The Impact of Academic Accounting Research on Professional Practice: An Analysis by the AAA Research Impact Task Force

SYNOPSIS: The accounting academy has been long recognized as the premier developer of entry-level talent for the accounting profession and the major provider of executive education via master’s-level curricula and customized executive education courses. However, the impact that the academy’s collective ideas have had on the efficiency and effectiveness of practice has been less recognized. In this paper, we summarize key contributions of academic accounting research to practice in financial accounting, auditing, tax, regulation, managerial accounting, and information systems. Our goal is to increase awareness of the effects of academic accounting research. We believe that if this impact is more fully recognized, the practitioner community will be even more willing to invest in academe and help universities address the escalating costs of training and retaining doctoral-trained research faculty. Furthermore, we believe that this knowledge will attract talented scholars into the profession. To this end, we encourage our colleagues to refer liberally to research successes such as those cited in this paper in their classes, in their textbooks, and in their presentations to nonacademic audiences.