The award, established in 1972, recognizes sustained contributions to accounting education from scholarly endeavors in research and teaching over a sustained period of time through educational innovation, excellence in teaching, publications, research guidance to graduate students, and significant involvement in professional and academic societies and activities.

Sunder, an accounting theorist and experimental economist, is a pioneer in the fields of experimental finance and experimental macroeconomics. His current research includes the problem of structuring U.S. and international accounting and auditing institutions to obtain a judicious and efficient balance between regulatory oversight and market competition. He is a past president of the American Accounting Association, and honorary research director of Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, and a distinguished fellow of the Center for Study of Science and Technology Policy in Bengaluru.

In its award citation, the AAA cited Sunder for being “well-traveled” in his 40 years in the accounting academy, which has included lecturing and visiting at universities and organizations around the world and researching a wide range of disciplines. “Sheer intellectual delight is what we experience when we travel with Professor Sunder. That experience is something special that combines a compelling curiosity to understand with research rigor, exactness in design, diligence in discovery, and sheer joy in sharing it with others, with contribution the reward. For us all, Shyam is the quintessential ‘curious traveler,’ and why he is richly deserving of the 2013 Outstanding Accounting Educator Award.”

The award was presented at the 2013 AAA annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif.