The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is soliciting proposals for 2008 research grants on management accounting in collaboration with the American Accounting Association's Management Accounting Section.

The AICPA will fund one or more projects with grants up to $75,000. Members of the AAA Management Accounting Section may submit proposals for research in the following areas:

Strategic Management - Advancing the role of the management accountant as a strategic partner in the organization.

Performance Management - Developing the practice of business decision-making and managing the performance of the organization.

Risk Management - Contributing to frameworks and practices for identifying, measuring, managing and reporting risks to the achievement of the objectives of the organization.

The deadline for proposals is March 31, 2008. The AICPA will select winning proposals by April 30, 2008, and is seeking to have the research completed by July 31, 2009. The researchers will be expected to produce a final report, a paper intended for publication in a major academic journal and an article for the Journal of Accountancy, the Institute's monthly magazine. You can read the proposal guidelines.

"The AICPA is committed to expanding the body of knowledge in this critical area," said Christopher McKittrick, the Institute's director of Business, Industry and Government. "Many of our members are employed in business, industry and government in positions that include management accounting."