Practice to Research - 'What Have You Done for Me Lately?'

Research has played a central role in the changing composition of the American Accounting Association (AAA). As research has become more analytical and empirical, practitioner membership has plummeted. For years, accountants as well as academics have complained that academic research in accounting has added little to the practice of accounting. The AAA, while it still includes some practitioners, needs to address the following objectives: 1. improving research capabilities, which includes the ability to ascertain what is a meaningful problem, 2. improving the ability to understand and communicate research results, 3. improving the research incentive structure, 4. as practitioners, making ideas, procedures, new developments, and data available for researchers, and 5. as academics, teaching research and innovative practices to students, not just what is currently done or required.