Author Description

About the Author Belverd E. Needles, Jr., received his BBA and MBA degrees from Texas Tech University and his PhD degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He teaches financial accounting, managerial accounting, and auditing at DePaul University, where he is an internationally recognized expert in international accounting and education. He has published in leading journals and is the author or editor of more than 20 books and monographs. His current research relates to international financial reporting, performance measurement, and corporate governance of high-performance companies in the United States, Europe, India, and Australia. His textbooks are used throughout the world and have received many awards, including (in 2008) the McGuffey Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association. Active in many academic and professional organizations, he is immediate past vice president-education of the American Accounting Association. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Texas Tech University, the Illinois CPA Society Outstanding Educator Award and its Life-Time Achievement Award, the Joseph A. Silvoso Faculty Award of Merit from the Federation of Schools of Accountancy, the Ledger & Quill Award of Merit, and the Ledger & Quill Teaching Excellence Award. He was named Educator of the Year by the American Institute of CPAs, Accountant of the Year for Education by the national honorary society Beta Alpha Psi, and Outstanding International Accounting Educator by the American Accounting Association. He received the Excellence in Teaching Award from DePaul University. Marian Powers received her B.S. degree from Chicago State University and her Ph.D. degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, she has taught financial accounting at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Internationally re