IMA Sponsors Beta Alpha Psi’s “Business Information Professional of the Year” Awards

IMA®, the association for accountants and financial professionals in business, announces its sponsorship of the 2011 Beta Alpha Psi “Business Information Professional of the Year” awards. The awards, which have been bestowed since 1974, recognize the accomplishments of one individual in each of three fields: education, industry and government, and professional services. This is the first time that the awards have been sponsored by an outside organization.

Nominations for the awards were made by Beta Alpha Psi chapters, which were invited to nominate outstanding alumni or honorary members whose personal and professional work has, in the words of the award guidelines, “affected a great number of lives.” The three chapters whose nominees were selected by Beta Alpha Psi’s International Advisory Forum each receive a cash prize of $2,000 for student chapter scholarships, funded by IMA’s Memorial Education Fund. In addition, each winner receives a one-year IMA membership.

Winners of the Beta Alpha Psi 2011 “Business Information Professional of the Year” awards are:

• Education: Kenneth W. Milani, Ph.D., CPA, of Notre Dame, Ind., accountancy professor at Notre Dame University’s Mendoza College of Business (nominated by Beta Alpha Psi’s University of Notre Dame chapter)
• Industry and Government: John F. Gehring, of Omaha, Neb., executive vice president and CFO of ConAgra Foods (nominated by Beta Alpha Psi’s University of Nebraska-Lincoln chapter)
• Professional Services: Samuel L. Burke, CPA, of Jersey City, N.J., partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers’ National Independence office (nominated by Beta Alpha Psi’s Elon University chapter)

“IMA is pleased to sponsor these prestigious awards, which acknowledge the accomplishments of three outstanding professionals,” said Jeff Thomson, CMA®, IMA president and CEO. “These individuals have played an important role in encouraging students in their pursuit of a career in accounting, something which IMA both supports and applauds. We are thrilled that this award also benefits the next generation of leaders in our profession.”

Commented Hadassah Baum, CMA, CPA, CAE, executive director of Beta Alpha Psi, “With this generous sponsorship from IMA, our student chapters will have additional incentive to identify outstanding professionals from the fields of education, business, government, and professional services. We believe that exposure to these inspiring individuals has a lasting impression on the students who meet them.”

The three award recipients will be recognized at the 2011 Beta Alpha Psi Annual Conference, which will be held in Denver, Colo. on August 11-13, 2011. The winners will also be acknowledged in Beta Alpha Psi’s annual report.

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