6.19.2008 - 11:29am ET

(CSRwire) WILTON, CONN., - June 19, 2008 - The Deloitte Foundation, the nonprofit arm of leading professional services firm Deloitte, has renewed its commitment to addressing the accounting Ph.D. faculty shortage by pledging $500,000 to the American Accounting Association(AAA)/Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium and to supporting educational programs for accounting professors by pledging $500,000 to the Robert M. Trueblood Seminars for Professors. The $1 million gift to the AAA will fund approximately four years of doctoral consortia as well as the 2009 and 2010 Trueblood Seminars. The 38th Annual AAA Doctoral Consortium, a week-long program on accounting research and education for more than 80 of the nation's top accounting Ph.D. students, kicks off on June 18, 2008, in Tahoe City, California.

With too few students choosing to pursue an accounting doctoral degree, there is a shortage of future Ph.D.s in the pipeline as well as in the current marketplace to replace the rising number of retirees. Several studies have shown that the shortage will become more severe in the coming years and could potentially threaten the sustainability of accounting degree programs. The shortage is particularly acute in the areas of audit and tax.

"It is widely recognized by members of the accounting profession that a shortage of qualified Ph.D. faculty will erode the quality of accounting education necessary to fill the pipeline with well-trained talent," said Shaun Budnik, president of the Deloitte Foundation. "It could force universities to cap accounting enrollments and limit program offerings at the institutions creating the profession's future leaders. By funding key Ph.D. education initiatives, such as our Doctoral Fellowship and Doctoral Consortium programs, we are helping to alleviate some of the issues contributing to the increased scarcity of accounting faculty."

Since 1971, the AAA/Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium has brought together leading accounting doctoral students and distinguished faculty from U.S. and select international universities to share their experiences and ideas on important issues in accounting research and education. The AAA selects a distinguished committee of accounting faculty to develop the program content and to provide a forum for stimulating the participants to pursue research in significant subject matter areas. During this year's conference, chaired by Professor Timothy Fogarty of Case Western Reserve University, attendees will hear from a diverse group of faculty who will present their perspectives on academic research and dissertation topic selection, among other areas of interest to doctoral students who are about to complete their Ph.D. programs and pursue academic careers.

The Robert M. Trueblood Seminars have been held annually since 1966. More than 2,000 professors have attended the Seminars since the program's inception. The Seminars are sponsored by the AAA, with program and financial assistance provided by the Deloitte Foundation. The Seminars enable approximately 70 financial accounting and auditing faculty each year to explore real-world accounting issues from the viewpoint of the auditor and the preparer of financial statements. Each seminar centers on Deloitte & Touche LLP case studies that are based on complex accounting issues. The seminar agenda features multiple case discussions, an open forum discussion of topical issues and developments in practice, as well as an update on the standard-setting activities of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Fifty of the cases used during recent seminars are also available online for faculty use in the accounting classroom.


About the Deloitte Foundation
The Deloitte Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that supports teaching, research and curriculum innovation in accounting, business and related fields within the United States.The Foundation, founded in 1928, supports an array of national programs, which are relevant to a variety of professional services and which benefit middle/high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. For more information, please visit the Deloitte Foundation web page at www.deloitte.com/us/df.

About Deloitte
As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

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