Robert William Gibson,an all-round accounting contribution

Introduction

Accounting, as a human construction, is both a technical practice and a social practice featuring the involvement of people at every turn. According to Carnegie and Napier (1996: 21), “contemporary accounting cannot be understood without reference to the key personalities who have contributed to accounting development”. In the case of accounting academics within institutions of higher education, such individuals include those who have engaged in research, teaching or editing and who have typically engaged in both the creation and dissemination of accounting knowledge. Biography or biographical method is a recognized research approach in historical accounting research (see, for example, Flowers, 1974; Parker, 1977, 1980; Previts et al., 1990b; Carnegie and Napier, 1996, 2012; Flesher and Flesher, 2003: Bocqueraz and Walton, 2006). Biography is an account of someone’s life, written by another person who pays regard to the key aspects of the subject’s life and career. Such studies in the accounting history literature are in short supply. Indeed, Parker (1980) lamented the paucity of biographical research on British accountants. Such contributions on Australian accountants are also not plentiful, especially for academic accountants in recent decades (for examples see Parker, 1994 on Louis Goldberg; Al-Hogail and Previts, 2001 on Raymond J Chambers; Anderson, 2002 on Leslie Arthur Schumer; Anderson et al., 2014 on Robert Keith Yorston; Shelton and Jacobs, 2015 on Allan Douglas Barton).

Robert William Gibson is the subject of this study. Born in Melbourne in 1931, he died in Geelong on 28 July 2014, aged 83 years. He had retired from Deakin University, his last employer, approximately 21 years earlier, as an Associate Professor of Accountancy and as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Management (Carnegie and Wolnizer, 1996). Gibson served his academic apprenticeship at the University of Melbourne under Professor Louis Goldberg who held the GL Wood Chair in Accounting and was Head of the Department of Accounting between 1958 and 1973 (Parker, 1994; Carnegie and Williams, 2001). Gibson and Goldberg developed a professional rivalry over the years of their co-habitation in the same department. While remaining respectful of each other, they were both strong willed and may have been politely likened to “two bulls residing in the same paddock”. Gibson left the University of Melbourne in 1971 to take up a positon in the tertiary education sector in Geelong at the Gordon Institute of Technology (The Gordon), moving to Deakin University, then based only at Waurn Ponds, at the time of the first intake of students in 1977. He was “a highly respected senior member of the School of Accounting and Finance” (Carnegie and Wolnizer, 1996: ix) at Deakin and retired “after a long and productive academic career” (1996: x). Gibson was a legendary figure as an accounting researcher, educator and editor; a talented all-rounder with a sharp intellect. He was a loyal advocate and tenacious defender of accounting education and research, whose contributions in the field were important. In the family death notice, Gibson was suitably identified as “a man of integrity and faith, with a passion for justice and a brilliant mind” (Age, 30 July 2014).

It is appropriate to declare an interest as “the writer” of this biography. ¹ Gibson was not unknown to the writer, rather the opposite is the case. The writer was an undergraduate student in accounting at The Gordon in the early 1970s and was taught by Gibson in 1974. Later, Gibson was the supervisor of the writer’s Deakin University Master of Commerce thesis, which was completed in 1987. Gibson and the writer subsequently worked together as academic colleagues at Deakin between 1988 and 1993 and were co-authors of a number of articles and books. The writer was also the Assistant Editor of the initial series of Accounting History, when Gibson was the journal’s Editor. Gibson was an early academic mentor of the writer and they had a long association. ² This long association is perceived as being potentially both a strength and a weakness in presenting this personal portrait of the subject. The potential strength lies in having a first-hand knowledge of Gibson and of his interests, views, movements and attainments. The potential weakness sits in the possibility of a lack of objectivity in portraying the life and career of the subject. While endeavouring to remain objective at all times throughout the process, the writer may have erred, on occasions, on the side of providing a more favourable portrayal of the subject, but that is for the readers to assess, particularly those who may have known Gibson during his academic career.

The study presents Gibson’s pathway as an Australian accounting academic of the era, providing both a perception of the times and depicting how he contributed to accounting academe through his endeavours and initiatives, including his mentoring of those who were around him. The publication of this biography in the 21st volume of the New Series of Accounting History is regarded as a fitting tribute to the academic career of Gibson, who was Joint Editor of the predecessor publication of this journal, the Accounting History Newsletter, published between 1980 and 1989, and the Editor of the initial series of the journal, which appeared during the period 1989 to 1994. There may be readers who perceive this biography as yet another tribute to a “great man”. Its purpose, however, is to adequately record and thereby appropriately recognize Gibson’s contributions in a balanced and fair manner in the context of the times in which the subject operated.

The paper is structured as follows. The life and career of Gibson is outlined in the following section. The next three sections respectively focus on Gibson’s work and attainments as an accounting researcher, an accounting educator and as an accounting history editor. His administrative leadership at Deakin University is outlined, as his contributions as a senior academic extended well beyond interest in his own academic affairs as a member of the professoriate. The formal recognition of his contributions to accounting academe are then briefly outlined. This is followed by an outline of Gibson’s many, and often long-serving, contributions beyond higher education to organizations in the wider community in which he lived. Some personal reflections of Gibson as an all-rounder in accounting academe are provided in the conclusion.

Life and academic career

Gibson was born in Newport, Melbourne on 7 June 1931. He was the third child of Randolph Gibson, a manufacturer’s agent at the date of his birth, and Martha Davis (née Armstrong). His parents were born, respectively, in the Melbourne suburbs of Kew and Williamstown. He was educated at Box Hill Boy’s High School and the academically-selective Melbourne Boy’s High School, leaving the latter school after completing his Leaving Certificate (Year 11). ³ He matriculated in 1948 from Taylors Coaching College (Burrows, 2006) studying part-time at night. At the age of 25 years, he married Wendy Leslie on 16 March 1957 at the Hartwell Presbyterian Church, Melbourne. The Gibsons constructed their first home in Nunawading as owner-builders and together they had five children Keryn, Malcolm, Catriona, Heather and Duncan.

Gibson’s general commercial experience commenced in the late 1940s when he joined the family’s merchant import-export firm located in the Melbourne CBD, later acquired by McPhersons Ltd, “as a clerk/counter jumper” (Gibson, 2014). He departed the firm in 1958 having spent a period of two years of service under the ownership of McPhersons Ltd. He moved to the Cost Accountant’s Department of the Gas & Fuel Corporation of Victoria, where he was employed as a Cost Clerk and a Senior Cost Clerk between 1958 and 1959 (Gibson, c1989). In 1959, he moved within the organization to the Sales Department as a Sales Research Officer, where he was responsible for “forecasting, budgeting, market analysis, cost control systems, etc” (Gibson, c1989: 2). Gibson enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce part-time at the University of Melbourne in 1955, which he completed in 1959 (Burrows, 2006), finishing the degree, in the words of Wendy Gibson, “by taking a scholarship of 8 pounds a week, plus the 4 pounds he earned backbreaking at a flower farm” (Gibson, 2014), and graduated in 1960. He had previously briefly enrolled in the University’s Bachelor of Science part-time but had deferred these studies before enrolling in the Commerce programme (Burrows, 2006). On leaving the Gas & Fuel Corporation in 1961, according to Wendy Gibson, “he was replaced by a department of 6, not an uncommon occurrence in his life” (2014).

During 1960–1961, he worked as a part-time tutor in Accounting at the University of Melbourne and as a part-time instructor in Accounting at Swinburne University of Technology. He also worked as a part-time instructor in accounting at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (later known as RMIT University) in 1962. The University of Melbourne employed Gibson in 1962 as a Lecturer in Accounting, his first full-time position as an accounting academic. In 1965, he was published in The Accounting Review – his first and only publication in this premier academic accounting journal (Gibson, 1965). He advanced to Senior Lecturer in Accounting in 1970. Gibson completed his Master of Commerce at the University of Melbourne under the principal supervision of Professor Louis Goldberg, ⁴ graduating in 1967. His thesis entitled “Standards of Disclosure in Published Reports of Australian Public Companies” comprised two volumes. Over a number of years and prior to the completion of this thesis, passive friction had developed between Goldberg and Gibson. Both possessed strong personalities with one being the senior and established professor and Department Head and the other possessing considerable talents, potential and energy for upward mobility in academe. Goldberg had evidently repeatedly required more of Gibson in preparing his thesis and Gibson sought to meet his typically exacting requirements. By the time the particularly long and detailed Masters thesis was completed, the manuscript had taken on the proportions of a doctoral thesis. However, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, which some individuals had come to believe was warranted, was not awarded to Gibson. Subsequently, Gibson was required to complete a PhD thesis elsewhere and enrolled in the programme at the University of Cincinnati “and spent the Australian summers completing the coursework at Cincinnati” (Burrows, 2006: 125). The Masters thesis formed the basis of his book, entitled Disclosure by Australian Companies, which was published by the University of Melbourne Press in 1971. This book “spans a century of the prescription and practice of financial disclosure by companies incorporated in Australia” (F.L.C, 1971: 90). In what turned out to be the forerunner of subsequent stints in the USA, Gibson and his family experienced a period of sabbatical leave in 1968 at the University of Kentucky, Lexington.

Having devoted the first decade of his full-time academic career to the University of Melbourne, Gibson resigned from the institution and made a move to Geelong in 1971. He accepted the position as Head of Department of Business Studies at The Gordon, with a substantive academic position as Principal Lecturer (Burrows, 2006), and the family acquired a residence in Newtown. At a farewell function held for Gibson at University-House in mid-1971, Goldberg officiated with a departing address. According to Burrows (2006: 121), “after speaking about his departing colleague including a reference to Gibson ‘going to another place where they do something similar’, Goldberg felt unwell and was later diagnosed as having suffered a mild-heart attack”. As Head of Department at The Gordon, Gibson conducted research and undertook teaching in accounting, having taught the writer in a stimulating fashion in 1974 in the third-year course “Accounting Theory”. During this period, he completed his PhD thesis on “The Uniformity Problem and the State of Australian Company Financial Reporting” at the University of Cincinnati and graduated in 1976, thereby becoming one of the few Australian accounting academics with a PhD qualification in the discipline. Gibson’s doctoral thesis Chair was Dr Clara Lelievre who, according to Flesher (2014: 6), “introduced Bob to the field of accounting history research”. ⁵ Gibson’s Masters thesis, however, had provided experience in accounting history research working under the supervision of Goldberg. While “he [Gibson] took her [Lelievre’s] doctoral-level course in accounting history” (Flesher, 2014: 6) and may have been stimulated by the experience, Lelievre did not introduce him to accounting history research.

Gibson served as President of the Accounting Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) (known as the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand from 2002 (AFAANZ)) ⁶ during 1973–1974, being a term of 12 months (Goldberg, 1987: 289), after having served as one of the Association’s vice-presidents during 1972–1973. He was the first President of the Association to be appointed from a College of Advanced Education (Goldberg, 1987: 82). During his term as President, the Accounting History Committee (AHC) was formed, as the first special interest group of AAANZ (Anon, 1974a; Gibson, 1975; Goldberg, 1987). ⁷ The 1973 AAANZ Conference was held in Geelong with The Gordon as the host institution and with the Gibson home in Newtown serving as the venue of the conference reception. As another first for Gibson, “this was the first occasion on which a non-university location was used” (Goldberg, 1987: 128). Gibson also served as Acting President in 1975, and presided in this role at the annual general meeting held in that year, as the President, BL Branford, “became seriously ill” (Goldberg, 1987: 169). Extending his dedication to the affairs of AAANZ, his contributions as an accounting history editor are examined in a later section.

In 1977, The Gordon along with the State College of Victoria, Geelong (formerly the Geelong Teachers’ College) were absorbed within Deakin University, formally established under the Deakin University Act 1974, with the first cohort of students at the University’s original Waurn Pounds campus, then situated on the outskirts of Geelong, commencing classes on 1 April 1977. Gibson was appointed at Deakin University in 1977 as Principal Lecturer in Business Studies and Chair of the Business Studies programme (Gibson, 1976; Gibson, c1989), however the title of his academic position was changed later in 1977 to Principal Lecturer in Accountancy (Gibson, c1989). Supporting the interests of The Gordon departmental teaching staff, including the female members, in their quest for positions at Deakin was one struggle Gibson encountered in the absorption process. In 1981, his position was retitled Associate Professor of Accountancy, which remained his substantive academic position until his retirement from the University on 31 March 1993. During the last years of his academic career, Gibson was honoured by the Foundation Professor of Accounting and Finance at Deakin, Professor Peter W Wolnizer, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, when he was appointed in January 1991 to the role of Associate Dean of the Faculty. ⁸ This was a challenging period for academic leaders at Deakin, in the aftermath of the merger of Deakin University with the Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education in August 1990 ⁹ and the closely-followed more complex merger with the three-campus, Melbourne-based Victoria College in December 1991. Prior to these mergers, in 1989, the Gibson family moved from the residence they had occupied in Newtown from the time of their arrival in Geelong to Barwon Heads.

On retiring from Deakin, Gibson had devoted in excess of three decades to his full-time academic accounting career. He had accumulated a strong record of academic achievement as an all-rounder which few, if indeed any, associate professors of accounting of the time in Australia would have been able to match. Tragedy struck the family in November 1993 when the lives of daughter Keryn and her baby daughter Matilda were taken in a motor vehicle accident. This very sad loss took a toll on Gibson and his family. Gibson continued to serve as editor of the initial series of Accounting History until the end of 1994. While he had retired from accounting academe, Gibson worked tirelessly for many years for a variety of organizations in the community in voluntary capacities as was his practice during the years of full-time academic life, as will be elucidated later. He also had a life-long passion for music and steam trains.

Research and notable publications

Gibson contributed to both academic and professional accounting journals. At the time academic accounting journals were not “officially” ranked in pecking orders as is commonplace at the time of writing. He was a regular contributor to the Australian Accountant and the Chartered Accountant in Australia, especially during the 1960s and 1970s when it was common for academics to engage with practitioners by means of the professional journal in developing the discipline. It is a challenging task to identify some of the more prominent or important research works of any academic. Such selections are often a matter of opinion, especially in periods before citations became the proxy for “impact”.

In order to provide a taste of Gibson’s contributions (see Appendix A), ¹⁰ Parker (1990) has been drawn upon in the first instance. In Accounting in Australia: Historical Essays, ¹¹ Parker (1990) reproduced an array of contributions on accounting’s past in Australia, written by a number of authors and initially published in various forms, and acknowledged what he regarded as the key contributions of Gibson to the accounting history literature in Australia by republishing three articles (Gibson, 1979, 1984b; Gibson and Arnold, 1981), ¹² all published in the Accounting Historians Journal, and a bibliography on Australian accounting history which had appeared in the Accounting History Newsletter (Gibson, 1988). ¹³ As Gibson was the most reproduced of the authors appearing in Parker (1990), all three articles have been featured in the discussion of important works which follows in this section. Also outlined in this section are Gibson (1965), Gibson and Francis (1975), Gibson (1981b) and Gavens, Carnegie and Gibson (1989), which were published in The Accounting Review, Abacus, Accounting and Business Research and Accounting and Finance respectively. These articles, selected by the writer, have been chosen on the basis of providing a perspective on the breadth of contemporary financial reporting issues which attracted the attention of Gibson between the 1960s and the 1980s and a taste of some of his publication outlets. First, however, an overview of Disclosure by Australian Companies is provided, which includes a consideration of reviews of this research monograph that were published in the early 1970s.

As mentioned earlier, Disclosure by Australian Companies was based on Gibson’s extensive Masters thesis and was published four years after he graduated with his Master of Commerce. Published in 1971, the book contains 37 brief chapters and seven appendices and “outlines a century of development of the standards of disclosure applicable to the periodic financial statements of Australian companies” (Gibson, 1971: 1). It traces the development of compulsory requirements in Australia pertaining to disclosure as embodied in the provisions of Companies legislation from the 1860s, which “have been important in determining the minimum standards of compliance demanded by legislative authority” (1971: 1). The study also examined other non-statutory influences on disclosure by public companies, including the Stock Exchanges of the principal cities in Australia and the accounting profession. Gibson made clear that the study was primarily concerned with “the descriptive nature of financial disclosure rather than the underlying process of accounting measurement” (1971: 3), because “there has been little attempt in Australia to define the quantitative basis of measurement underlying the published ‘facts’” (1971: 3–4). ¹⁴ He had hoped that a study which recorded and evaluated what had been achieved in respect to the disclosure of financial information in Australia would assist in providing “a clearer basis for further action” (1971: 4).

Gibson (1971: 2) supported the survey of regulatory developments for disclosure by Australian public companies with “a detailed study of practices and changes in practices of a selected list of Australian public companies”. The frame of reference in this regard was what he termed the “Forty-two Leaders Sample” comprising industrial commercial companies, all of which were included in the Fifty Leaders Index of the Stock Exchange of Melbourne. Of the 50 companies, eight were excluded (specifically two banks, one insurance company, one pastoral company, and four base metal mining and investment companies) “on the grounds that they were special kinds of enterprises with peculiar problems of reporting not to be found among the more usual kind of industrial commercial enterprise” (1971: 2).

Disclosure by Australian Companies was subject to a number of reviews. The most prominent reviewer of the book was Abraham J Briloff of City University of New York, whose review, the most extensive of those traced, was published in The Accounting Review. Briloff commenced his review by indicating that he had been anticipating “a study of comparative ontogeny” (Briloff, 1973: 222) and made the related polite comment “I do hope the author will forgive my chauvinism when I say that no matter where the accounting profession is heading, Americans will get there first”. The reviewer gave two instances of American cases, namely Penn Central and Continental Vending, which Gibson may have drawn upon in examining regulatory developments in Australia from a comparative perspective. Similarly, Wheelwright (1971: 475), who regarded the book as “very much an accountant’s book with little to interest the social scientist”, stated that “the focus of the book is narrow and parochial; there is no reference to the situation in other countries, except for English company law; the U.S.A. is not even in the index, let alone its Securities and Exchange Commission, which provided for important disclosures of ownership and control, among other things”. While such reviews contain personal views based on understandings of the time, Britain had exerted considerable influence on accounting development in Australia over at least a century until the 1960s. From around the mid-to-late 1960s, the orientation in accounting thought and practice shifted from Britain towards North America, and “the influence of American and Canadian pronouncements could be discerned on Australian drafts” (Zeff, 1973: 24). Parker (1990: Introduction) pointed out that since the publication of Zeff (1973) “the influence of the [Australian] profession on accounting standards, as they are now termed, has increased and so has US influence on Australian accounting rules” (also see Gibson, 1979; Gibson and Arnold, 1981; Carnegie, 2009).

In concluding his review, Briloff stated that he “could not derive too much by way of substantiative wisdom from Professor [sic] Gibson’s study which might guide us in resolving our dilemmas this side of the Pacific” (1973: 224). Briloff, however, commented immediately on Gibson in positive terms, stating that he “did feel a very special sense of felicity in recognizing that there was burgeoning a Ralph Nader of the Australian accounting profession. I wish him God-speed” (1973: 224). Other reviewers provided praise for the originality and industry evident in the work. One of these reviewers stated “much of the material used has not previously been documented. Gibson’s book breaks new ground with commendable industry” (F.L.C, 1971: 91). Sheehan (1971: 594) similarly stated the author “has undertaken a useful historical survey of the development of standards of disclosure by Australian public companies over the last century or so”. On the other hand, a number of other criticisms were made of the book, including its organization (F.L.C, 1971: Sheehan, 1971), the bibliographical technique (Sheehan, 1971) and the usefulness of the index (Wheelwright, 1971).

The trinity of articles in the Accounting Historians Journal, as reproduced by Parker (1990), are now briefly outlined. Gibson (1979) portrayed the development of corporate accounting in Australia across four distinct phases. These are identified in generally colloquial terms by reference to road development phases: “Getting out of the bush”, “Getting out of the mud”, “Getting out of the dust” and “Getting out of danger”. The initial phase related to the setting of minimum standards of statutory disclosure. The second phase related to extending the minimum statutory requirements to include the provision of certain financial statements. The third phase involved the activities of other parties, including the stock exchanges and the accounting profession, in further improving disclosure, while the fourth, and still in process phase at the time of his writing, involved the rendering of more attention to the problems of accounting measurement reflected in the financial statements. Gibson and Arnold (1981) focused on the development of auditing standards in Australia and identified three phases of development. The first phase is dated to the presentation by F.E. Trigg to the Australian Congress on Accounting, held in Sydney in 1949, ¹⁵ on the subject “Contemporary Auditing Practice”, with the presenter urging the professional accounting bodies in Australia to “give unmistakable leads as to what is best [auditing] practice” (Trigg, 1949: para. 123). The second and third phases were dated respectively to the change in the organizational structure of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) in 1956 ¹⁶ and to the issue, in 1969, of a statement of auditing standards by the ICAA at a time when the North American influence on standard setting in Australia was becoming more apparent. Gibson (1984b) presented an account of the resolution of accounting issues which arose as a result of the adoption of tax-effect accounting in Australia in the early 1970s in which he examined the roles of professional bodies, companies and regulatory authorities in the process as well as the conflicts which arose among these parties.

Gibson (1965: 196) addressed recent developments, occurring within the previous five years, in professional accountancy in Australia, stating “it is now five years since Professor Murphy’s article under a similar title was published in the Accounting Review” (see Murphy, 1959). ¹⁷ Gibson’s purpose was “to outline some significant changes which have occurred during this period with particular references to the accountant’s duties arising from the Companies Act” and he provided information on the “growth of the profession” and on the “Uniform companies acts” (1965: 196). There followed an outline of such developments in Australia using a number of different headings. ¹⁸ Gibson collaborated with Jere Francis who “lectured at the Gordon during 1973–74” (Burrows, 2006: 191), ¹⁹ resulting in the publication of Gibson and Francis (1975). ²⁰ For Francis, who has had a most distinguished career as an accounting researcher, this Abacus article constituted “his first refereed publication” (Burrows, 2006: 191). In the absence of an Australian accounting standard on goodwill, the authors found “a mélange of practices” in accounting for goodwill on consolidation (Gibson and Francis, 1975: 170). Gibson (1981b) provided a critical examination of the approach taken by the Current Cost Accounting (CCA) Standards Committee in Australia in connection with the treatment of monetary items. This criticism brought a reply from Gynther (1983: 95) who was “directly responsible” for such proposals. Gynther (1983: 95) believed that Gibson (1981b) was rendering “another instalment in the debate between the entity viewpoint of the firm versus the proprietary viewpoint”. According to Gynther (1983: 101), Gibson’s comments “originate from his proprietary viewpoint” while “the majority of people on the Australian CCA Standards Committee tended to have entity viewpoints” and he further stated that the Australian professional accounting bodies “like those in most other countries, have not determined, as yet, whether financial statements should present the entity or proprietary viewpoint”. Later in his career, Gibson collaborated with the writer and John Gavens, then all of Deakin University, and produced various works in collaboration with either or both of these less senior colleagues. Gavens, Carnegie and Gibson (1989), one such work involving the three collaborators, examined the participation by listed companies in the Australian accounting standards setting process and provided an explanation as to why some companies participate in the process and others do not.

Gibson’s historical research in accounting involved predominantly descriptive narrative approaches of historical writing. His investigations on the development of regulated company accounting in Australia were archival based, which often involved the use of statutes drawn from across Australia and England, reports of law commissions or committees, parliamentary papers, the Stock Exchange’s listing requirements, pronouncements of professional accounting bodies, press reports and opinions, among other sources which provided the evidence base for his research. Gibson would delve into his sources with rigour and he became known as a “bowerbird of knowledge”, which he would readily recite without any preparation, or even regale his audience, as some of his colleagues and students may have thought was a more apt description. While Gibson would endeavour to provide, where possible, explanations for accounting emergence and change, he did not typically apply explicit theoretical perspectives drawn from other disciplines to inform the findings of his historical investigations. Much of his work, therefore, was more closely situated within what became known, from the early 1990s, as the “traditional” accounting history paradigm, constituting “essentially atheoretical and descriptive narratives” (Bisman, 2012: 9) as opposed to “new accounting history” (see, for example, Wheelwright, 1971; Previts et al., 1990a; Miller et al., 1991; Carnegie and Napier, 1996). From the writer’s perspective, Gibson’s normative approach to research on contemporary financial reporting issues reflected his strong interest in, and appreciation of, normative accounting theory. He would endeavour to “identify the ideas [theory] which can be identified as present in practice” (Gibson, 1966: Preface). He was also conscious of how historical investigations of regulated financial reporting may “help us to deal more adequately within situations in future” (Gibson, 1971: 2). For Gibson, documenting achievements of the past may provide a means for clearer future action and related achievements ahead.

Teaching

Gibson maintained a strong interest in accounting theory across his academic career. In 1966 his An Introduction to the Theory of Financial Statements was published by the Law Book Co. The text of 63 pages comprised 13 brief chapters with a preface and index. ²¹ In the preface, Gibson (1966: v) stated “specifically this text is directed at students preparing for the Victorian Matriculation Accounting examination”. Gibson had been the “Chief Examiner, Matriculation Accounting, Victorian Universities & Schools Examinations Board, 1964–66” (Gibson, c1989: 3). The Preface indicated that the text examines “the so far unsuccessful attempts to formulate a theory of accounting” and pointed out “the text cannot go on to present a theory, but on the contrary examines the ideas which can be identified as present in accounting practice” (Gibson, 1966: v). He then stated “the objective of this presentation is to lead up to an examination of the nature and limitations of the balance sheet and the revenue statements” (1966: v), which were similar words to what were contained in the syllabus of the Victorian Matriculation Accounting Course. ²² Gibson believed that the text would be generally “useful for students in any first level course in accounting, either in secondary schools, technological institutes and the like, or the universities” (1966: v). An insight into how normative accounting theory was perceived within the accounting profession at the time of writing is gleaned from the statement “today it is not at all difficult to find those in the profession who see little relevance for any attempt to formulate accounting theory, but prefer to think of accounting as something to be performed according to the personal feelings of the artful practitioner” (1966: v).

In 1981, the Law Book Co. published a similar text by Gibson to his 1966 publication, entitled Concepts for Financial Statements at First Level, which contains 10 chapters, a preface and an index across 64 pages. ²³ The preface of this text referred to the object of the 1966 text and stated that “while this text has grown out of the former it is a substantially new work which draws extensively on the literature of the intervening years” (Gibson, 1981a: v). In producing the new text, again “at First Level”, Gibson pointed out that his “structure accommodates to the conceptual framework being utilised by the [US] Financial Accounting Standards Board” (1981a: v). ²⁴ The next text also highlighted “the limitations of the conventional balance sheet and profit statements” (1981a: v) and included a chapter outlining alternative accounting systems. While Gibson referred to considerable progress being made in the 1970s “in establishing standards with the support of the professional accounting bodies”, he indicated that “there are still practitioners who see little relevance in attempts to formulate theory but prefer to emphasise the exercise of professional judgment in solving accounting issues” (1981a: v). The second edition of this text was published in 1984 without the words “at First Level” featuring in the title (Gibson, 1984a). However, the target market of the new edition was unchanged from the first edition or from his Concepts for Financial Statements (1966). From the mid-1960s until the late-1970s, Gibson undertook a number of roles with the Victorian Universities and Schools Examinations Board, ²⁵ and was a Member of, or Consultant to, the Accounting Subject Committee, Victorian Institute of Secondary Teaching (1980–86) (Gibson, c1989). In producing these texts with the experience provided from contributing in such roles, Gibson clearly aimed to provide a sound theoretical or conceptual basis of accounting to students at the basic or first levels of accounting education.

In all, Gibson taught at four tertiary institutions once he became a full-time accounting academic, specifically at: The University of Melbourne; the University of Kentucky; The Gordon, and Deakin University. For details of the courses which he taught at each of these institutions, see Appendix B. As this appendix shows, Gibson taught across a wide array of courses showing a breath of knowledge and understanding of the discipline. On moving to Geelong in 1971, accounting theory became his main undergraduate teaching area. He moved away from teaching management accounting to undergraduates on the subsequent move to Deakin University.

Based on the writer’s experience, Gibson taught accounting theory with regard to the latest developments in financial reporting while making students familiar with, and appreciative of, the historical development of accounting thought and practice. He long recognised the nexus between teaching and research, integrating his research into his teaching. In the “Accounting Theory” class of 1974 at The Gordon, he would regularly provide reproductions of his working papers or published articles in both professional and academic journals to students in his class to read and discuss. To this student, Gibson made the study of accounting stimulating. As an “accounting thinker”, he was able to portray the contested nature of accounting in a time of considerable diversity of practice and conjecture in regulating aspects of financial reporting. To Gibson, therefore, accounting was “not resolved”. He believed that “much of what is done in accounting practice arises from what might be termed tradition or accepted practice for which it is not possible to produce any documented authority” (Gibson, 1981a: 2). He did not attempt to portray “the theory or a theory of accounting”; accounting theory was “rather a consideration of certain ideas or concepts which we can recognise as relevant to current practice, and the consequences of these ideas in terms of the financial statements produced by the accounting system” (Gibson, 1966: 2; emphasis in original). Endeavours to standardize financial reporting by means of the issue of enforceable accounting standards were still in their infancy in the early-to-mid seventies, and many of the key accounting choices to be made were still being hotly debated. Gibson endeavoured to stimulate students to develop a theoretical understanding of the practices that they would be introducing, refining or changing as future accounting practitioners. As an indicator of Gibson’s effectiveness, and as a reminder of the memorable learning experience, the writer has retained the printed materials that were provided or gathered in studying this course.

As an academic leader in the accounting discipline, Gibson contributed in a variety of ways to the professional development of many academic colleagues. Such mentoring took various forms, including formal supervision of higher degree by research (HDR) students who were academics at the time of enrolment or who later become academics or who moved beyond higher education into other chosen career fields in accounting or management. More generally, he was always available to meet with colleagues, both at The Gordon and at Deakin University, to provide guidance and support in their academic roles, and to encourage and assist colleagues in all aspects of their research endeavours. Two of the colleagues he mentored at Deakin University, Gweneth Norris and the writer, were subsequently appointed to chairs in the discipline and other mentees experienced successful academic careers. Another notable contribution of Gibson’s was his advocacy and support of female colleagues, which arose out of his sense of equity and fairness. He would advocate strongly in support of women when be believed that they were not being equitably or fairly treated.

Gibson led the development of accounting and finance courses in the Deakin University Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme. He was Chair of the course team for “Financial Management and Control” and taught the course. He was also a member of other course teams, including “Introduction to Financial Management”, which he taught, “Finance”, “Management Policy” and “Takeovers and Mergers” (Gibson, c1989). As an off-campus programme, Gibson was also a contributor and session leader at MBA residential schools. He was comfortable in relating to managers and executives given his strong interest in contemporary financial reporting issues with an appreciation of the underlying historical development. Later, Gibson joined the writer and Gavens in producing a case studies text in financial accounting. The text, entitled Cases in Financial Accounting, was published in 1989 and contained 122 case studies (Carnegie et al., 1989). In writing the text, the authors aimed “to bring practical illustrations of accounting issues into the classroom” and, thereby, “to stimulate greater interest in the underlying issues with the view to improving the understanding and significance of those issues” (1989: Preface, xiii). In using the cases in the text, students were encouraged “to consider how and why they would have acted based on the information available” (1989: Preface, xiii). Two further editions of the text were produced, which featured 134 and 142 cases respectively (Carnegie et al., 1993, 1996). Cases in Financial Accounting had been developed as part of a strategy to enhance the effective use of cases in the teaching of accounting (Wines et al., 1994).

Gibson was a supportive supervisor and mentor to many students at various levels of study. In terms of formal supervision arrangements at Deakin University, he successfully supervised the preparation of projects in the undergraduate Project course ²⁶ and the B.Com (Honours) research reports, and also supervised HDR students in the MCom and PhD degree programmes as well as HDR students for other institutions. As indicated earlier, he was also a loyal and keen advisor of academic staff who sought his guidance. Until the appointment of Wolnizer at Deakin University as the Foundation Chair of Accounting and Finance in 1989, ²⁷ Gibson was the most senior accounting academic employed at the University from 1977 and was also in this leadership position in the discipline during the preceding years while employed at The Gordon (1971–1977). He was conscious of his role as an academic leader and mentor of academics and students in these institutional contexts until his retirement from Deakin. A great debt of gratitude is owed to Gibson by many whose careers were supported and advanced by his mentoring, including the opportunities he provided and for his ongoing encouragement.

Editorship of accounting history publications

As indicated earlier, Gibson is well known for his editorship of accounting history publications. In his historical account of AAANZ, Goldberg (1987) first mentioned Gibson in connection with any official capacity with the AHC on his election in August 1977 as Chair of the Committee. At that time, Barrie O’Keefe of Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education (later Charles Sturt University), Wagga Wagga, was elected the Secretary of the Committee. In these capacities, Gibson and O’Keefe produced the first issue of the Accounting History Newsletter of the AHC (Vol. 1, No. 1) in 1980 as joint editors. The newsletter was intended to be published quarterly with its objective being “to circulate items that may be of interest to those with an interest in Accounting History” (Gibson and O’Keefe, 1980: 1). ²⁸ By the time the fourth newsletter in the series was published in 1981–1982, the first to appear without a volume number, the plan to publish on the quarterly basis had been abandoned. By the summer of 1988–1989, the last issue of the newsletter had been published, the first 16 of which were edited by Gibson and O’Keefe. ²⁹ Issue No. 17 was the first issue “with which Barrie O’Keefe has not been associated as joint editor” (Gibson, 1988–89c: 1). Gibson acknowledged that the idea of publishing the newsletter “was put forward by Barrie” and that O’Keefe had responsibility for the compilation and production of the 16 issues while Gibson focused on finding items, developing themes and on locating and attracting publishable material (1988–89c: 1).

The Accounting History Newsletter was similar in format to the Accounting Historians Notebook, as published by the US-based Academy of Accounting Historians. Across the 17 issues published between 1980 and 1989, the Accounting History Newsletter featured an array of brief contributions, including news items or updates, research resources, such as bibliographies, and generally short articles and papers, including various works which were contributed by Gibson himself, some of which were co-authored (see, Goldberg, 1987: 285–286 for details of articles and papers published in nos 1–10 and also see Carnegie and Wolnizer (1996) who reproduced some of the articles published in the newsletter). Gibson later documented the contribution of the Accounting History Newsletter (Gibson, 1990b) and produced a comprehensive cumulative index to all issues of the newsletter (Gibson, 1990a) for ease of future reference. ³⁰ The publication of the cumulative index “was intended to link the content of the predecessor Accounting History Newsletter with this journal” (Gibson, 1990a: 38).

At the AHSIG annual meeting held at the Australian National University on 30 August 1988, it was decided to move to a journal format and adopt Accounting History as the title of the ongoing publication of the group. ³¹ Gibson, who was unable to attend the meeting due to an illness, was appointed the Editor and the writer was appointed as Assistant Editor. On publication of Volume 1 in 1989, an “Editorial Advisory Panel” had been appointed, comprising Merle Gynther, Terry Heazlewood, Ian Langfield-Smith, Malcolm Miller and John Ryan. The first four were affiliated with Australian institutions and Ryan, who was the only New Zealander of the five members, was employed in New Zealand at the time but had previously worked in Australia. Such “local” Advisory Panel input reflected the editorial focus. The appointment of the Panel, however, was a step-up in comparison with the Accounting History Newsletter, the issues of which had not been produced with such a panel in place.

The opening editorial by Gibson (1989) stated “the editorial policy will continue to emphasise the provision of an opportunity particularly to publish material dealing with the history of accounting in Australia”. Gibson added, however, that the editorial policy “does not preclude the publication of contributions by authors from other parts of the world or on topics less biased towards Australia” (1989). The editorial also indicated that “Accounting History intends to continue the role of the newsletters in publishing relevant news items and interesting snippets of information” (Gibson, 1989). ³² Under the editorship of Gibson, 11 issues of what is now known as the initial or first series of the journal were published between 1989 and 1994. ³³ He produced a cumulative index of the contents of these issues, which appeared in the last issue in the series (Gibson, 1994).

As a scholar and editor supporting the accounting history community, Gibson prepared and updated resource lists of Australian research materials, which he published for use by others. As mentioned earlier, he updated the Parker (1981–82) “Chronological list of books and articles on Australian accounting history” (Gibson, 1988; reprinted by Parker, 1990). Gibson (1991b) constituted a further expanded list of the same title featuring 273 items. He also compiled and published a chronological list of “Empirical studies of Australian accounting practice”, featuring 176 items (Gibson, 1991a). ³⁴ Other resources compiled by Gibson included “Biographies of Australian accountants”, as listed in Notable Australians – The Pictorial Who’s Who (published in 1978), which lists 349 names, only three of whom were women (Gibson, 1983–84). He also compiled “Biography in the Australian Accountant 1936–1987. A chronological listing” and “Biography in the Chartered Accountant in Australia 1931–1987. A chronological listing” (Gibson, 1988–89a; 1988–89b). Gibson also published other resources lists, such as the bibliographical list of Cobbin (1994) on Australian accounting education literature, 1960–1994.

Apart from such regularly featured resources listings, Gibson authored a number of mostly short articles that appeared in the newsletter and in the initial series of the journal. These personal contributions to the literature, while contributing to the ongoing publishing capability that was seen as necessary in continuing these series, may have diverted Gibson’s attention to some degree from further publication of research in more established and internationally recognized outlets of perceived higher quality. Whether Gibson’s preparedness to contribute various items for publication in the newsletter and later in the initial journal series was in his personal best interests in terms of career progression at Deakin University or elsewhere is unknown. However, Gibson was pursuing a broader agenda of providing publishing opportunities in accounting history, together with research resources which may stimulate further enquiry, and also augmenting an appreciation of accounting’s past in Australia as a writer. He was prepared to accept whatever costs and benefits were associated with his editorial roles and related publication strategies. Gibson laid his own path in exercising a duty to his profession.

In the anthology published in 1996, entitled Accounting History Newsletter, 1980–1989 and Accounting History, 1989–1994: A Tribute to Robert William Gibson, Carnegie and Wolnizer (1996: ix) acknowledged the joint editor of the Accounting History Newsletter and the editor of the initial series of Accounting History, stating that “the zeal and dedication with which Bob Gibson fulfilled his editorial roles were exemplary”. Carnegie and Wolnizer added “the resultant publications, together with his own contributions to the accounting literature, are the rich legacy of his scholarly interests in the field of accounting history” (1996: ix). The writer was appointed the editor of Accounting History from 1995 and, in a note of appreciation of Gibson, stated “The new Accounting History will have an international editorial panel comprising leading accounting history scholars in Australia, New Zealand and beyond” (Carnegie, 1994: vi; also see Carnegie, 1996). “Reflecting its international scope” (Carnegie, 1996: 6), the first issue of the New Series (NS) of Accounting History was published in 1996 and, at the time of writing, is published quarterly and is in its twenty-first year of publication. ³⁵

Administrative leadership at Deakin University

As indicated earlier, Gibson served as Head of Department of Business Studies at The Gordon until the beginning of 1977 when Deakin University first enrolled students. Joining Deakin as Principal Lecturer and Chair of the Business Studies programme, he played a key role in redesigning undergraduate programmes that were taken over by the new university from The Gordon. Gibson provided strong and effective leadership in the development of the University’s off-campus MBA programme – the first MBA programme of its kind in Australia – the launching of which was announced in April 1980 (Hay et al., 2002). In terms of key School of Management administrative roles, Gibson was Chair, Research and Graduate Studies Committee, 1980–88 and Sub Dean, 1981–88. He was a member at times of the University Academic Board and Distance Education Committee (Gibson, c1989).

Gibson served as the Series Editor of the School of Management “Occasional Papers”, publishing over 100 titles from 1978 to 1988. He also organized research seminars in the School during 1978 and 1985. Beyond the School community, he also contributed to, and liaised with, the accounting profession in the region as a member of the Geelong Branch Council of the Australian Society of Accountants (now CPA Australia) from 1975 to 1988, including two terms as Chair of the Council in 1981 and 1988, having served terms as Deputy Chair in 1980 and 1987. In this role as a Branch Councillor, he was a member of the co-ordinating committee of the Geelong Accounting Seminar from 1981 to 1988 (Gibson, c1989). ³⁶

As indicated, Gibson completed a long period of commendable and loyal service to Deakin University, right up to his retirement in 1993, after serving since January 1991 as Associate Dean. He was a dedicated advocate of accounting education, always willing to enthusiastically advance, and also defend, the interests of the discipline, but particularly those of the students and staff involved. ³⁷ Such devotedness can often be overlooked or forgotten with the passage of time. Subsequently written institutional histories, whether officially commissioned or not, can give little or no coverage of such “pioneers” in the formative years of discipline-development in educational institutions. Gibson was widely recognized as a “giver” not a “taker”.

Recognition

Gibson’s academic achievements were recognized in various ways. As indicated earlier, an anthology in his honour was published in 1996 (Carnegie and Wolnizer, 1996). In all, 25 contributions which appeared in either the Accounting History Newsletter under his co-editorship or in Accounting History during his editorship were reproduced in this volume. The articles reproduced were classified into sections under the following five headings: Early accounting systems; Twentieth century accounting thinkers; Professional associations; Accounting and auditing standards; and Accounting education. These headings reflected the main themes, discerned by the editors, in the articles published.

In 2001, Gibson was elected to Life Member status of the Academy of Accounting Historians (Flesher, 2014). In July 2008, he was awarded Life Membership of the AFAANZ (formerly AAANZ). The AFAANZ Life Membership was awarded on the basis of “an outstanding and exceptional contribution to AFAANZ” and “an outstanding and exceptional contribution to scholarly research” (Carnegie, 2014). At the 2015 annual meeting of the AHSIG of AFAANZ, the “Manuscript Award” of Accounting History, awarded annually to the author(s) of the manuscript published in the journal which “makes the most significant contribution to the accounting history literature”, was renamed “The Robert W Gibson Manuscript Award” in his memory. In addition, the “Robert W Gibson Prize” has been awarded in the past to the best Geelong campus student in the Deakin University undergraduate course entitled “Accounting and Society” (previously known as “Accounting Theory”). ³⁸ From 2016, the “Robert W Gibson Prize” is awarded to “the best first year Accounting student” at the Geelong campus. Such recognition is testament to a career of distinction in accounting academe.

Contributions beyond higher education

Gibson believed that his “work” extended beyond the regular workplace which provided a salary. Rather, his work would extend into other settings and contexts and be voluntary in nature and often long-lived in time. He was a contributor and would “stay the distance” in many of his volunteer roles, which are too many in number to outline in full. Consistent with Gibson’s expertise, such roles tended to have a treasury, finance or audit orientation. He was a trustee of St Pauls Lutheran Memorial Kindergarten, Nunawading, between approximately 1966 and 1975. He was a member of the Newtown Primary School Council during 1972–1982, including serving as Council Chair between 1973 and 1979 (Gibson, c1989). He served on the Council of Christian College, Geelong for a period of 22 years until his death as a member and as Chair of the Finance Committee (Geelong Advertiser, Christian College, death notice, 31 July 2014). He was a Director of the prestigious Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) Ltd, founded in 1903, for a period of 24 years from 1971 to 1995 and held directorships at different times of a number of controlled entities, including RACV Finance Pty Ltd. His long and dedicated service to the RACV included terms as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Service Committee and Deputy Chair of the Finance Committee (Gibson, c1989). Gibson was also a voluntary auditor for a number of community organizations.

During his membership of The Graduate Union of the University of Melbourne, which spanned in excess of 50 years from 1961, Gibson was a member of the Council from 1996 to 2012 and served in the capacity as Vice-President between 1999 and 2011. He was made an Honorary Life member of the Graduate Union in 2006 (Age, The Graduate Union of the University of Melbourne, death notice, 30 July 2014; Anon, 2014). He was also a longstanding member of the Freemasons, having served as “Treasurer for 20 years of the Acacia Lodge of Geelong and for 25 years of the Geelong United Mark Master Masons” (Anon, 2014). Gibson was seemingly tireless in his “work”; he remained a giver not a taker to the end of his life. Gibson was survived by Wendy, his beloved partner of 60 years, and his children Malcolm, Catriona, Heather and Duncan, and their partners, and the partner of Keryn (dec.) and nine living grand-children.

Conclusion

Gibson was an accounting researcher, educator and editor and made an all-round contribution to the discipline of accounting. He developed a particularly strong academic track record as an associate professor. He retired at this rank. Gibson had opportunities in the earlier part of his career to become a full professor in the USA. He turned such opportunities down for family reasons, particularly to ensure that his children were able to continue their schooling in Melbourne and later in Geelong (Dempsey, 2014). Once the children moved away from School, he was well settled in Geelong with a productive career and a number of important other commitments with a variety of organizations in the community. As a consequence, Gibson was not to become a full professor of accounting during an era when far from all Australian universities employed full professors of accounting and where there were considerably fewer accounting students and accounting professors in Australia than is the case at the time of writing. He was, however, a strong advocate and staunch defender of accounting education and research at Deakin, having little tolerance for what he adjudicated as unfair play or injustice. He was strong-willed and, on occasions, may have been perceived as feisty in his dealings with others during the university’s formative years. While he was a tenacious character, Gibson was well-intentioned in all of his dealings and earned wide respect for his considerable personal attainments and his commitment and service to organizations beyond his own career interests.

Irrespective of title, Gibson held a high status as a legendary figure in higher education in accounting. Indeed, not many full professors of accounting have been recognized at the end of their careers for their contributions to higher education in the ways that Gibson has been recognized. With a sharp mind, he was a man of integrity, a person who sought justice, and an industrious accounting thinker concerned with both creating and transferring an understanding of accounting thought and practice from both contemporary and historical perspectives and, by means of mentoring, in developing future accounting scholars. Accounting scholarship was left in better shape through his dedicated all-round contributions to the discipline.