Each year, we ask candidates for our Top 100 Most Influential list who they feel are the most influential figures in accounting, and this year's results reinforced some long-term trends.First off, the top vote-getters are the same, with American Institute of CPAs' chief executive Barry Melancon once again at the top. We also once again had a record number of responses (98) and a record number of nominations (102 individuals), reflecting the wider net we have to cast to take in all the people who impact the profession.
The only departure from last year was the number of people who thought significant influence lay with the individual accounting professional. He or she always gets some votes, but rarely enough to make it into the top tier, and never as many as this year. The stock of accounting professors and educators also rose, perhaps in consideration of their role in tempting more students to join the profession.
Finally, the only individual to garner a significant number of votes who was not also on this year's Top 100 list was Bob Bunting, the former Moss Adams chief and AICPA chair in 2004-2005. Bunting has appeared on the list frequently in the past, and we'll be keeping an eye on him in the future - particularly when he assumes the presidency of the International Federation of Accountants in late 2008.
