Jacob G. Birnberg, Ph.D. has been awarded the 2008 Lifetime Contribution Award from the Management Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association, sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The Lifetime Contribution Award recognizes individuals who have made an important mark on management accounting education, research, and practice. Birnberg was honored for his research and teachings regarding the application of behavioral sciences to accounting problems from organizational, individual, and group perspectives.

"Dr. Birnberg is a pioneer in the field of psychology-based research for accounting," said Ramamurthy Balakrishnan, professor and director at the RSM McGladrey Institute of Accounting Education and Research at the University of Iowa and chair of the 2009 Lifetime Contribution Award Selection Committee. "He collaborated on the landmark text, Cost Accounting: Accounting Data for Management Decisions, which was published in 1968."

Birnberg has researched the behavioral aspects of management control systems and has published his results in accounting journals and non-accounting journals such as Policy Sciences, American Journal of Community Psychology and Human Resources.

"Birnberg's focus on psychological research has helped management accountants consider how to improve systems of accountability and business processes," said Chris McKittrick, director of members in business, industry & government at the AICPA.

In 1999, Birnberg received the Lifetime Scholarly Contribution Award from the Accounting, Behavior and Organizations Section of the American Accounting Association.

Birnberg retired as the Robert W. Murphy Jr. Professor of Management Control Systems Emeritus, at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh in 2006 where he began teaching in 1964. From 1960 to 1964, Birnberg served on the faculty of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. He received his degrees from the University of Minnesota.

In addition to its work with the AAA Management Accounting Section, the AICPA has longstanding alliances in the field of management accounting with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Society of Management Accountants of Canada.