Three-peat: Eva Labro recognized by AICPA, CIMA

For the third time, top professional organizations have honored Eva Labro for the significant impact of her research on managerial accounting.

Labro, professor of accounting at UNC Kenan-Flagler, received the Greatest Potential Impact on Management Accounting Practice Award from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

“Eva is an internationally recognized scholar in this area as evidenced by winning – for the third time – this recognition for research that has the greatest potential impact on practice,” said Jennifer Conrad, senior associate dean for academic affairs and Dalton McMichael Distinguished Professor of Finance. “No one else has won the award three times.”

Labro received the award for a paper that explores costing rules of thumb that are widely used but not well understood. She wrote “Evaluating Heuristics Used When Designing Product Costing Systems” with Ramji Balakrishnan of the University of Iowa and Stephen Hansen of Naval Postgraduate School. Management Science published it in 2011, and an article about the award-winning work appeared in R.O.I., the research magazine of UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Labro’s research and teaching interests in management accounting interface with economics, operations research, tax, and purchasing and supply management.

“Managerial accounting might not sound glamorous, but understanding product costs is critical to making good decisions inside any organization, from hospitals – one of Eva’s current interests – to business schools,” said Conrad. “This is an exceptionally complex topic, with important consequences.”

Created in 2009, the award recognizes academic research considered to most likely have a significant impact on shaping the next generation of business through the management accounting discipline. Labro also won it in 2011 and 2013.

“Since practical relevance is an important motivator for my research agenda, I am especially honored to receive this recognition for my contributions to management accounting practice,” said Labro. “I am grateful for the support of AICPA and CIMA and for the attention this award brings to improving cost measurement skills that are crucial to enhance decision making in lots of firms.”

The authors received the $1,000 award, sponsored by the CGMA joint venture between the AICPA and CIMA, at a meeting of the Management Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association (AAA) in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 11.

“Academic research is critical to the work of management accountants who are charged with helping businesses make smarter, faster decisions that drive long-term sustainable success,” said Jim Morrison, CPA, CGMA, chief financial officer of Teknor Apex Company and chair of the AICPA’s business and industry executive committee. “The work of these professors unlocks valuable and actionable insight that will help management accountants around the world make their organizations stronger.”