IMA Awards Professor Kent Swift Top Honor For Outstanding Article of the Year

Dean Larry Gianchetta and the School of Business Administration congratulate Associate Professor of Accounting, Kent Swift for the prestigious honor he has received from Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the worldwide association for accountants and financial professionals working in business.

Professor Swift has been awarded the Lybrand Gold Medal for his manuscript titled, "Photovoltaic Solar Energy Systems: The Hard Facts," which was published in the Summer 2011 issue of Management Accounting Quarterly. Professor Swift’s manuscript was selected as the IMA’s outstanding article of the year among a total of 27 IMA-member submissions to IMA publications, Strategic Finance and Management Accounting Quarterly from May 2011 to April 2012.

Kathy Williams, Editor-in-Chief of the IMA publications, contacted Professor Swift in May to notify him about the top award. His accomplishment was recognized by IMA leadership and fellow members at IMA’s 93 Annual Conference and Exposition held in Las Vegas, Nevada in late June.

For more information about the IMA go to: www.imanet.org.

As the world experiences greater energy consumption each year and capital budgets are hit by the related expenditures, interest in alternative sources of energy continues to grow. Photovoltaic solar energy systems are often considered due to the incentives for purchasing and installing them and their ability to generate power at competitive rates.

The article focuses on the careful analysis that is needed when making the decision to purchase and install a photovoltaic solar energy system. It describes the set of information needed as inputs in making the decision, and addresses the resources for finding the data needed to assist accounting and financial management professionals in conducting an effective evaluation of benefits. Real-world examples of how inputs should be examined using a capital budgeting analysis are included.