Two University alumni named to Australian Accounting Hall of Fame

The award ceremony, at University House on 8 October, was attended by accountants from academia, industry and professional practice and awardees' families and friends.

Director of the Australian Accounting Hall of Fame Phillip Cobbin said each of the five inaugural inductees were giants of the profession.

"We thought it was high time we honoured the individuals who made significant achievements and whose impact on the development of the discipline was profound," he said.

Of the five inaugural inductees, two were members of the University community: the late Sir Alexander Fitzgerald, the University's first professor of accounting, and University Councillor Ms Elizabeth Alexander.

Sir Alexander Fitzgerald was appointed the G.L. Wood Chair in Accounting in the Department of Accounting in 1955, the first appointment of its type in an Australian university. The Fitzgerald Chair in Accounting in the Department of Accounting and Business Information Systems bears his name.

Ms Elizabeth Alexander is a member of University Council and Chairperson of the Finance Committee. She was recognised as a pioneer practitioner committed to empowering women in business. Ms Alexander has also been an accounting standard-setter and regulator at various times in her career. 

Both University inductees have also held senior offices within the accounting profession. Sir Alec was National President of the then Commonwealth Institute of Accountants (Now CPA Australia) from 1940-41 and Ms Alexander was the first female National President of CPA Australia in 1988.

Other 2010 inductees included Professor Ray Chambers from the University of Sydney, the late Professor Reg Gynther from the University of Queensland and Emeritus Professor Philip Brown from the University of Western Australia.