![Photo of people in the article](https://business.wfu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Canace.jpg)
Associate Professor of Accounting Thomas Canace was awarded a Lybrand Gold Medal for his co-authored manuscript, “The CFO as Asset Manager: Moving Your Line of Sight with Data Analytics.”
The annual Lybrand Awards recognize individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the profession through articles published in Strategic Finance and Management Accounting Quarterly.
The gold medal is the top award for the most outstanding article published in the past year as judged by the Institute of Management Accountants, an organization with over 100,000 members globally.
The manuscript discusses how data analytics offers management accountants the opportunity to use enabling technologies to align asset management with their company’s strategic direction. “As tangible assets are the lifeline of the business, we discuss how CFO organizations can move their line of sight from reactive asset analysts to proactive asset-management catalysts in the business,” Canace said. “Results from our CFO survey show that work currently being done is focused more on information management than on analysis to drive decision-making. Discussions with CFOs reveal five possible obstacles that could become focal points in transitioning to a new digital-CFO organization.”