Finally, time to relax! After literally years of planning, the 42nd EAA annual Congress that took place in Paphos, Cyprus is over. The local hosts organized the meeting having two main goals in mind.
Our first goal was to ensure that the Congress offered participants a rich academic and intellectual experience. Toward that end, during this year’s Congress we held two IFRS Foundation events, one of which was on primary financial statements, nine symposia with diverse topics ranging from the treatment of Intangibles, the effect of technology on research and on the quality of financial reporting to political and more philosophical questions on the need for financial and non-financial information and its potential users. In addition, papers presented in both parallel and forum sessions reflected a number of interesting topics with the Social, Environment and Ethical category followed by Financial Reporting being the most represented. The theme of this year’s Congress which was both addressed by the Congress’s Keynote speaker, Prof. L. Shivakumar and by panelists of the Editors’ panel, was about new developments and opportunities in accounting research, a subject that is especially topical, given the recent advancements in technology and the unprecedented information production of our digital era.
Our second goal was to ensure that this year’s conference gave participants the opportunity to get a glimpse of Cyprus’ rich history and learn more about its culture. Thus our social events were carefully organized around this goal. The early bird reception was held at the city’s picturesque harbor with the backdrop of its magnificent medieval castle. The welcome reception took place in one of Cyprus’ most impressive archaeological sites, the Curium amphitheater, where participants had the chance to enjoy the entertainment program, that consisted of classical singing and an electric string quartet, while gazing at the blue waters of the Mediterranean sea. The gala dinner which was held at a beach restaurant had a rich flare of Cyprus culture: from traditional food and plenty of local wine to folklore dancing. The most adventurous (but not necessarily younger) participants relocated to the nearby beach bar and danced the night away to the tunes of 70’s and 80’s music. The professional DJ had to call it quits a little bit before 4 am. The accounting crowd had clearly outlasted him! Who said accountants are boring?
If someone had to describe the whole conference in one word though, this would have to be “food”. From soublaki, to tzatziki, greek salad to baked pasta, grilled halloumi cheese to roasted lamb, the food was plenty and delicious! At the end of the day this is what we Cypriots are known for: warm hospitality that materializes mostly around meals! In closing I would like to thank all of our participants who came from all over the world and who gave us the opportunity to be their hosts. We hope you enjoyed your time in Paphos, and we look forward to seeing you next year in Bucharest.
With about 1089 delegates and vibrant social events, the EAA 2019 congress marked a memorable and eventful experience. There were 685 presentations: 119 in parallel sessions with discussant (PSD), 225 in parallel sessions, and 341 in research fora. Notably, the number of PSD has increased again this year to 120, or 17% of the total number of papers presented at the congress (compared to 10% last year in Milan, and 5% two years ago in Valencia). There were also nine high-profile symposia addressing important trends in accounting. See here for more pictures!
