News Detail
Dr. Tom Tyson is Featured Speaker at February First Friday Lecture Series
02/01/2012
On Thursday, February 2, and Friday, February 3, Dr. Tom Tyson, Professor of Accounting at St. John Fisher College’s Ronald L. Bittner School of Business, will serve as the First Friday Lecture Series speaker. His presentation is entitled, “From Fra Luca Pacioli to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – is the U.S. Getting Cold Feet?” The lectures will take place in the Joseph S. Skalny Welcome Center. Thursday’s event includes a wine and cheese reception at 7:00 p.m., with the lecture beginning at 7:30 p.m. And Friday’s event will include a 9:00 a.m. mass followed by a breakfast, and the lecture will begin at 10:00 a.m.
In this lecture, Tyson will discuss Fra Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician and Franciscan friar, and his 600-page master work, “Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita” (“Everything About Arithmetic, Geometry and Proportion”) published in 1494. It included a 25-page dissertation that described a complete system of double-entry bookkeeping, a system that has thrived for over 500 years.
Since the turn of the 21st century, most developed countries have adopted IFRS, a system based on Pacioli’s dissertation which allows every company around the world to follow the same accounting principles and procedures. To date, the United States is the lone, major economic power not to embrace IFRS. But, according to Tyson, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon decide whether U.S. public companies can, should, or be required to adopt the standards.
In his lecture, Tyson will examine the 242 comment letters sent to the SEC and offer his own predictions about the SEC’s eventual decision.
The First Friday Faculty Lecture Series is designed for individuals who are interested in hearing learned perspectives on a variety of topics from members of the St. John Fisher College community.
Parking is available in Lots A and B off of the main entrance to the College at East Avenue/Fairport Road. For more information about the lecture series or to register for either of the lectures, please call (585) 385-5292 or email tcarnevale@sjfc.edu.