By any measure, Robert Newton Anthony (1916–2006) was a giant among 20th century
academic accountants. After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree from Colby College, he
matriculated to the Harvard Business School (HBS), where he earned his M.B.A. and
D.B.A. degrees. Bob spent his entire academic career at HBS, retiring in 1983. He is best known as
a prolific writer of articles, textbooks, and research reports. He was inducted as a member of the
Accounting Hall of Fame (1986), was a recipient of the American Accounting Association’s (AAA)
Outstanding Accounting Educator Award (1989), and then was the second recipient of the AAA
Management Accounting Section’s Lifetime Contribution to Management Accounting Award
(2003), as well as serving as President of the American Accounting Association (1973–1974). In
addition, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Management (1970). These honors indicate
that he was, indeed, a significant contributor to the development of his chosen field of management
accounting for over 50 years, and highly respected by his peers. They do not indicate why. My
intention is to answer that question.
Bob Anthony was the ideal person to be a leader in the post-World War II movement that
changed cost accounting into management accounting. He possessed broad interests and not only
was an academic, but also was interested in solving problems found in the real world. He was
equally comfortable working as an academic and as a manager. He served as Under Secretary
(Comptroller) in the Department of Defense for his old friend and fellow Harvard Business School
graduate, Robert S. McNamara, from 1965 to 1968. While at the Department, Anthony earned the
Defense Department Award for Public Service for developing a system of cost management and
control for the Department (Harvard University Gazette 2006).
Though many identify him with the diverse set of textbooks he authored or co-authored, he
also undertook what we now would identify as field research, e.g., Anthony (1952). His interest in
studying accounting and management in a real-world setting informed his views on what