By Stephen A. Jones
This summer, long-time SAF professor Efrim Boritz had a unexpected but pleasant surprise in Chicago. He had arrived a few minutes late for a session of the American Accounting Association’s annual meeting—and suddenly found himself on the program. He was about to be honoured as the 2015 Outstanding Educator by the AAA’s Strategic and Emerging Technologies (SET) Section.
“It was a huge surprise,” Boritz reports. “I had no idea that I was even nominated. As a matter of fact, I found it odd that some of my colleagues were looking at me with strange expressions on their faces. One even quipped that I had missed getting an award. I thought he was kidding, but the chair then announced I’d been given this wonderful recognition. I was a bit embarrassed for being late.”
The SET award recognizes the recipient’s educational impact, originality and innovation, and contribution to the information systems communities.
Personal observations
When asked what he personally regards as his main contributions in these areas, Boritz offers several observations. “I’ve been willing to delve into new research areas, which is sometimes risky, since academics are skeptical of the hype surrounding new developments and can require researchers to go through many hoops to get their work published,” he says.
In addition, the long-serving SAF faulty member cites his deep commitment to applied research, often less favoured in academic circles than theoretical studies. But he singles out the biennial symposium of the University of Waterloo Centre for Information Integrity and Information Systems Assurance (UWCISA), which he has organized for 18 years, as his proudest contribution.
“The papers that have resulted from it help to nurture scholarly research on emerging technologies affecting accounting practice,” explains Boritz, who serves as the centre’s director. “Our model of involving both academics and practitioners in reviewing and discussing the submitted papers has received much acclaim.”
Nominators cite achievements
Nominating Boritz for the SET award were Miklos A. Vasarhelyi, KPMG Distinguished Professor of Accounting & Information Systems at Rutgers Business School, and Boritz’s former student Won Gyun No, an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at Rutgers University.
“I feel that J. Efrim Boritz’s record speaks for itself,” said Vas, who nevertheless outlined the nominee’s major achievements. Boritz is not only a leader in accounting thought, he explained, but an educator who has invested “enormous efforts” in conducting academic studies and advancing the profession. Vas also praised the Waterloo professor for his outstanding productivity, marked by consistently “thought changing” research.
“He commands tremendous respect, and has been influential on many positions taken by Canadian regulatory authorities,” noted Vas, who directs the Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing and Reporting Lab. He further observed that Boritz has guided PhD students now serving on university faculties around the world.
“They have made major contributions to the academic literature, to their students, and to the scholarly community,” Vas told the SET committee. As well, Boritz has memorably “guided, nurtured and instructed” many other students at various academic levels.
Motivator and mentor
Boritz’s other nominator, Won Gyun No, picked up on the same themes—and added a significant personal one. “Without Professor Boritz’s guidance and encouragement, I wouldn’t be in my current position,” asserted No, who described struggling through a difficult period in his doctoral studies at Waterloo.
“Instead of criticizing my performance, he gave me advice as to how to develop and improve my abilities,” No explained. “With his encouragement, I was able to continue the program.” This was not an isolated case, added the Rutgers professor, who knows other students who extol Boritz’s exceptional mentoring and motivating ability.
“I’m confident that the skills I learned from Professor Boritz will make me a better teacher and researcher,” said No, “and I hope I can live up to the high standards that his previous students have set.”
Active in research, serves profession
Boritz joined the faculty of what was then the University of Waterloo School of Accountancy in 1983. As well as serving as the UWCISA director, he heads the SAF Assurance Area and holds the Ontario Chartered Professional Accountants Chair in Accounting. He was educated at York University (BA, MBA) and the University of Minnesota (PhD). He holds FCPA and FCA designations, and is a Certified Information Systems Auditor.
In his research the SET award recipient focuses on areas of professional auditing practice that rely on exercising professional judgment. He has jointly held many Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants, which recently have supported his investigations into integrated reporting, XBRL, internal control weaknesses, and voluntary reviews of quarterly financial statements and earnings quality.
Among the latest examples of Boritz’s manifold services to the profession are his membership on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)’s task force on trust services/information integrity, and on CICA study groups on data level assurance and information integrity. He serves on the editorial boards of Accounting Horizons, Current Issues in Auditing, and International Journal of Accounting Information Systems.
Especially meaningful award
The 2015 SET award joins other recognitions Boritz has acquired in recent years, including a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the CICA’s Bill Swirsky Innovation Award, and the Canadian Academic Accounting Association’s Distinguished Service and Outstanding Educator Awards.
“I value and appreciate all the honours that have been bestowed upon me,” says Boritz, “but being recognized outside my own borders of Canada is particularly gratifying.” Receiving this latest award is “especially meaningful,” he notes. “The SET membership includes many pathfinders and innovators whom I have admired for decades. To receive an award from them is very humbling—but also exhilarating!”