In an effort to recognize significant contributions made to the accounting profession, each year since 1974, Beta Alpha Psi has honored worthy individuals as Accountants of the Year. Each local chapter, the National Council, and the National Advisory Forum are invited to nominate persons from the fields of public accounting, education, and industry or government. Nominees must have affected a large number of lives, contributed both locally and nationally to the profession, added to accounting knowledge as demonstrated through publications, lectures or presentations, and must be active in the profession at the time of nomination.
For 1999, Beta Alpha Psi is proud to announce the selection of the following persons for the Accountant of the Year Awards:
INDUSTRY
R. Wayne Hutchins
R. Wayne Hutchins is the Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer of the Brady Companies — a privately held group of companies based in Greensboro, NC specializing in construction, industrial service, distribution, manufacturing and real estate development and property management. He has been with the Brady Companies for 20 years and is a CPA with degrees in Business Administration and Advanced Management. Among his many responsibilities: strategic goal setting for individual companies with focus on newly defined business units, evaluating and developing acquisition strategies for business unit purchases and developing industrial real estate projects from inception through lease and management of properties.
His prior work experience includes co-founding The Aviation Group, Inc., a company providing overnight package delivery in the small package/air cargo industry. He was Chief Financial Officer at Raleigh Durham Aviation and was an accountant at Deloitte Haskins & Sells (now Deloitte & Touche).
Wayne is on the Accounting Advisory Board of the Kenan-Flager Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is on the Board of Govenors of the Chapel Hill Country Club. He is an Instuctor for Management Development, Inc. and the North Carolina Association of CPAs, as well as participating in the Parents Council with UNC-Chapel Hill's Office of Dean of Students. Wayne completed his undergraduate and graduate education at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has stayed very active as a member of the Accounting Advisory Board and as a guest lecturer.
His philanthropic and community involvement is wide ranging. He co-founded and remains active in Project Graduation of Chapel Hill — Carrboro Inc., and is co-chairman of Fund Raising for Project Graduation; a drug- and alcohol-free celebration for graduating high school seniors. He assisted in the founding of the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill. He has also started an organization to bring awareness to the lack of proper care and attention of the elderly in nursing homes by creation of a lobbying effort to make needed changes. Wayne is married and has two daughters.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
Larry Katzen
Larry is the managing partner for the Arthur Andersen St. Louis office and managing partner for the Great Plains region, which also includes Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Omaha. Arthur Andersen is a global multi-disciplinary integrated professional services firm. Larry has spent over 30 years with the Firm in a variety of capacities, including managing partner of the Arthur Andersen Worldwide Retail Industry Practice. He has participated on a number of task forces for the Firm helping to shape its strategic vision. Larry has worked for several of the firm's offices, including Chicago, Melbourne, Dallas and St. Louis. He has served some of the Firm's largest clients around the world.
Larry has been active in each of the communities in which he has resided. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors for Drake University and is on the Board of Directors for the Greater St. Louis Boy Scouts, the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association, where he serves as treasurer, the Jewish Center for the Aged, the St. Louis Art Fair, and Jr. Achievement. Larry is married and the father of quadruplets (three boys and one girl). He and his wife are alumni of Drake University.
EDUCATION
Dr. W. Steve Albrecht
W. Steve Albrecht is the Arthur Andersen & Co. Alumni Professor of Accountancy and the Associate Dean of the Marriott School at Brigham Young University. Dr. Albrecht, a certified public accountant, certified internal auditor, and certified fraud examiner, went to BYU in 1977 after teaching at Stanford and at the University of Illinois. Earlier in his career, he worked as a staff accountant for Deloitte & Touche. Dr. Albrecht received a bachelor's degree in accounting from Brigham Young University and his MBA and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is a past President of the American Accounting Association. He was a former member of the Board of Regents of the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Board of Directors of the Utah Association of CPAs. He was also president of the Accounting Program Leadership Group and served on the fraud task force of the American Institute of CPAs that wrote the statement on Auditing Standard Number 82.
Dr. Albrecht has done extensive research on white-collar crime and business fraud. His research has resulted in the publication of over eighty articles in professional journals. He is the author or coauthor of 16 books or monographs, three of which are on white-collar crime and fraud. He is Past President and a former Regent of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He is a frequent speaker on the topics of forensic accounting and accounting education. Dr. Albrecht has also received numerous awards and honors, including the BYU School of Management's Outstanding Faculty Award, the BYU Outstanding Researcher Award, and was recognized, as part of Utah's Centennial Celebration, as one of 131 Utahans who have made outstanding contributions or brought unusual recognition to the state. He has also received awards for outstanding teaching at Stanford University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Wisconsin. In 1997, he was chosen as one of the 100 most influential accounting professionals in the United States by Accounting Today magazine. In August 1998, he received the Cressey Award from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the highest award given for a lifetime of achievement in fraud detection and deterrence. Dr. Albrecht has consulted with numerous organizations and has been an expert witness in some of the largest fraud cases in America. Dr. Albrecht is married and has six children.
