FEI Hall Of Fame

Dennis R. Beresford

Age: 67 Residence: Athens, Ga.
Current: Ernst & Young Executive Professor of Accounting, J. M. Tull School of Accounting, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia College: University of Southern California, B.S., Accounting; CPA
Boards: Currently a member of the board and chairman of the audit committee of Fannie Mae, Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Legg Mason Inc.

Until January 2006, he also served as a member of the board and audit committee chairman of MCI Inc. (formerly WorldCom Inc.) As a professor of accounting, it is said that Dennis R. Beresford opens each semester by telling his MBA and Masters of Accountancy students, "I love accounting and am still very enthusiastic about the career I chose 40 years ago and continue to pursue."

Beresford spent 25 years (1961-86) with Ernst & Young LLP, including 10 years as a senior partner and national director of accounting. He also wrote frequent articles for Financial Executive. From 1987-97, he served two consecutive terms as chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the U.S.-designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. He was awarded the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service by the American Institute of CPAs in 2004; was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame at Ohio State University in 2004; awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 by the California Society of CPAs and an Honorary Doctorate in 1995 from DePaul University.

Since 1997, he has served as an Advisory Member for the Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR) for Financial Executives International and as a Member of the Financial Reporting Committee for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

He was nominated to FEI's Hall of Fame by Philip D. Ameen, VP and Comptroller of General Electric Co. Ameen says of Beresford: "His integrity and respect for others is shown in that he is always willing and ready to understand others' views, and always treats those views with respect." One measure of Beresford's spotless reputation, says Ameen, is his being appointed to the WorldCom board of directors "as a statement by that board refuting previous accounting conduct."

Beresford's individual and organizational performance is highlighted by his stint at FASB, where, under his leadership, the organization issued about one-quarter of its total output on a broad range of important and complex topics about which constituents and the board were often deeply divided. Yet, he never permitted the FASB to rest on its laurels, but continued to challenge whether each solution was as good as it could and should be.

He was responsible for leading FASB during some of its most difficult challenges dealing with income taxes, earnings per share, comprehensive income, segment reporting, stock compensation and early securitizations pronouncements.

Beresford is known to seek solutions that meet the needs of all parties. He's also known for his "great attitude" and for being approachable. Indeed, says Ameen of Beresford: "He knows when to laugh at himself and his profession, but knows when to bring gravitas to bear to reach his objective." On being inducted into FEI's Hall of Fame, Beresford reacted with "shock and awe." He credits Ray Groves, the former CEO of Ernst & Young, as the person most critical to his personal development. Groves, he says, "challenged me to exceed what I thought were my limitations in 1971, and continues, to this date, to be a great source of advice and inspiration."

Beresford's advice to others moving up in the profession is simply: "Get a Golden Retriever. No matter how lousy things are, the Golden will love and energize you."

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