James Long (left) and Brian Vansant (right), faculty members in the School of Accountancy at Harbert College, received the AAA Management Accounting Section’s 2016 Mid-Year Meeting Outstanding Case Award at its annual conference January 6-9 in Dallas, Texas. The pair was honored along with two co-authors -- DeWayne Searcy, former Director of the School of Accountancy, and Lasse Mertins of Johns Hopkins University. 

The team wrote and presented a teaching case entitled “Tiger Energy Drinks: Fueling Earnings Management,” which revolves around earnings management at a fictitious beverage company. 

“The case exposes students to ways in which companies manage earnings and encourages them to think critically about the extent to which these techniques are legal and/or ethical,” the paper explained in its abstract. “Further, the case demonstrates how earnings management affects current and future financial performance.”