American Accounting Association

AAA Auditing Section Midyear Meeting

January 13 - January 15, 2011

Albuquerque, NM

Meeting Information

Program Information

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Consortium Schedule

co-sponsored by the Auditing Section, KPMG, and IDEA - Data Analysis Software
Workshop Schedule

Friday, January 14, 2011

Rod Winters, CIA, CPA
General Manager, Finance Operations, Microsoft Corporation
Past Chairman, IIA Global Board of Directors

The Audit Quality Forum's forthcoming paper, "Audit Quality - Challenges for 
International Consistency" explores the challenges posed by differences in 
national environments, because recognising and addressing these challenges is 
seen as critical to the success of initiatives to promote international consistency 
in audit quality, such as the development of international auditing standards. 

While the paper draws on a wide range of academic research, there appears to 
be very little research which bears directly on the issue of how national 
differences contribute to differences in audit quality. This session is intended to 
explore how academic and other research could make a vital contribution to this 
topic by, for example, identifying effective ways of sharing international 
experience, critically analysing how international standards should acknowledge 
national differences and exploring linkages between audit practice and wider 
issues of economic development.

PANELISTS
Craig Crawford, KPMG, National Partner in Charge
Cindy Fornelli, Center for Audit Quality, Executive Director
William Kinney, University of Texas - Austin
William F. Messier, Jr., University of Nevada - Las Vegas

As governance research in accounting and auditing approaches the end of its 
second decade, we believe that it is appropriate to ask, "Where do we go from 
here"? To provide insight into this question, the panelists are performing a 
literature review and synthesis to provide a basis for recommendations on future 
directions for governance research. The literature review encompasses (a) 
several governance-related literature review articles published in 2002-2010, and 
(b) over 200 research papers from 2003-2010.

In this session, the panelists will offer their thoughts on the major insights 
that have been revealed by governance research to date as well as the 
challenges currently facing governance researchers.

PANELISTS
Joseph Carcello, University of Tennessee
Dana Hermanson, Kennesaw State University
Zhongxia (Shelly) Ye, Kennesaw State University

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Bill Gradison, Ph.D.
Founding Member and Past Chairman, PCAOB

With the move toward a more principles-based financial reporting framework and 
increased emphasis on fair value measurement, along with increased 
expectations from stakeholders and regulators, the ability to consistently make 
high quality professional judgments is increasingly important. In response, KPMG 
has launched a professional judgment initiative, which includes development of a 
Professional Judgment Framework and training all the firm's assurance 
professionals on a good judgment process as well as common threats to good 
judgment in an audit environment. This Framework and training are intended to 
elevate judgment quality and professional skepticism across the firm and to 
provide a common vocabulary that facilitates implementation and mentoring on 
professional judgment. 
 
As part of the initiative, KPMG has produced a monograph intended for use as a 
supplement in college-level auditing and accounting courses to help students 
understand the components of and threats to good professional judgment. It is 
one thing for instructors to respond to student questions; that is a matter of 
professional judgment. It is another to help students understand what 
professional judgment is and how to develop and practice it. The KPMG student 
monograph is accompanied by instructor resources, including instructor notes, 
PowerPoint slides, examples and vignettes for use in the classroom. The training 
materials are based on actual training materials utilized by KPMG. This panel 
session will include a discussion of KPMG's judgment initiative and an introduction 
to the instructional materials that will be available for classroom use.

PANELISTS:
Rob Chevalier, KPMG Partner, Department of Professional Practice - Audit
George Herrmann, KPMG Partner, Audit Quality and Process Monitoring
Douglas Prawitt, Brigham Young University

Investors have been seeking more information from the auditors about the 
companies they audit.  What types of information are investors looking for?  Who 
should be responsible for providing the additional information?  If auditors should 
provide additional information, should changes be made to the auditor's report, or 
is there a better mechanism for providing information to shareholders?  How 
would changes to the auditor's report impact the activities performed during the 
course of the audit?  The Center for Audit Quality's Executive Director, Cindy 
Fornelli, will lead a lively discussion with senior practice leaders and academics 
on the auditor's report and how research can help to inform the debate.

PANELISTS:
Andy Fletchall, Americas Vice Chair, Assurance Professional Practice and Risk 
Management, E&Y
Sam Ranzilla, National Managing Partner, Audit Quality and Professional Practice, 
KPMG
Mark Taylor, Professor of Accountancy, Case Western Reserve

Should corporate governance be included in accounting curricula?  Yes, say the 
many internal audit practitioners who contribute to effective organizational 
governance each day.  The panel discussion and demonstration will cite how 
internal auditors meet that need every day and the skill sets needed by students 
to contribute to organizational governance.  The discussion will include a case 
study that educators can use in either a stand-alone internal audit course or 
within an integrated basic auditing course.

PANELISTS
Rich Clune, Kennesaw State University
Norman Marks, VP, Evangelist for GRC, SAP
Chad Stefaniak, Oklahoma State University