H. Thomas Johnson (born 1938) is an American accounting historian, and Professor of Business Administration at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decad ...

, known for his work on the

history of accounting The history of accounting or accountancy can be traced to ancient civilizations.Keith, Robson. 1992. “Accounting Numbers as ‘inscription’: Action at a Distance and the Development of Accounting.” ''Accounting, Organizations and Society'' ...

and accounting thought

Life and work

Johnson obtained his BA in economics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and his MBA in accounting from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

. He obtained a PhD in economic history from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. He went on to earn a Certified Public Accountant license.H. Thomas Johnson profile
at Portland State University. Accessed 10.02.2015 After graduation Johnson started as accountant at

Arthur Andersen Arthur Andersen was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corporat ...

. In the early 1970s he started his academic career at the University of Western Ontario as Assistant Professor of Economics, and by 1975 was Associate Professor of Economics. In 1980 he was appointed Professor of Accounting at the Western Washington University. In 1988 he move to the

, where he was appointed Professor of Business Administration. At the Bainbridge Graduate Institute in Washington he is also appointed Distinguished Consulting Professor of Sustainable Business. A 2003 survey by Harvard Business School Press placed him among the 200 leading management thinkers living today. The American Society for Quality awarded him the Deming Medal in 2008
see acceptance remarks
, and in 2007 he received a distinguished lifetime achievement award from the American Accounting Association. Johnson's research interests are in the field of "the intersection of systems thinking, modern physics, and sustainable operations management ndexplor sthe application of natural living system principles to the design of ecologically-focused local business operations that emulate and extend the scope of the Toyota Production System."

Selected publications

* Johnson, H. Thomas. ''Relevance lost: the rise and fall of management accounting.'' Harvard Business Press, 1991. * Johnson, H. Thomas. ''Relevance regained.'' Simon and Schuster, 2002. Articles, a selection: * Johnson, H. Thomas, and Robert S. Kaplan. "The rise and fall of management accounting." ''Engineering Management Review,'' IEEE 15.3 (1987): 36-44. * Johnson, H. Thomas. "It’s time to stop overselling activity-based concepts." ''Management Accounting'' 74.3 (1992): 26-35.

References

External links

H. Thomas Johnson
profile at Portland State University {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, H. Thomas 1938 births Living people American accountants American economists American business theorists Accounting academics Harvard University alumni Rutgers University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario Western Washington University faculty Portland State University faculty