1993 ACCOUNTING HALL OF FAME INDUCTION: RICHARD T. BAKER

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONRichard T. Baker is best described as a great leader in everything he has done: athletics, business, civic and charitable, education, and professional.Dick Baker's leadership is exemplified by his unique ability to urge his colleagues to perform to their highest potential. Characteristic of a good leader, he achieved by providing others the opportunity and encouragement to achieve, and then by giving them the recognition for their accomplishments.Progressing rapidly in the profession during a period when there were major distinctions between partners and staff, Dick continually strived to reduce these barriers. He was very successful in developing a collegial environment in Ernst & Ernst, where every person was treated with respect for their respective individual abilities regardless of their position. The result was the improved realization of everyone's talents.Long a strong proponent of education, Dick led his firm to design, construct, and staff an education center For the professional education of its people, as well as or others in the academic and business community. He also encouraged continuing education throughout a person's professional career, realizing that rapid changes in the business environment required that each professional's skills be continually updated and enhanced.Dick Baker always encouraged the profession to address and resolve its challenges and problems through its own efforts rather than by looking to the government. He believes that the private sector is capable of making even greater contributions to our economy and our well being through utilizing and organizing the many capabilities of its private citizens. Throughout his career, Dick freely gave his personal time and resources to many civic, business, and educational leadership positions.In summary, Dick is a man who has challenged himself and others to achieve their personal best, while always being fair to and respectful of every person. It is a personal privilege and pleasure to know him and to have worked with him.Ray J. Grooves Chairman, Ernst & YoungINDUCTION CITATIONAlways a leader, his lifetime, like Gaul, can be divided into three parts, each one crowned with distinction and widespread recognition. In the first phase, he achieved the ambition of every American schoolboy to become a national champion athlete. In his maturity, he rose through the ranks of his public accounting firm to become its managing partner and worldwide leader for over a dozen years during a period of increased awareness of an accounting information, great professional growth, and major social change. In the third phase, for a fifteen year period, he served on the boards of directors of seven Fortune 500 companies (none of which were clients of Ernst & Ernst). In 1986, he was selected by the National Association of Corporate Directors as the Outstanding Director of the Year. On all seven companies, he was chairman of their increasingly powerful audit committees. Now retired from all boards except one, he plays golf, fishes, and hunts a little and has time to enjoy the accomplishments of others including those of his four college degreed children and playwright son.He also keeps close tabs on the pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Born during World War I in Anderson, Indiana, he was educated in a one-room school house through the sixth grade. He was the youngest of three sons of a father who worked for General Motors-Delco Remy Division for 35 years at a managerial level. In Anderson High School, Dick achieved the dream of every Indiana youth. In his senior year, he starred on the basketball team which won the state championship and was named on the all-state team. He came to Ohio State with only a waiver of the out-of-state tuition to play basketball and to major in accounting. He worked part-time as an assistant trainer to support himself for four years. …