Otto A. Altenburger

Otto A. Altenburger (2016)

Otto A. Altenburger (born October 29, 1951 in Vienna ) is an Austrian economist and retired university professor for business administration at the University of Vienna .

Career

Altenburger began studying business administration in 1971 at the University for World Trade in Vienna (today's Vienna University of Economics and Business), which he completed on July 4, 1975 with a master's degree. A study visit to Miami University in Oxford (Ohio) was followed by the next academic steps at the Vienna University of Economics and Business: Heinrich Stremitzer received his doctorate sub auspiciis in 1979 . In 1990 he was the subject of economic sciences at Gerhard shallow habilitation . In the same year Altenburger moved to the University of Regensburg and took over the chair for general business administration and insurance management. After a temporary appointment (not accepted) at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald , he became the holder of the chair for external accounting (auditing and fiduciary services) at the University of Vienna, Faculty of Economics, succeeding Erich Loitlsberger . In addition to the basic training in the field of external accounting, he took on the technical responsibility for the core subjects "External Corporate Accounting" and "Auditing, Taxes and Fiduciary Services". He held this position until his retirement at the beginning of the 2017/18 winter semester. Since 2008, he has also confirmed his university commitment through his work as director of the Institute for Business Administration, an office that he also held until his retirement. In addition to this, he continues to teach at the University of Vienna at the request of the faculty.

His scientific profile led to the receipt of a teaching position at the Institute for Insurance Economics at the University of St. Gallen , which he held for many years. As a representative of the department, he became a member of the board of directors of the insurance industry of the German Association for Insurance Science in 1997. V., a position he held until it was reorganized in 2010. He also worked for several years as an external examiner for Insurance and Risk Management at the University of Limerick. The academic achievements were u. a. honored with the Kardinal-Innitzer-Förderungspreis for social and economic sciences as well as a sponsorship award of the Senator-Wilhelm-Wilfling-Stiftung.

Under his supervision, three of his employees received their habilitation. In chronological order these are: Max Göttsche (Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt), Michaela Schaffhauser-Linzatti and Karina Sopp (both University of Vienna). To recognize his work, a special edition of the Österr. Journal for Law and Accounting (RWZ) and in 2017, on the occasion of his retirement, a commemorative publication by Springer Verlag (edited by Udo Wagner and Michaela Schaffhauser-Linzatti). Further appreciation of his person appeared in magazines such as the RWZ, the tax and economic card index and the Wirtschaftstreuhänder.

Main focus of work and research

Altenburger's research activities are reflected in his list of publications, in addition to a large number of lectures. a. includes around 110 articles and conference contributions, books and several editorships.

His early work established him in the field of insurance economics. In addition, there were other focal points in the field of accounting, in particular the accounting of insurance companies, general accounting according to UGB and HGB and university accounting. His monograph on the “Production and Cost Theory of Services” (dissertation, 1978/1980) as well as his work on provisions in national accounting law should be emphasized as to their effect. His commentary on the Accounting Act (1993) has long been a standard work for the interpretation of Austrian accounting law.

As part of his professorship at the University of Vienna, he also represented the subjects of "Business Taxation" and "Auditing". In the last few years he finally took over basic courses in the subject “cost accounting”.

Science and practice

Altenburger combined his academic achievements with a practice-oriented orientation by changing his assistant work at the University of World Trade and Vienna University of Economics to several years of work at Alpen-Treuhand GmbH (today: KPMG Austria GmbH) auditing and tax consulting company in Vienna - most recently as an authorized signatory - added; During this period between doctorate and habilitation, he was appointed tax advisor, auditor and auditor. His attachment to the profession showed in later years his membership in the specialist panels for corporate law and auditing as well as for business administration (and organization) of the Chamber of Public Accountants (KWT) or his participation in the Austrian Financial Reporting and Auditing Committee (AFRAC). Since its establishment, he has also been a member of the scientific advisory board of the Institute of Austrian Auditors (iwp), Vienna.

In addition, his commitment to interlinking science and practice was expressed in the series of public lectures he organized at the University of Vienna, in which academics from home and abroad gave lectures on current problems in the fields of accounting, taxes and auditing.

Private life

Otto A. Altenburger is married and has five daughters. Since his return from Regensburg (2002) he has lived with parts of his family in Kritzendorf (Lower Austria).

Publications (selection)

Books

• Approaches to a production and cost theory of services (Betriebswirtschaftliche Schriften, volume 101), Berlin: Duncker & Humblot 1980; 218 pages (dissertation, Vienna 1978)
• Commentary on the accounting law, bookkeeping and annual financial statements (§§ 189 to 243 HGB with transitional provisions), Vienna: Ueberreuter 1993; 602 pages
• Accounting and uncertainty (research results from auditing and business taxation, edited by Erich Loitlsberger, Dieter Rückle and Jörg Baetge, vol. 13), Berlin: Duncker & Humblot 1995; 225 pages (habilitation thesis, Vienna 1990)
• The current status of the development of IFRS Insurance - new solutions to basic accounting problems? (No. 370 of the "Regensburg Discussion Contributions to Economics"), Regensburg 2002

Articles in magazines

• Decision-oriented cost accounting in insurance operations , in: Journal for the entire insurance science, 64th Vol. 1975, pp. 441–502
• Potential factors as derivative production factors of service production, Some thoughts on the production theory of services , in: Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft , 49th year 1979, pp. 863–872
• Cost accounting and uncertainty , in: Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft , 65th year 1995, pp. 729–739
• Unbundling of insurance contracts according to IFRSs - applicability and limitations (with Max Göttsche and Magdalena Kuntner), in: Journal for the entire insurance science, 97. Vol. 2008, pp. 162–176

Editorships

• Series of publications on business taxation, accounting and finance , Ludwigsburg - Berlin or Sternenfels - Berlin or Sternenfels: Science & Practice (with Matthias Lehmann, University of Trier)
• Regensburg contributions to business research , series of publications by the Institute for Business Administration at the University of Regensburg, Frankfurt am Main - Berlin - Bern - New York - Paris - Vienna or (after some changes) Frankfurt am Main - Berlin - Bern - Bruxelles - New York - Oxford - Vienna: Lang (with Kurt Bohr, Jochen Drukarczyk, Hans Jürgen Drumm, Harald Hruschka, Dirk Meyer-Scharenberg , Gerhard Scherrer and Helmut Steckhan, since 2000 also with Michael Dowling)
• Progress in accounting, suggestions for further developments in the service of corporate and group management by corporate bodies and owners, Gerhard Seicht on his 60th birthday , Wiesbaden: Gabler 1999 (with Otto Janschek and Heinrich Müller); apart from foreword and directories 27 contributions by 35 authors, XIV + 813 pages; 2nd, revised edition 2000
• Publication series accounting, auditing and taxes , Vienna: Linde

Web links

• Literature by and about Otto A. Altenburger in the catalog of the German National Library
• Website of the Chair of External Accounting at the University of Vienna