Hannan honored as inaugural EY Professor

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In 2006, Lynn Hannan earned the academic accounting discipline’s highest honor, the Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award, in recognition of her trailblazing research in managerial accounting. Now, thanks to the support of one of the world’s largest accounting firms, Hannan hopes to build on that record of scholarly excellence as the inaugural holder of a new professorship.

Lynn Hannan was invested as the Freeman School's first Ernst & Young Professor in Accounting.
Lynn Hannan was invested as the Freeman School's first Ernst & Young Professor in Accounting.

On Thursday (Nov. 6), Hannan was formally invested as the first Ernst & Young Professor in Accounting at Tulane University. The professorship, which was bestowed upon Hannan in a ceremony at the business school, was made possible through a generous gift from the EY Foundation and the partners and professionals of EY, the world’s third-largest professional services firm and a major supporter of Tulane and the A. B. Freeman School of Business.

“I can’t begin to express how honored I am,” said Hannan, professor of accounting and director of the Master of Accounting program. “To me this honor represents both a recognition of my past contributions and an expression of confidence in my future contributions to the Freeman School, to Tulane University and to the accounting profession. Let me assure you I’ll do my best to meet these expectations.”

“EY is extremely pleased with what the Freeman School is doing in accounting,” added Charles Swanson, former managing partner of EY’s Houston office, who spoke on behalf of the firm at the investiture ceremony. “To expand and grow the accounting program requires multiple elements, not the least of which is a strong accounting faculty. This is just a modest gift that we hope can contribute in that regard, so it is indeed a pleasure and honor to be here today to establish the EY Professorship.”

Funding for the professorship is part of a larger commitment to accounting education on the part of EY. Last year, firm partners and professionals together with the EY Foundation pledged $300,000 to the Freeman School to establish a fund to underwrite a number of initiatives. In addition to the professorship, the Ernst & Young Accounting Excellence Fund has also provided support for a redesign of the accounting curriculum as well as school-wide strategic planning efforts.

Hannan receives a plague recognizing her investiture from Tulane Provost Michael Bernstein, left, and Freeman School Dean Ira Solomon.
Tulane Provost Michael Bernstein, left, and Freeman School Dean Ira Solomon, right, joined friends and colleagues in honoring Hannan's appointment as EY Professor in Accounting.

Hannan brings to the EY Professorship over a decade of outstanding teaching, research and service. Her current research draws on theories from economics, psychology and sociology to investigate how information, incentives and environmental factors affect people’s decisions. Her ultimate goal, Hannan said, is to help managers design better accounting control systems.

“I am more passionate than ever about my research,” she added. “Creating and disseminating knowledge, that’s what brings me joy.”

“Lynn is one of the discipline’s leading scholars and educators, so it gives us great pleasure to be able to recognize her achievements of the past and support her accomplishments of the future,” said Freeman School Dean Ira Solomon. “With the generous support of partners like EY, we’re building an accounting program of which we all can be very proud.”