| 2005
Max Block Award Winners Recognized
JULY 2006 - The winners of the 2005 Max Block Distinguished
Article Awards were announced and presented at the NYSSCPA’s
109th Annual Election Meeting and Dinner on May 18. The presentations
were made by NYSSCPA 2005/2006 President Stephen Langowski.
The award recognizes excellence in three categories that reflect
The CPA Journal’s mission. The winners are
as follows.
Best Article in the Area of Technical Analysis:
“Basic Principles in the New Accounting
for Stock Options: A Roadmap for Navigating SFAS 123(R),”
by Robert A. Dyson, September 2005.
Robert A. Dyson, CPA, is with American Express Tax &
Business Services Inc. and a member of the CPA Journal
Editorial Board. He is also immediate past chair and
a current member of the NYSSCPA’s Financial Accounting
Standards Committee and a current member of the FASB Small
Business Advisory Committee.
SFAS 123(R), Share-Based Payment, requires public
companies to recognize compensation cost associated with
modified stock option awards rather than account for them
as variable options under FASB Interpretation (FIN) 44,
Accounting for Certain Transactions Involving Stock Compensation.
Best Article in the Area of Informed Comment:
“The Evolution of U.S. GAAP: The Political Forces
Behind Professional Standards,” Parts 1 & 2, by
Stephen Zeff, January/February 2005.
Stephen A. Zeff, PhD, is the Herbert S. Autrey Professor
of Accounting at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management,
Rice University, in Houston, Texas.
This historical commentary discusses the rising importance
of financial accounting standards in different sectors of
the U.S. economy, which has led to increased special-interest
lobbying for accounting standards designed with predetermined
outcomes. It also traces FASB’s efforts to implement
an asset-and-liability approach to recognition and a fair-value
approach to measurement.
Best Article in the Area of Policy Analysis:
“Accounting at a Crossroad: Preserving an Independent
Profession,” by Eugene H. Flegm, December 2005.
Eugene H. Flegm, CPA, CFE, was the general auditor for
General Motors Corp. before his retirement. He now resides
in Bonita Springs, Florida.
At the start of this century, top-level management frauds
at a number of major corporations resulted in substantial
losses for employees and investors. Behind these scandals
is a culture of greed, the root cause of which, according
to Flegm, is the general decline of ethical behavior in
our society. Flegm also blames accounting standards setters
and Congress for neglecting to stem the opportunities that
a would-be fraudster might seek to take advantage of.
The editors thank the following Max Block Award voters
who, in addition to members of the CPA Journal Editorial
Board, provided invaluable input by judging the nominated
articles: Neil Gibgot, Mark Hettler, Janice Johnson, Mary
Ellen Oliverio, Marilyn Pendergast, Walter Primoff, Allan
Rabinowitz, Barry Seidel, L. Murphy Smith, and Jeffrey Weiner.
About Max Block
Max Block (1902–1988), a founding partner of Anchin,
Block & Anchin LLP, is described by many who knew him
as a visionary whose ideas have formed the basis for many
reporting and practice-management concepts in use today.
Block was managing editor of the NYSSCPA’s Journal
(now The CPA Journal) from 1958 to 1972. Each year
since 1975, The CPA Journal has recognized his
contributions and achievements by bestowing the Max Block
Distinguished Article Award on the most outstanding articles.
Although the judging and selection procedures continue to
evolve, the criteria remain: “An innovative and stimulating
article which is of current significance and which is likely
to be of lasting value.”
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