7.30.2007 - 08:30am ET

(CSRwire) WILTON, CT - July 30, 2007 - The Deloitte Foundation, a not-for-profit arm of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, and the American Accounting Association (AAA) have confirmed the winners of the 2007 Deloitte/AAA Wildman Medal. The team of three outstanding members of the academic community who will receive the honor includes Professor Vivien Beattie, University of Glasgow; and Professors Stella Fearnley and Richard Brandt, University of Portsmouth, all from the United Kingdom.

The winning submission presented by the team is a co-authored book titled, "Behind Closed Doors: What Company Audit is Really About." The Wildman Medal, which will come with a $7,500 honorarium, has recognized and supported exceptional research that advances the theory and practice of accounting since 1979.

Shaun Budnik, President of the Deloitte Foundation and partner, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, and Professor Rashad Abdel-khalik, University of Illinois—Urbana/Champaign, Chairman of this year's review committee, will present the Wildman Award at luncheon ceremonies to be held August 7 during the AAA Annual Meeting in Chicago.

"For more than 25 years, the Deloitte/AAA Wildman Medal has honored the dedicated academics that make a difference in our profession," said Shaun Budnik, president, the Deloitte Foundation. "This medal continues to signify the importance of in-depth academic research. We extend our congratulations to each of these three recipients and the important body of work they have created as a team."

The book was published in 2001 by Palgrave, the global academic imprint of St. Martin's Press LLC, Scholarly and Reference Division, and Palgrave Publisher Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). The book is based on research sponsored by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

The outstanding academic judges that served on this year's review committee were: Jan Barton, Emory University; Angela Davis, University of Winnipeg; Anthony Hopwood, Oxford University; Suzanne N. Cory, St. Mary's University, San Antonio; Mark Kohlbeck, Florida Atlantic University; and Bala G. Dharan, Rice University.

The Wildman Medal is named in honor of the late John R. Wildman, a partner of a Deloitte & Touche LLP predecessor firm, a professor of accounting at New York University, and the first president of the American Association of Accounting Instructors, which later became the AAA.

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 U.S. The Foundation, founded in 1928, supports an array of national programs, which are relevant to a variety of professional services, and which benefit undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. For more information, please visit the Deloitte Foundation web page at www.deloitte.com/us/df.

About Deloitte

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