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The contributions of UWA Business School academics have again been recognised on the national and international stages.

Emeritus Professor Philip Brown , who co-authored a paper that revolutionised global understanding of the impact of corporate disclosure on share prices was named in this year's Australia Day honours.

He was made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "service to education in the disciplines of accounting and finance, and to professional associations."

Professor Brown was also recently appointed joint Presidential Scholar for 2012 by the American Accounting Association.

In his early years at UWA, Professor Brown helped to develop an MBA program which, in 1973, became one of the first MBAs to be offered in Australia.

Two years later, he was appointed founding Director of the Australian Graduate School of Management, where he laid the foundations for an internationally competitive MBA school.

Professor Brown returned as a professor to UWA in 1980 and continued to contribute to the University's accounting and finance discipline in various leadership roles. Today, he holds joint appointments with UWA and The University of New South Wales.

UWA Vice-Chancellor Paul Johnson said the achievement recognised the lasting impact of Professor Brown's work.

"His research, particularly in the areas of corporate governance and capital markets, share market microstructure, and financial accounting standards, has set a high standard nationally and internationally, and revolutionised the way we understand finance," Professor Johnson said.

"Professor Brown has inspired generations of finance scholars and professionals."

The Dean of UWA Business School, Winthrop Professor Phil Dolan, said Professor Brown was an outstanding role model for all young business scholars.

"We are very proud of the high calibre of his work," Professor Dolan said. "He is an outstanding role model for all young scholars."

Professor Brown's ground-breaking contribution to accounting and finance was a paper titled ‘An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers.'

Co-authored with Professor Ray Ball and published in the Journal of Accounting Research in 1968, the paper traced the relationship between corporate disclosure and stock price changes.

In October 2010, he also became one of five inaugural inductees into Australia's Accounting Hall of Fame.

Professor Brown was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 1979, and was appointed as a Life Member, Accounting Association of Australia and New Zealand in 2000.UWA

Media references

Catherine Vogel (UWA Business School)  +618 6488 7340
Verity Chia (UWA Business School)  +618 6488 1346
Philip Brown