Speakers
Mark C. Dawkins
Friday, October 6, 2017, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Pathways to a Sustainable Future
Mark C. Dawkins is a Professor of Accounting in the Coggin College of Business at the University of North Florida. He holds a Ph.D. in Accounting from Florida State University (1994), MBA (1987) and Masters of Accounting (1988) degrees from the University of Florida, and a B.S. in Management (1985) from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
He joined UNF and the Coggin College of Business in June 2015 after serving 21 years on the faculty in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia (UGA). From 2008-2014 he served as the Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the Terry College, and from 2004-2008 he served as the Director of Diversity Relations. He teaches undergraduate and graduate financial accounting classes, and has taught Intermediate Accounting, MBA Financial Accounting, and Intermediate Accounting for Non-Majors. He also has taught undergraduate and graduate accounting and college-level internship classes.
He has published in The Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial & Quantitative Analysis, the Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, the Journal of Business, Finance & Accounting, the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Managerial Issues, Sociological Inquiry, the Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, Management Accounting Quarterly, and other journals or newsletters.
He was a co-recipient of the 2006 and 2003 Beta Alpha Psi Outstanding Teacher of the Year award at UGA, and received the 2006 and 2003 Alpha Kappa Psi Accounting Teacher of the Year Award. He is a member of the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of Accountants, the Florida Society of CPAs, the PhD Project (www.phdproject.org), and the Accounting Doctoral Student Association. In August 2009, he was one of five recipients of the inaugural Ernst & Young Inclusive Excellence Award for Accounting and Business School Faculty. In January of 2014, he received the 2014 UGA President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award at the MLK Freedom Breakfast at UGA. He is the Council Chair (2016-2017) for the American Accounting Association.
Weston Smith
Saturday, October 7, 2017, 8:30 am – 10:00 am
Exploring a Fraud: Sparking New Insights for Behavioral Accounting Research
Weston Smith began his career as a CPA with EY, specializing in audit and healthcare consulting. He was hired by Healthsouth during it’s infancy, and ultimately became CFO of the company with over 2,000 locations in all 50 states and five countries. However, underneath the persona of success, Mr. Smith was a participant in a financial statement fraud that ran for over 15 years, with an earnings overstatement of over Three Billion dollars. Weston eventually voluntarily exposed the fraud, and accepted the consequences of his former actions.
Today, in addition to working as an accountant for small businesses, Mr. Smith is a guest lecturer with an emphasis on fraud prevention and ethical conduct. He has been published in Issues in Accounting Education, and has spoken at dozens of universities and numerous professional groups across the country and internationally. He has also appeared on CNBC, Fox Business Network, and other media outlets.