Accounting Professor L. Howard Godfrey is being honored by the Charlotte business community for his academic leadership and legacy. He will receive the first Academic Leadership Award during the Charlotte Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Awards July 22.
Godfrey joined the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte in 1975. He was the first business faculty member to hold a Ph.D. in accounting, which he received from the University of Alabama, and the first CPA in Charlotte with a doctoral degree. Teaching primarily in the area of federal taxation, Godfrey is a certified public accountant in North Carolina and a member of the American Accounting Association, the American Taxation Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
In addition, he is past president of the Charlotte Chapter of Financial Executives International and author of “Handbook on Tax-Exempt Organizations.” He has served as an expert witness in a number of legal cases involving accounting and financial matters. He is a coauthor, with Kenneth Godfrey, of “Navigating the Complex World of Life Insurance.” He and his colleagues lobbied to add a Beta Alpha Psi chapter at the University, and they coached tax teams that were ranked among the top in the nation and developed a strong industry outreach program that continues to this day.
Godfrey is the recipient of many honors. In 1994, he received the Accounting Educator Award from the N.C. Association of CPAs. In 2011, he received the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, and in 2012, he received the UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence. This spring, Godfrey received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association.
The Charlotte Business Journal recognizes outstanding chief financial officers at its annual CFO of the Year Awards Luncheon, which honors finance professionals in the Charlotte area who exemplify excellence as corporate financial stewards.
This year’s awards will have another UNC Charlotte connection. Sealed Air's Senior Vice President and CFO, Carol Lowe, who received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from UNC Charlotte, will deliver the keynote address about the ever-changing role of the CFO and corporate responsibility.
Hughlene Burton, chair of the Department of Accounting, said that Godfrey and Lowe are well deserving of the honors. “UNC Charlotte accounting alumni have been recognized during the CFO of the Year awards virtually every year, and Godfrey has been a pivotal figure in many of the nominations. We are especially proud of his honor and the impact of the accounting program in the Charlotte business community and beyond. We are equally proud of the accomplishments of our alumni.”