A tribute to Tony Lowe: the man who taught me how to think

Abstract

March 2014 saw the passing of Tony Lowe, the academic father figure of the 'Sheffield School of 'Accounting' Thought'. His legacy has been described in extended reflections in major academic accounting journals in the UK and the USA written by remarkable academics. This paper is an attempt to complement these valuable contributions. The author has been supervised by Tony Lowe and is one of the earliest members of his Sheffield School. He describes in this paper how Tony Lowe supervised his students, and highlights his views about education and supervision. He also describes how Tony selected members of his elite group, how he kept following their careers even if they were so far away and how he managed to create a strong bond social and academic between them. The legend of the Sheffield School is two-fold: First, its impact on accounting theory, research and education. Second: The high quality of academics it produced. They have together made a remarkable positive impact on the development of accounting education and research all over the world. The names I listed represent part of the group who were more closely associated with me during my stay in the UK. I apologise to those colleagues whose names I overlooked.