Edward Blocher is professor of accounting at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. His undergraduate degree (economics) is from Rice University, his MBA from Tulane University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Professor Blocher presents regularly on strategic cost management at the national meetings of both the American Accounting Association (AAA) and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

While he is involved in a number of accounting organizations, Professor Blocher has been most continually active in the IMA, where he is now a trustee of the Foundation for Applied Research (FAR). He is a certified management accountant (CMA), has taught review courses for the CMA exam, and has served on the IMA’s national education committee. Professor Blocher is also the author or co-author of several articles in management accounting and in other areas of accounting and has served as associate editor and reviewer for a number of accounting journals. Recently he published an article in Issues in Accounting Education (February 2009) on the topic of teaching cost management.

Putting research and teaching into practice is important to Professor Blocher, who has worked closely with other firms and organizations in developing products, publications, and teaching materials. He was a member of the task force for the IMA that developed a new definition of management accounting in 2008. He currently serves as the chair of academic research proposals for the IMA’s FAR program. Also, he has provided expert testimony and has consulted with a number of organizations, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the American Institute of CPAs, Grant Thornton, and the State of North Carolina, among others.

David E. Stout is the John S. and Doris M. Andrews Professor of Accounting, Williamson College of Business Administration, Youngstown State University. Previously, he held the position of the John M. Cooney Professor of Accounting, School of Business, Villanova University. David earned his Ph.D. in accounting (1982) from the Katz School University of Pittsburgh and teaches in the cost/managerial accounting area. He served previously as editor of Issues in Accounting Education and serves currently as senior associate editor of the Journal of Accounting Education and as a member of the editorial board of each of the following journals: Issues in Accounting Education; Journal of International Accounting, Auditing & Taxation; China Finance and Accounting Review, International Journal of Management Education; IMA Educational Case Journal; and, Management Accounting Quarterly/Strategic Finance. In addition, he serves as a member of the editorial advisory board of Accounting Education: An International Journal. Professor Stout has published over 75 articles in numerous professional and academic journals including Advances in Accounting Education, Issues in Accounting Education, the Journal of Accounting Education, The Accounting Educators’ Journal, Advances in International Accounting, Behavioral Research in Accounting (BRIA), The CPA Journal Educational and Psychological Measurement, Management Accounting, Management Accounting Quarterly, Financial Practice and Education, Strategic Finance, and Advances in Accounting. David is past president of the Teaching, Learning & Curriculum (TLC) Section of the AAA, past president of the Academy of Business Education (ABE), and past president of the Ohio Region, American Accounting Association (AAA). In 2007, he was the recipient of the R. Lee Brummet Award for Distinguished Accounting Educators, Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), and the Ohio Outstanding Accounting Educator Award, which is cosponsored by the Ohio Society of CPAs and the AAA’s Ohio Region. In 2008, David received the Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award from the AICPA, and the Distinguished Service Award for Educators given by the IMA. Also in 2008, David was inducted into the Hall of Honor, TLC Section of the AAA and was selected by Ohio Magazine as one of Ohio’s Outstanding College and University Teachers.

Gary Cokins is a global product marketing manager involved with performance management solutions with SAS, a leading provider of business analytics software. Gary is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, and author in advanced cost management and performance-improvement systems. He received a BS degree in industrial engineering/operations research (with honors) from Cornell University in 1971 and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1974. Gary began his career as a strategic planner with FMC Corporation and then served as a financial controller and operations manager. In 1981 he began his management consulting career with Deloitte Consulting and continued with KPMG Peat Marwick. He then headed the National Cost Management Consulting Services for Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Gary was the lead author of the acclaimed A Manager’s Primer on ABC Costing, published by the IMA. He also has two successful books in Activity-Based Costing and Performance Management. Gary participates and serves on professional society committees including: The Consortium for Advanced Management–International (CAM-I), the Supply Chain Council, the IMA, and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). He is also a member of Journal of Cost Management Editorial Advisory Board.

The Author Team: Selected to provide a leading book in cost management based on leadership in teaching experience, commitment to learning, and up-to-date knowledge of real world management accounting practices.