The American Accounting Association announced its annual orgy of awards (sorry but I liked the alliteration) last week. At the Association level, as usual, almost all the research awards were for capital markets archival research. They were well deserved without a doubt, indeed I have cited some of them extensively, but it makes us look like finance junior with all the focus on market reaction.

But as I read the list for a second time I noted the Wildman Medal had been awarded to Emily E. Griffith, University of Wisconsin-Madison, J. S. Hammersley, The University of Georgia and K. Kadous, Emory University for

“Audits of Complex Estimates as Verification of Management Numbers: How Institutional Pressures Shape Practice.” Contemporary Accounting Research, Fall 2015, Volume 32, No. 3, pp. 833-863.

I find it interesting that over the years the Wildman Medal has been awarded to field research and field researchers as one looks back over the history of the award! Funny what practice thinks is influential research compared to what gets the more conventional notable, Distinguished and seminal awards!