Release Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2004

UGA PROFESSOR AND FORMER FASB CHAIRMAN DENNIS BERESFORD NAMED TO ACCOUNTING HALL OF FAME

ATHENS, Ga. — Dennis R. Beresford, chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) from 1987 to 1997 and former national director of accounting standards for Ernst and Young, was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the American Accounting Association's annual meeting held August 8-11 in Orlando, Fla.

Beresford spent 26 years at Ernst and Young before being tapped in 1987 to serve the first of two five-year terms as chairman of the FASB, the body responsible for setting the accounting standards U.S. corporations must follow. He was the longest serving chairman in FASB history.

In July 1997, Beresford joined the faculty of the J.M. Tull School of Accounting at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, where he holds the Ernst and Young Executive Professorship. He is a member of Financial Executives International and the Institute of Management Accountants. He is also a member of the corporate boards of directors for Kimberly-Clark, Legg Mason and MCI.

Silvia Madeo, director of the Tull School of Accounting, said, "Denny's significant contributions to the accounting profession over the past 25 years certainly made him a very deserving recipient of this honor. I am delighted for both Denny and the Tull School to have him chosen for the Accounting Hall of Fame."

The Accounting Hall of Fame was established by Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business in 1950 and now includes 76 of the most influential and respected accountants from academe, accounting practice, government and business.

Beresford's induction ceremony included remarks from J. Don Edwards, a previous inductee to the Accounting Hall of Fame (2001) and University of Georgia professor of accounting for 26 years. Edwards was named the first J.M. Tull Professor of Accounting in 1976 and served as interim Dean of the School of Business from 1996 to 1998.

In addition to Beresford and Edwards, UGA's Tull School of Accounting also counts 1982 Hall of Fame inductee Herbert Miller among its professors so honored. Miller spent 30 years in academia before joining Arthur Andersen and Co. as a partner in 1970. After reaching mandatory retirement age, he left the firm in 1978 to become the Tull School's first director. Miller retired from UGA in 1983.

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