American Accounting Association

What American Accounting Association does

The American Accounting Association, founded in 1916 and headquartered in Lakewood Ranch, Florida (Sarasota), is a nonprofit professional association serving a global community of 6,000+ accounting educators, researchers, practitioners, and students. Its core product surface consists of 18 peer-reviewed academic journals (including The Accounting Review, Accounting Horizons, Issues in Accounting Education, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, the Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, and section journals covering auditing, taxation, forensic accounting, governmental/nonprofit, international, management, financial reporting, information systems, and history), delivered through a member-only Digital Library at publications.aaahq.org. The technical platform stack is a digital publishing system, an online learning management system for continuing professional education (CPE) delivery, and a member portal (my.aaahq.org) for engagement and resource access; AAA has no public API and no AI/ML products disclosed.

Membership is organized into 17 specialized sections (AAH, ABO, AIS, ATA, AUD, EAC, FARS, FAS, GIWB, GNP, IA, Leadership, MAS, PIES, SET, TLC, TYC), each functioning as a sub-community with its own journal, dues, and midyear meeting. Revenue is overwhelmingly recurring and membership-based: full membership (~$50/year), student/retired/two-year/emerging-economies tiers at lower price points, section dues ($6-$50), institutional subscriptions for journal access, conference registrations for the annual Global Connect (formerly Annual Meeting) plus section midyears, doctoral/new-faculty/mid-career consortia, and on-demand async CPE. The association is governed by an elected Board, Council, and Management Team (President Mark S. Beasley 2025-2026, President-Elect Gary McGill, CEO Yvonne Hinson) and is supported by an affiliated AAA Foundation.

Go-to-market is community-led: AAA recruits and retains members through thought leadership (Impact Hub), webinars (weARE, Pipeline), podcasts, awards such as the Yuji Ijiri Lecture Series (seventh lecture delivered 2025 by Ray Ball), and the annual meeting, while institutional and corporate partnership programs extend reach into universities and firms. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and there is no third-party funding or venture ownership.

Name

American Accounting Association

Legal name

American Accounting Association

Website

https://aaahq.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1916

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The American Accounting Association is a nonprofit professional association founded in 1916, serving 6,000+ accounting educators, researchers, practitioners, and students globally through 18 peer-reviewed journals, 17 specialized sections, an annual Global Connect conference, and continuing professional education programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association & Academic Publishing

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Accounting, Audit & Tax (CPA/CA/ACCA CPE) (EDAAALAA)

Keywords

• Professional accounting association
• Academic accounting journals
• Continuing professional education
• Accounting research publications
• Membership professional society

Headquarters

HQ city

Sarasota

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees ranging from free to approximately $50 per year depending on membership tier (student, retired, full, emerging economies, two-year college)
2. Section Memberships: Additional dues for specialized sections ranging from $20-$50 per year for professionals and $6-$10 for students
3. Journal Publications and Digital Library Access: Access to 18 premier journals and archives included with membership; revenue from institutional subscriptions and single-article purchases
4. Events and Conferences: Registration fees for AAA Global Connect (annual meeting), section midyear meetings, workshops, and consortiums including Doctoral, New Faculty, and Mid-Career Faculty consortia
5. CPE (Continuing Professional Education): 30+ free CPE hours for members; on-demand async CPE offerings; online learning programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The American Accounting Association is a membership-based professional association that serves 6,000+ accounting educators, researchers, practitioners, and students globally. Its core offerings include 18 premier academic journals, a member-access Digital Library, the annual AAA Global Connect conference, 30+ hours of CPE, 17 specialized sections aligned to accounting disciplines, a Career Center job board, and thought leadership through the Impact Hub.

Product overview

The American Accounting Association operates as a membership-based professional organization rather than a software product company. The organization's core offerings consist of 18 premier academic journals (including flagship journals like The Accounting Review and Accounting Horizons, plus specialized journals covering topics from auditing to forensic accounting to information systems), a digital library platform for member access to publications, the annual AAA Global Connect conference, webinar-based continuing professional education, a career center, and various thought leadership resources. The portfolio is unified under the AAA membership, which provides access to journals, CPE hours, meeting discounts, and section memberships across 17 specialized accounting areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AAA Global Connect: The premier annual gathering of accounting educators, researchers, and practitioners (formerly Annual Meeting)
• AAA Impact Hub
• AAA Career Center
• Ijiri Lecture Series
• Digital Library

Products and services

• The Accounting Review Premier academic journal publishing research in accounting theory and practice, for accounting researchers, educators, and doctoral students.
• Accounting Horizons Journal addressing contemporary accounting practice, standards, and education insights for academics and practitioners.
• Issues in Accounting Education Journal dedicated to accounting education research and pedagogy for accounting educators and curriculum designers.
• Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory Journal covering auditing research and practice applications for auditing academics and practitioners.
• Behavioral Research in Accounting Journal examining behavioral aspects of accounting for accounting researchers studying judgment and decision-making.
• Current Issues in Auditing Journal addressing contemporary auditing topics and developments for auditing educators and professionals.
• Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting Journal focusing on technology applications in accounting for researchers and educators in accounting information systems.
• Journal of Forensic Accounting Research Journal publishing research on forensic and investigative accounting for forensic accounting academics and professionals.
• Journal of Governmental & Nonprofit Accounting Journal covering governmental and nonprofit sector accounting for public sector accounting researchers and educators.
• Accounting Historians Journal Journal dedicated to accounting history research for historians of accounting and related disciplines.
• Journal of International Accounting Research Journal focused on international accounting topics for academics and practitioners with cross-border accounting interests.
• Journal of Legal Tax Research Journal covering legal and tax accounting research for tax and legal accounting academics.
• Journal of Management Accounting Research Journal publishing management accounting research for management accounting academics and practitioners.
• Accounting and the Public Interest Journal addressing accounting's role in public interest for ethics, sustainability, and public interest researchers.
• Journal of Financial Reporting Journal focused on financial reporting research for financial reporting academics and standard-setters.
• Journal of Information Systems Journal covering accounting information systems for AIS researchers and practitioners.
• Journal of the American Taxation Association Journal dedicated to taxation association research for tax academics and practitioners.
• Digital Library Member-only digital platform providing unlimited access to all 17 AAA journals and archives for individual members and institutional subscribers.
• AAA Global Connect Annual Meeting Annual premier gathering of accounting educators, researchers, and practitioners featuring paper presentations, workshops, and networking.
• weARE Webinar Series Ongoing webinar programming providing CPE credits and professional education on current accounting topics for AAA members.
• AAA Career Center Professional job board and career resources platform connecting accounting professionals with employers in academia and practice.
• Ijiri Lecture Series Annual rotating lecture series honoring Professor Yuji Ijiri's contributions to accounting, delivered at academic conferences worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 years of continuous operation as the leading accounting academic organization
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship.

• AACSB InternationalflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2026AAA participates in a coalition led by AACSB International including 10 global academic organizations to develop 'A Framework for Research Impact: Insights, Pathways, and Calls to Action.' The framework helps business schools define, evaluate, and communicate the broader impact of academic research beyond academia.
• Global Scholarly Societies (Coalition of 9-10 Academic Organizations)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2026AACSB International and a coalition of global scholarly societies developed a framework to help business schools define, assess, and communicate the broader impact of academic research. The initiative calls on stakeholder groups across the research ecosystem—including scholarly societies, publishers, journals, and ranking bodies—to adopt a more collective and coordinated approach.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants): AICPA is the largest US professional membership organization for CPAs, offering CPE, publications, advocacy, and credentialing. It is the most direct peer to AAA: both serve accounting professionals with education, publications, and member benefits, though AICPA focuses on practicing CPAs while AAA focuses on accounting academia.
• Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA): IIA is the global professional association for internal auditors, offering the CIA credential, research, CPE, and conferences. It is a direct peer to AAA — adjacent accounting discipline with a parallel professional association model — and overlaps with AAA's Auditing Section.
• Institute of Management Accountants (IMA): IMA is a global association for management accountants and finance professionals, offering the CMA credential, CPE, publications, and member communities. Like AAA, IMA operates a membership model with journals, sections, and CPE — and overlaps with AAA's Management Accounting Section (MAS).
• Financial Executives International (FEI): FEI is a US-based association for senior financial executives (CFOs, controllers, treasurers). It offers CPE, committees, and policy advocacy. It is a direct peer to AAA serving the practitioner side of the same accounting/finance ecosystem that AAA's academic members research and teach.
• CFA Institute: CFA Institute is the global professional body for investment professionals, offering the CFA credential, research publications, and member education. It is a structural analogue to AAA in finance — academic-rooted professional body with journals, conferences, and continuing education — though serving the investment profession rather than accounting.

Emerging players

• Beta Alpha Psi: Beta Alpha Psi is the international honor society for accounting, finance, and information systems students and professionals, with chapters at universities worldwide. It is an emerging player adjacent to AAA, serving the same academic pipeline but focused on undergraduate student recognition rather than research publishing.

Regional players

• European Accounting Association (EAA): EAA is the leading European academic accounting association, hosting the annual EAA Congress and affiliated journals. It is the most direct regional peer to AAA, serving the same academic accounting audience in a different geography with overlapping mission and journal/conference model.
• CPA Canada (Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada): CPA Canada is the national professional body for Canadian CPAs, offering the CPA credential, professional education, and publications. It is a regional peer to AAA serving accounting professionals in Canada, with overlapping membership, journal, and CPE models.

Broad incumbents

• International Federation of Accountants (IFAC): IFAC is the global umbrella organization for the accounting profession, representing national PAOs and setting international standards. It is a broader incumbent in the accounting association space, with overlapping thought-leadership and award programs (e.g., IFAC Gold Service Award to AAA members) but a different scope.
• AACSB International: AACSB International accredits business schools worldwide and convenes scholarly societies (including AAA) on research impact frameworks. It is a broader incumbent and strategic partner in the academic accounting ecosystem, overlapping with AAA's academic membership and institutional channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aaahq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-accounting-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about American Accounting Association