Raef Lawson is Vice President-Research and Policy and Professor-in-Residence for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), where he leads global thought leadership efforts and oversees student and academic relations programs.  He is also chair of the IMA-AAA Management Accounting Section’s Curriculum Task Force. He previously served on the International Accounting Education Standards Board.

He received his MBA and Ph.D. degrees from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University.  He holds a variety of professional certifications including CMA, CFA, CPA, and ACMA. 

Prior to joining IMA, Dr. Lawson was a professor and Chair of the Department of Accounting and Law at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany.  He has also held senior leadership experience in diverse settings, including academia, practice, and professional associations.

Dr. Lawson has published several books and over 70 articles in the areas of sustainability, business ethics, performance scorecards, activity based costing, international cost management practices, and cost and performance management systems in journals including The Accounting Review, Cost Management, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Business, Finance, and Accounting.

While presenting the The Economist 2014 CFO Summit, IFAC CEO Fayez Choudhury spoke with Lianna Brinded of the International Business Times on the evolving role of chief financial officers.

The objective of the Innovation Working Group (Formerly Innovation, Needs and Future Opportunities (INFO) Working Group) is to explore emerging developments in the audit, assurance and related services fields for the purpose of assisting the IAASB in identifying opportunities for relevant and effective standard setting, or determining other potential actions, in a timely and informed manner.