Libby/Libby/Short wrote this text based on their belief that the subject of financial accounting is inherently interesting, but financial accounting textbooks are often not. They believe most financial accounting textbooks fail to demonstrate that accounting is an exciting field of study and one that is important to future careers in business. When writing this text, they considered career relevance as their guide when selecting material, and the need to engage the student as their guide to style, pedagogy, and design.
Libby/Libby/Short is the only financial accounting text to successfully implement a real-world, single focus company approach in every chapter. Students and instructors have responded very favorably to the use of focus companies and the real-world financial statements. The companies chosen are engaging and the decision-making focus shows the relevance of financial accounting regardless of whether or not the student has chosen to major in accounting.
Robert Libby is the David A. Thomas Professor of Accounting and Accounting Area Coordinator at Cornell University, where he teaches the introductory financial accounting course. He previously taught at the University of Illinois, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Chicago, and the University of Michigan. He received his BS from Pennsylvania State University and his MAS and PhD from the University of Illinois; he also successfully completed the CPA exam (Illinois).
Bob was selected as the AAA Outstanding Educator in 2000 and received the AAA Outstanding Service Award in 2006 and the AAA Notable Contributions to the Literature Award in 1985 and 1996. He has received the Core Faculty Teaching Award multiple times at Cornell. Bob is a widely published author and researcher specializing in behavioral accounting. He has published numerous articles in The Accounting Review; Journal of Accounting Research; Accounting, Organizations, and Society; and other accounting journals. He has held a variety of offices including vice president, in the American Accounting Association, and he is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the editorial boards of The Accounting Review and Accounting, Organizations, and Society.
Patricia Libby is chair of the department of accounting and an associate professor of accounting at Ithaca College, where she teaches the undergraduate financial accounting course. She previously taught graduate and undergraduate financial accounting at Eastern Michigan University and the University of Texas. Before entering academia, she was an auditor with Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) and a financial administrator at the University of Chicago. She received her B.S. from Pennsylvania State University, her M.B.A from DePaul University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan; she also successfully completed the CPA exam (Illinois). Pat has published articles in The Accounting Review, Issues in Accounting Education, and The Michigan CPA and is also faculty advisor to Beta Alpha Psi and the Ithaca College Accounting Association.
Dan Short is the Dean of the M.J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. Prior to that he was Dean at Richard T. Farmer School of Business at Miami University and Dean of the Business School at Kansas State University. Before entering adminstration, Dan taught at the University of Texas-Austin and the University of Chicago. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has won numerous teaching awards during his career teaching both undergraduate and MBA financial accounting courses.
