Denham Receives Medal of Honor

Robert E. Denham, a partner with the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles, received the AICPA’s 2009 Medal of Honor.

The Medal of Honor, the Institute’s highest honor presented to a non-CPA, recognizes an individual whose work has influenced the profession significantly. Denham was presented the award at the fall meeting of the AICPA governing Council by Kathy G. Eddy, a member of the Awards Committee and a former AICPA chair.

Denham is a public member of the Institute’s Professional Ethics Executive Committee. He draws upon his experience as a practicing lawyer, board member and former CEO in providing perspective to the committee on the Code of Professional Conduct and disciplinary cases. He has also served on many committee task forces charged with developing ethical guidance for CPAs.

He served for five years as chair of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the independent, private-sector organization with responsibility for appointment, oversight, administration and finances of FASB, GASB and both boards’ advisory councils. As FAF chair, Denham focused particularly on maintaining the independence of FASB and GASB.

Denham was a founding member of the Independence Standards Board, which in 1997 was established jointly by the AICPA and the SEC to develop independence standards for auditors of SEC registrants.

Denham is chairman of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a trustee of the New School University, and vice chairman of the Good Samaritan Hospital of Los Angeles. He recently served as co-chair of the Conference Board’s Executive Compensation task force. He is also a member of the board of directors of Chevron Corp., the New York Times Co., Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A. de CV, Wesco Financial Corp. and Oaktree Capital Group LLC.