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Who Are the Most Influential People in Accounting? (2011)

Accounting Today released its Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting (free registration required) late yesterday and it seems to be a tad more interesting than in years past. Sure, there are plenty of predictable names and faces in the list but any list that has Dave Albrecht, Paul Caron, and Grover Norquist is okay by me.

That said, it’s still in alphabetical order which may not appropriately present who the influenciest influencers are. I mean does sticking a man with a last name that starts with “N” and ends in “quist” somewhere in the middle of the pack (only a few spots in front of the POTUS) truly show how influential he is? It’s just a question.

ANYWAY, here are some notables that you’ll probably recognize:


Dave Albrecht – Associate Professor at Concordia College, The Summa
C.E. Andrews – President, RSM McGladrey
Paul Caron – TaxProf Blog
Stephen Chipman – CEO, Grant Thornton
James Doty – Chairman, PCAOB
Joe Echevarria – CEO, Deloitte
Michelle Golden – President, Golden Practices
Tom Hood – CEO, Executive Director Maryland Association of CPAs
Hans Hoogervorst – Chairman, IASB
Robert Moritz – Chairman and Senior Partner, PwC
Caleb Newquist – Founding Editor, Going Concern
Grover Norquist – President and Founder, Americans for Tax Reform
Barack Obama – President of the United States
Barry Salzberg – CEO, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Mary Schapiro – Chair, SEC
Doug Shulman – IRS Commissioner
Jim Turley – Global Chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young
John Veihmeyer – Chairman and CEO, KPMG
Jack Weisbaum – CEO, BDO

I cherry-picked this list obviously because it’s a bit of a pain to re-type all of them, so don’t hold that against me. Still how two Swedes and two Barrys got mashed together is kind of odd. And on a more personal note, I’d really feel awful if I was the one who took Dennis Nally’s spot. Go check out the full list and discuss at your leisure.

Top 100 Influential People in Accounting [AT]

Chipman, Andrews, Goelzer All New to Accounting Today’s 100 Most Influential List

Continuing on with “list season” Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting launched late last week and while there are plenty of new names, it’s still a bit of a snoozer since this particular list isn’t a ranking like say, the Vanity Fair 100. See, the VF100 establishes a pecking order that can be antagonized over for days and weeks and just about when everyone is done giving a shit (or long after), the new edition comes out and people can rage on how last year’s list was so much better.

No, the AT100 is more like People’s 50 Most Beautiful issue. Not in the sense that you want to see these 100 accountants, politicians, professors, etc. etc. in the buff (or do you?) but that the influence (or the beauty) is subject to your own, er, tastes. Anyhoo, enough with the fluffing, let’s get on with it.


Some notables:

Rick Anderson, Chairman and CEO, Moss Adams (new to list in 2010)
C.E. Andrews, President, RSM McGladrey (new to list in 2010)
Bob Bunting, President, IFAC
Paul Caron, Dean of Faculty and Charles Hartsock Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law
Stephen Chipman, CEO, Grant Thornton (new to list in 2010) – All the blogging paid off!
Dan Goelzer, Acting Chair, PCAOB (new to list in 2010)
Michelle Golden, Founder, Golden Practices Blog
Tom Hood, CEO and Executive Director, Maryland Association of CPAs
Jack Weisbaum, CEO, BDO (new to list in 2010)

Dropped from last year’s list:
Ben Bernanke
Charlie Rangel
Bernie Madoff

The list has its usual suspects including all the big dogs from all of the Big 4, Tim Geithner (get over it AG), Doug Shulman, Barney Frank, etc. etc. but there were some interesting honorable mentions (so to speak) on page 11 right next to Dennis Nally’s picture. Just so you know.

Accounting Today 100 Most Influential People In Accounting [Digital Version (registration required)]