UA Accounting Professor Named One of Profession’s Most Influential People

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Mary S. Stone, Ernst &Young Professor in The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, is included in Accounting Today’s annual list of “The Top 100 Most Influential People” in the accounting profession.

The accompanying article said those on the list were chosen by the editors with one critical criterion: “They are changing the way in which the profession does business.” The magazine also said those chosen are the “profession’s elite.”

Others on the list include, Kathy G. Eddy, chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Jeffrey A. Adelstone, president of the National Society of Accountants; Steve Bennett, chief executive of Intuit; Stephen G. Butler, chairman of KPMG International; Philip A. Laskawy, chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young; Arthur Levitt, chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission; Charles O. Rossotti, commissioner, Internal Revenue Service; Frank Minter, president of the Institute of Management Accountants; and James J. Schiro, CEO, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“At a time when education has become a paramount concern in accounting, Stone has emerged as a leading authority on the topic,” the magazine said. She is one of two educators on the list.

Stone recently became president of the 8,240-member American Accounting Association, which the magazine called “the industry’s pre-eminent education and research association.”

The AAA is a worldwide association of accounting academics. Its mission is to foster excellence in the creation, dissemination and application of accounting knowledge and skills.

“To say we are very proud of Dr. Stone and what she has accomplished would be an understatement,” said Dr. J. Barry Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce. “The accounting profession is undergoing tremendous change, and it is good to know that people the caliber of Mary Stone are in a position to safeguard its integrity and public image. She understands the crucial role today’s students will play in today’s information economy.”

Stone is the first UA faculty member to hold the top AAA position since the late Dr. Paul Garner, former dean of the College of Commerce and Business Administration and chair of accountancy, was elected to the post in the 1950s.

Stone’s specialty areas are financial accounting, pensions, auditing, and accounting for employee benefits. She attended Central Florida University, where she earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, and the University of Illinois, from where she holds a doctorate.

Her articles have been published in leading accounting journals, including Journal of Accounting and Economics, Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Accounting Horizons, Research in Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting, and Government Finance Review, and others. She is a member of the editorial boards of Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and Advances in Accounting.