiring at the senior executive level. Since 2003, Will has been a part-time lecturer in accounting for the McCombs School of Business.

In 2008, Will and his wife Beverly pledged $16 million to the McCombs School in support of a wide range of strategic goals including scholarships and faculty endowments. Both are dedicated to supporting higher education and helping transform the lives of students. As members of the Chancellor’s Council of the University of Texas System as well as the President’s Associates and Littlefield Society at The University of Texas at Austin, they work tirelessly to achieve these goals.

A favorite of students and staff alike, “Will O’Hara’s receipt of the coveted Eyes of Texas Excellence Award is simple testimony to what everyone already knows—Will is an excellent teacher, an incredible person, and a man who works tirelessly to improve the institutions he is a part of. He and his wife Beverly are generous supporters of UT and many, many causes beyond the Forty Acres. The Eyes know that Will is one of the good guys.” says Robert Prentice, Director of the Business Honors Program (BHP) at the McCombs School.

The “Eyes of Texas Excellence Award” is given to 10 deserving UT Administrators, faculty or staff members each semester as a way to recognize outstanding contributions to student life at The University of Texas. The Eyes of Texas is an anonymous campus organization dedicated to unselfish devotion to the University. Student members remain anonymous so that their achievements and leadership are reflected in the excellence of UT, rather than in individual recognition.

Congratulations Will!

Accounting Professor Michael Clement found some interesting trends about Wall Street analysts and their ability to be independent and provide a skeptical perspective on companies. The research in question, Inside the ‘Black Box’ of Sell-Side Financial Analysts, surveyed 365 sell-side analysts (and conducted 18 follow-up interviews) to detail how they they work and how they view their roles. The research offers insights into the inputs analysts use to make decisions and the incentives that influence their decisions. It also looks into the possible conflicts analysts face when relying on communication with company managers in decision-making versus the need to be objective and independent.

The research done by accounting professors Laurence Brown of Temple University, Andrew Call of the University of Georgia, Michael Clement of the University of Texas at Austin and Nathan Sharp of Texas A&M University hasn't been published yet, but the results are receiving quite a bit of attention in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine and the CFA Institute.

Accounting Professor Urton Anderson and doctoral graduate Margaret H. Christ were among the co-authors of “A Post-SOX Examination of Factors Associated with the Size of Internal Audit Functions,” which was selected for the 2013 AAA Accounting Horizons Best Paper Award. “The award represents a well-deserved acknowledgement from the entire accounting academy that Urton’s expertise in internal auditing bridges both academic research and relevant practice—both in this paper and across his entire career,” Department Chair Lillian Mills said.

It has just been announced that Professor Yong Yu has earned the George H. Newlove Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Accounting, effective September 1st, 2013.

The First George H. Newlove Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Accounting was established by the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System on April 13, 1984, for the benefit of the McCombs School of Business. The endowment honors Dr. George H. Newlove of Austin, Texas.

 Congratulations Professor Yu!

The Department of Accounting at the University of Texas at Austin is delighted to announce Professor James Deitrick has won the 2013 McCombs Excellence in Education Award. Since joining the Texas faculty in 1977, Dr. Deitrick has developed an outstanding record of excellent teaching, administrative and professional service, student mentoring, and research, particularly as it relates to accounting education. With significantly high evaluations from both undergraduate and graduate students, throughout his tenure at McCombs, Dr. Deitrick truly personifies excellence in education.