Speaker Bios
JK Aier, George Mason University
Accounting Accreditation Standards – Bane or Boon?
Friday, February 7, 2020, 10:45 am – 11:35 am
JK Aier is an associate professor of Accounting and Area Chair in the School of Business at George Mason University.
Aier’s research primarily focuses on the influence of managerial characteristics and incentives on financial reporting decisions. In an early paper, he investigated whether CFO characteristics are associated with accounting restatements. His recent research examines how changes in directors’ fiduciary duties could lead them to influence managers to adopt more conservative financial reporting. His work has been published in Journal of Accounting Research, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting Horizons and Journal of the American Taxation Association.
Aier teaches financial accounting courses at the undergraduate level and courses on corporate governance and advanced financial accounting for graduate students. He developed a teaching model on ethics and sustainability that lays the foundation for teaching ethics across the curriculum in graduate programs at the School of Business. He received the 2012 Beta Alpha Psi Philip Blanchard teaching award for excellence in undergraduate education and was nominated for the 2013 OSCAR mentoring excellence award.
Aier earned his PhD and Masters in Accountancy and Information Systems from Arizona State University. He is also a certified Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant and has an MBA from International Management Institute. Prior to his doctoral studies, Aier worked for more than nine years in the fields of banking and public accounting.
Liz Barentzen, Center for Audit Quality
Expanding Visions of Where an Accounting Degree Can Take Your Students
Friday, February 7, 2020, 11:40 am – 12:30 pm
Liz Barentzen is the Senior Director of Human Capital and Administration at the CAQ, where she oversees day-to-day and long-term strategic operations, as well as leads and advances strategic profession-wide initiatives to attract and retain talent.
Previously, Liz was the Chief Culture Officer at Sol Systems LLC, a national solar finance, investment, and development firm. In that role she worked to drive organizational effectiveness and helped manage change through a rapid period of growth, while overseeing all recruitment, learning, and retention initiatives.
Liz has almost 20 years of experience in human capital and is an Associate Certified Coach through the Georgetown Leadership Coaching program. A member of the New York Bar, she holds a JD from Brooklyn Law School and a BA in psychology from New York University.
Jim Benjamin, Texas A&M University
Accounting Accreditation Standards – Bane or Boon?
Friday, February 7, 2020, 10:45 am – 11:35 am
James Benjamin is the Deloitte Foundation Leadership Professor and Head of the Accounting Department in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. He joined the faculty at Texas A&M in 1974, and he has served as Department Head since 1982. He received his M.B.A. and D.B.A. degrees from Indiana University, and he is a Certified Public Accountant. He previously served as the Ph.D. Coordinator for the Department of Accounting and the Director of the College Honors Program. Dr. Benjamin is the co-author of two textbooks and has approximately seventy articles in academic and professional journals. He has received awards for both outstanding research and service from the Mays Business School and he received the University Distinguished Achievement Award for Administration and the Honors Student Council Advisor Award from Texas A&M University. He was named an Outstanding Educator by the Texas Society of CPAs, and he received the Faculty Merit Award from the Federation of Schools of Accountancy and the Outstanding Service Award from the Accounting Program Leadership Group. The Department of Accounting at Texas A&M University was named in his honor in 2019. He is a member of a number of professional and academic organizations and he has served as the Chair of the AACSB Accounting Standards Committee, a Trustee of the Accounting Education Foundation of the Texas Society of CPA’s, President of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy, and Vice President – Academics for the Accounting Programs Leadership Group.
Ken Bouyer, EY
Diversity Efforts of Firms and Schools
Ken Bouyer serves as the EY Americas Director of Inclusiveness Recruiting. In this role, Ken develops and implements the recruiting strategy to build and attract diverse and inclusive talent pools for EY Americas member firms. Prior to his current role, Ken was a Director in the US firm’s Advisory Services practice, supporting various global internal audit clients. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and serves on the Board of Trustees of Manhattan College, North Carolina A&T’s Dean’s Advisory Council and Arizona State University’s Accounting Advisory Board. He is a current Corporate Advisory Board Member of the National Association of Black Accountants and the Association of Latino Professionals For America, earning ALPFA’s 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award. Ken is also a Corporate Advisory Board Member of Ascend, which is the largest, non-profit Pan-Asian organization for business professionals in North America. Ken is the past Chair and current member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) National Commission on Diversity & Inclusion. Previously, Ken was a Board Member and International President of Beta Alpha Psi and a board member and Chair of the Audit Committee for the American Accounting Association. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Federation for the Schools of Accountancy (FSA), and is a recipient of the FSA's "Practitioner Service Award" for his distinguished service to the profession of accounting and accounting education.
Duane Brandon, Auburn University
Engagement and Fundraising
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 9:10 am - 10:00 am
Duane Brandon serves as Taylor Professor and Director of the School of Accountancy. He joined the Auburn faculty in 2003 after completing his PhD at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on auditor judgment, audit quality, and auditor liability. His work has appeared in Contemporary Accounting Research, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, the Journal of Accounting & Public Policy, and Behavioral Research in Accounting, among others. He has received multiple internal and external research grants, including a grant from the Center for Audit Quality (with Jennifer Mueller and James Long). With respect to teaching, he has been recognized and honored for outstanding teaching in a number of ways, including receiving the college’s prestigious Lowder Teaching Award, twice receiving the college’s McCartney Teaching Award, and receiving numerous School of Accountancy teaching awards.
Andy Call, Arizona State University
Ensuring the Value and Sustainability of Accountancy Graduate Programs
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 8:15 am – 9:05 am
Andy Call is a professor of accounting in the W.P. Carey School of Business and the Director of the School of Accountancy at Arizona State University. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Georgia, graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, and earned his MAcc and B.S. degrees in accounting at Brigham Young University. His research focuses primarily on (a) the role of sell-side and buy-side analysts in the capital markets, and (b) employee whistleblowers and their involvement in the discovery of financial misreporting. His studies have been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, and Review of Accounting Studies, and has been featured in many prominent media outlets (e.g., The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CFO Magazine, The Motley Fool, and CNBC). Professor Call teaches financial reporting topics and has received numerous teaching awards.
Michael Clement, University of Texas at Austin
Diversity Efforts of Firms and Schools
Friday, February 7, 2020, 9:00 am – 10:15 am
Michael Clement is the KPMG Centennial Professor and Chair of the Department of Accounting. His primary teaching interest is financial accounting and his primary research stream focuses on the activities and performance of sell-side security analysts. His research has been published in the Journal of Accounting and Economics, the Accounting Review the Journal of Accounting Research, and the Journal of Finance. He previously held positions at Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Deloitte Haskins & Sells. He earned a Ph.D. in accounting from Stanford University, an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago and a BBA in accounting from Baruch College.
Scott Collins, Pennsylvania State University
Program Culture
Friday, February 7, 2020, 10:45 am – 11:35 am
Scott Collins is the director of the One-Year Master of Accounting program at the Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business. He has served in his current role since 2012. Before joining Penn State, Collins worked in industry as a staff auditor, a plant controller, and a financial controller. Collins holds degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara, The Claremont Colleges in Claremont, California, and The Pennsylvania State University. Collins teaches undergraduate and graduate courses related to financial accounting, managerial accounting, and accounting information systems.
Colleen Conrad, NASBA
Update on CPA Evolution
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 10:30 am – 11:20 am
Colleen K. Conrad, CPA, serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NASBA. She is responsible for all operations of NASBA including services related to the CPA Examination, CPA licensing, the National CPA Registry and other services and products, as well as IT and risk management. Ms. Conrad also oversees governmental, international and professional relationships. She brings more than 25 years of accounting expertise and leadership to NASBA. As a former partner in a large regional CPA firm, she practiced in the firm’s Real Estate Services Group, providing real estate, attest, tax and consulting services to clients nationwide. Before joining NASBA, Ms. Conrad served on the Missouri Board of Accountancy, with two terms as chair. Her contributions to NASBA as a committee member and featured speaker during NASBA forums date back to 1997. A longtime member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), Ms. Conrad served a three-year term on the AICPA Council. She was a member of the AICPA Board of Examiners for 10 years, serving one term as chair. A Kansas native, Ms. Conrad is a member of the Tennessee Society of CPAs and past president and member of the St. Louis Society of Women CPAs. Among her numerous honors, she was named as an AICPA/Missouri CPA Woman-to-Watch, Experienced Leader in 2008. In January 2014, she was appointed to the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC) for a four year term. Ms. Conrad earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Truman State University and she was named Outstanding Alumna in 2015. She also earned a master’s of science in leadership from Washington University in St. Louis.
Aaron Crabtree, University of Nebraska
Seasoned Leader
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Dr. Aaron Crabtree completed his PhD at Virginia Tech in May 2004, after receiving his master’s degree in accounting from Virginia Tech in 2000 and his bachelor’s degree in management from Emory and Henry College. Crabtree was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010 and awarded the KPMG Faculty Fellowship. In May 2014, Crabtree began serving as Interim Director and was promoted to Director of the School of Accountancy in April 2015.
Kathleen Davisson, University of Denver
Keeping Curriculum Innovative and Relevant
Friday, February 7, 2020, 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm
Kathleen (KED) Davisson is a Teaching Professor and the Assistant Director of the School of Accountancy in the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. She received her BSAcc and MAcc degrees from the University of Denver, and she is a Certified Public Accountant. KED’s primary teaching areas are accounting information systems and managerial accounting. She is a two-time winner of the Daniels Award for Excellence for Faculty and a winner of the C. Thomas Howard Innovative Teaching Award. She served on the Careers Committee for the Colorado Society of CPAs for over a decade. Prior to entering academia, KED spent eight years as the VP of Finance for Colorado Computer Institute, an international computer networking training company based in Englewood, CO.
W. Brooke Elliott, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ensuring the Value and Sustainability of Accountancy Graduate Programs
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 8:15 am – 9:05 am
Brooke Elliott is the Head and EY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Accountancy at the University of Illinois. She formerly served as the Academic Director of Undergraduate Programs for the Gies College of Business. Brooke holds a BS in accounting and an MBA with an accounting focus from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. She earned her PhD in accounting from the University of Washington and joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a faculty member in 2003. Brooke has developed and taught a variety of courses, including financial statement analysis to the full-time and executive MBAs. She currently serves on the board of directors for Gordon Food Service.
During Brooke’s tenure as Head, the department has continued to meet its mission of leading the world in accountancy education and thought by launching a fully on-line master’s degree (iMSA), embedding analytics throughout the undergraduate and graduate curricula, and achieving STEM-designation for all graduate accountancy programs.
Her research program is broadly aimed at advancing what is known about: (1) the determinants of investors’ use of accounting information in their judgments and decisions and (2) how individual investors’ behaviors and decisions likely affect market prices. In a new stream of research, she and co-authors are examining the effects of disclosing earnings information through new disclosure mediums such as social media.
Jim Franklin, Western Governors University
Keeping Curriculum Innovative and Relevant
Friday, February 7, 2020, 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm
Jim Franklin is a Program Director at Western Governors University (WGU). He teams with other academic professionals and psychometricians as they develop innovative competency-based master curricula. His primary focus is to create an online learning environment that engages students while providing the skills necessary to succeed in a changing workplace. Jim values building successful relationships with outside organizations to enhance the WGU student and alumni experience. He holds CPA licenses in Texas and California. Prior to entering academics, he spent over 10 years with Deloitte in Los Angeles and Houston. His client responsibilities included multiple Fortune 500 companies from the automotive, energy and manufacturing sectors. Franklin holds baccalaureate and master’s degrees from The University of Pennsylvania and The University of Texas at Austin, respectively.
Ellen Glazerman , EY Expanding Visions of Where an Accounting Degree Can Take Your Students Friday, February 7, 2020, 11:40 am – 12:30 pm
Ellen Glazerman is the Executive Director of the Ernst & Young Foundation, and Director of University Relations, Americas for EY. She also supports a variety of initiatives within the firm’s Office of Public Policy.
Ellen joined the firm as the Director of the Ernst & Young Foundation. In 1996, she assumed responsibility for the firm's campus recruiting efforts. As the Americas Director of Campus Recruiting, her responsibilities included providing strategic direction, focus, and infrastructure support for campus recruiters firmwide until spring, 2001. During her tenure, Ellen helped to create the first global recruiting brochure for the firm, the first Intern Leadership Conference, and the first formal internal network of recruiters. She reprised this role on an interim basis between 2014 and 2015. Ellen took responsibility for beginning the analysis of corporate giving throughout the US firm until the firm formed its campus recruiting initiatives in 2003.
Ellen is the Past-Chair and current member of the Board of Directors for GMAC, a member of President’s Council at Wesleyan University, the Leventhal School of Accounting Board of Advisors, and the BYU School of Accounting Board of Advisors. She was a Commissioner for the profession’s Pathways in Accounting initiatives.
John Grice, Troy University
Accounting Accreditation Standards – Bane or Boon?
Friday, February 7, 2020, 10:45 am – 11:35 am
Dr. Grice is the Director of Troy University’s School of Accountancy and the Botts Professor of Accounting. Prior to rejoining Troy University, he was the Director of the Master of Accounting program and a professor of accounting at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Grice was the 2018/2019 Outstanding Accounting Educator awarded by the Alabama Society of CPAs. In 2016, he was a gubernatorial appointment to serve on the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy and he was recently assigned to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Education committee for the 2019/2020. In 2011, Dr. Grice was the recipient of the UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2010 he was honored as the Beta Gamma Sigma Professor of Year and in 2008 he was the recipient of the Loudell Ellis Robertson Teaching Excellence Award, both at UAB. In 2003, he was honored as the first recipient of Troy University worldwide system Wallace D. Malone, Jr. Distinguished Faculty Award. In 1998, he was honored as the Delta Sigma Pi Business Professor of the Year at Troy University. Dr. has also been named Faculty of the Semester by the Student Government Association on three occasions. Dr. Grice has authored approximately 50 articles for various journals including Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Journal of Business Research, Advances in Accounting, The CPA Journal, Practical Tax Strategies, The National Accounting Journal, The Cooperative Accountant, The Journal of 21rst Century Accounting, Southern Business & Economic Journal, National Public Accountant, Ohio CPA Journal, Today's CPA, Business Quest, Tennessee CPA, and the TSU Business and Economic Review. Dr. Grice has designed professional education courses on various accounting and auditing topics. He has taught more than 240 continuing professional education courses for the Alabama Society of CPAs, Mississippi Society of CPAs, and various CPA firms and organizations. He received the Alabama Society of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award in 2002 and 2005. He also has designed Internet based Executive Master of Business Administration accounting courses that are taught exclusively through Internet capabilities. Dr. Grice has provided technical consultation to various CPA firms and currently serves as the Scholar-in-Residence for Carr, Riggs, & Ingram, LLC. Prior to earning a Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Alabama, Dr. Grice was employed by the Accounting Firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers (Coopers & Lybrand legacy). While at The University of Alabama, he was the Doctoral Consortium Fellow at the American Accounting Association Doctoral Consortium in Tahoe City, California sponsored by the Accounting firm of Deloite & Touche. As a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Dr. Grice received the highest honor awarded a doctoral candidate in the College of Commerce and Business Administration at The University of Alabama.
Mahendra Gujarathi, Bentley University
Integration in Accounting Curriculum: Leading by Example
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 11:25 am – 12:15 pm
Dr. Mahendra R. Gujarathi is the Rae D. Anderson Professor of Accountancy and coordinator of financial reporting curriculum at Bentley University. Over the academic career spanning over four decades, he has designed and delivered several new courses in the undergraduate, graduate and executive education programs at several institutions. At Bentley, Dr. Gujarathi has been the recipient of several teaching and research awards including the Adamian Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Mee Family Prize for Lifetime Research Excellence. He has received several external recognitions for his innovative teaching and pedagogical contributions, including AICPA’s 2015 George Krull/Grant Thornton Teaching Innovation Award and 2019 Mark Chain/FSA Teaching Innovation Award. At American Accounting Association (AAA), Dr. Gujarathi has served on several committees and was the president of the international accounting section in 2016-17. Dr. Gujarathi has received several recognitions from the American Accounting Association for his teaching and scholarly contributions, including the 2018 Outstanding Accounting Educator Award.
Gretchen Handlos, Indiana University
Program Culture
Friday, February 7, 2020, 10:45 am – 11:35 am
Gretchen Handlos is Director of Graduate Accounting Programs at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and joined the School in October 2004. She partners with the program faculty chair to execute all areas of student recruitment, student services, and alumni engagement. She began her higher education career in 1994 at Arizona State University serving in various roles within central campus before joining the W.P. Carey School of Accountancy. In addition to Graduate Accounting Programs, she also directs Finance Graduate Programs and the +Kelley Program, the latter being a formal initiative that recruits non-business students to Kelley specialized master’s degrees.
Scott Hobson, Brigham Young University
Fresh on the Job
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Scott Hobson, CPA, CMA is a Teaching Professor of Accounting at Brigham Young University. Professor Hobson currently serves as the Associate Director of the School of Accountancy at BYU. Prior to returning to BYU, Professor Hobson worked as a manager at Price Waterhouse, and then as a Partner and Senior Vice President at HFH Consultants. Professor Hobson received both Bachelor of Science and Master of Accountancy degrees from Brigham Young University.
Andee Hodo, Auburn University
Keeping Curriculum Innovative and Relevant
Friday, February 7, 2020, 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm
Andee Hodo received her BSBA in International Business and her Master of Accountancy both from Auburn University. After graduation, she worked 10 years in the software and retail industries before returning to Auburn University where she now serves as the Director of Graduate and Online Programs for the School of Accountancy. She is responsible for recruitment, admissions, and advising for the online programs and leads the campus Master of Accountancy students through the CPA Exam process. She is a licensed CPA in the State of Alabama.
Stefanie Kane, PwC
Industry Leadership
Friday, February 7, 2020, 8:05 am – 8:55 am
Stefanie is the Market Managing Partner of PwC's Southwest Region responsible for allaspects of PwC's service delivery across Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. With almost 30 years of experience with PwC, including over 15 years as a partner, Stefanie has led the service teams for several of PwC's largest clients, with a primary focus on consumer facing marketing and media businesses.
Stefanie is responsible for the delivery of the breadth of PwC services to leading organizations. She has the ability to tap into the top audit, tax and advisory resources throughout PwC's global network. Stefanie's experience ranges from large multinational corporations to privately held companies to start-up enterprises and includes helping her clients as they reinvent themselves and their business models for improved competitive positioning in the digital environment. She also has deep technical expertise in all aspects of financial reporting and complex capital market transactions.
Prior to her role as the Southwest Market Managing Partner, Stefanie held several other senior leadership positions within PwC including having served as PwC's Global Media Leader, U.S. Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Strategy Leader, U.S. Entertainment, Media & Communications Assurance Leader and U.S. Assurance Strategy Leader. In addition, Stefanie has spearheaded several of PwC's women's leadership initiatives.
Stefanie is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Stefanie and her husband, Bob, live in Los Angeles, have been married for over 20 years and have two teenage sons: Dylan and Jack.
Benjamin Lansford, Rice University
Effects of Student Mix
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 9:10 am – 10:00 am
Benjamin Lansford is Professor in the Practice of Accounting and Director of the Master of Accounting (MAcc) program. He joined the Rice faculty in 2014 and teaches financial accounting and financial statement analysis in the MBA, MAcc and undergraduate programs. He has also taught managerial accounting and auditing courses. Ben previously served on the faculty of The Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Ben earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration at Penn State, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of South Carolina.
Sharon Lassar, University of Denver
Fresh on the Job
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Sharon Lassar, PhD and CPA (Florida), is the John J. Gilbert Endowed Professor and Director of the School of Accountancy at the University of Denver. She is also chair-elect of the Colorado Society of CPAs (COCPA). Lassar chaired the AICPA’s Academic Executive Committee from November 2015 to March 2018 where she steered policy regarding the education requirements to become a licensed CPA. Lassar also served on the Accounting Accreditation Task Force of AACSB International whose work resulted in new standards for accreditation, the hallmark of them being fully engaging practitioners in the accreditation process. She was the 2017-18 President of the Accounting Programs Leadership Group.
Dave Lieber, Dallas Morning News
Storytelling in Business: Learn how to ‘Show and not tell’
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 1:40 pm – 2:30 pm
Dave Lieber rode a bull in a rodeo (or two), interviewed the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, lived in a nudist colony for three days for a story and, once, helped solve a murder. The award-winning newspaper columnist doubles as a popular keynote speaker and certified professional speaker whose programs delight more than 100 audiences a year. As one of America’s top storytelling experts, he helps you understand how to use stories to build a higher profile, earn more sales and gain raving fans. Learn how to show and not tell. See how emotion and passion brings out everyone’s heart. Dave works as The Watchdog investigative columnist for the highly-respected Dallas Morning News. His latest columns are available on The Dallas Morning News Watchdog page. He fights for Americans and shows them how to save time, money and aggravation. He works to expose corruption and make positive change. In 2019, he won top prize in the nation's largest column-writing contest sponsored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
Chelie Marton, Grant Thornton, LLP
Ensuring the Value and Sustainability of Accountancy Graduate Programs
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 8:15 am – 9:05 am
Chelie Marton serves as the US National Director of University Recruiting for Grant Thornton LLP. Chelie began her career in public accounting in 1998 and has held various roles in Experienced Hire and Executive Recruiting before moving into her current role in 2015. Chelie is responsible for the development and execution for Summer Leadership and Internship programming for college students.
Chelie works with leaders nationwide to gain insight into Grant Thornton’s firm strategies, goals, and innovation streams, to ensure an aligned talent acquisition strategy. Chelie also works closely with marketing on creating employment brand awareness.
Chelie graduated from Utah State University with her B.S degree in Human Resource Management. She lives in Dallas, TX with her husband, daughter and son. She enjoys playing tennis, reading, going to concerts and hanging out with her friends and family.
Carl Mayes, AICPA
Update on CPA Evolution
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 10:30 am – 11:20 am
Carl Mayes is the AICPA’s Associate Director of CPA Quality and Evolution. He is the project lead for the Enhancing Audit Quality (EAQ) initiative and manages CPA Evolution, an effort to future-proof the requirements for CPA licensure.
Before working on the EAQ initiative, Carl served on the AICPA Peer Review team and helped create the AICPA Not-for-Profit Section. Carl is a licensed CPA in North Carolina and worked as an auditor for regional and local public accounting firms before joining the AICPA.
Gary McGill, University of Florida
Accounting Accreditation Standards – Bane or Boon?
Friday, February 7, 2020, 10:45 am – 11:35 am
Gary McGill is the Director of the Fisher School of Accounting at the University of Florida, an Associate Dean in the Warrington College of Business, and holds the J. Roy Duggan Endowed Professorship in Accounting. Professor McGill is a CPA (Texas) and spent several years in practice at Ernst & Whinney in Dallas before earning his PhD at Texas Tech University and joining the faculty at UF in 1986. He has taught various graduate and undergraduate tax and accounting courses, including a graduate course in international taxation and a doctoral course in accounting research. Professor McGill was awarded the Ray M. Sommerfeld Outstanding Tax Educator Award by the ATA in 2018, the FSA/Joseph A. Silvoso Faculty Merit Award in 2015, and he was the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Faculty Award in 2015 from the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University. Professor McGill has published over 50 journal articles, book chapters, or research reports and has co-authored six books. Professor McGill is the recipient of competitive research grants from Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, Price Waterhouse, the AICPA, the Andrus Foundation, Fannie Mae's Housing Policy Research Division, the National Association of Realtors, and the National Homebuilder’s Association. He provided invited testimony to the Senate Finance Committee hearings on Enron in 2003, received the JATA Outstanding Paper Award in 2012 (with M. Donohoe), and the ATA Outstanding Manuscript Award in 2005 (with E. Outslay). Professor McGill has served on the editorial boards of The Journal of the American Taxation Association and Advances in Taxation and as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Accounting Literature. He has served on the boards of the American Taxation Association and the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA), including as President of the FSA. Professor McGill has received numerous teaching awards at UF and he is a frequent lecturer on international tax, federal tax, and accounting for income taxes for academic, government, and professional organizations.
Scott McQuillan, Deloitte
Effects of Student Mix
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 9:10 am – 10:00 am
Scott McQuillan is the National Campus Recruiting Leader for Audit and Enterprise Risk Services (AERS) and Tax for the Deloitte US Firms. In this role, Scott is responsible for the oversight of the recruitment strategy and operations for over 4,500 full-time and intern new hires annually. Prior to joining Deloitte, Scott had five years of experience working in higher education in college admissions, careers service and academic advising roles. Scott is a graduate of Central Michigan University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resources and Communication as well as a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in College Administration.
Michele C. Meyer-Shipp, KPMG
Diversity Efforts of Firms and Schools
Friday, February 7, 2020, 9:00 am – 10:15 am
Michele C. Meyer-Shipp is the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at KPMG. In this role, Meyer-Shipp leads the firm’s efforts related to diversity and inclusion with a specific focus on the recruitment, retention, and development of a diverse workforce; fostering an inclusive and accessible culture; and inspiring broad perspectives and innovative client solutions. Meyer-Shipp serves as a strategic consultant to firm leaders on all matters related to diversity and inclusion, and is a brand ambassador for the firm in the marketplace. She previously served as Global Chief Diversity Officer at Prudential Financial, a position she held for 5 years. Prior to that, she practiced employment law in the public and private sectors. Meyer-Shipp serves on many industry and association tasks forces and committees including Twitter’s Diversity Advisory Council, Working Mother Media’s Multicultural Advisory Board, National Organization on Disability, and Rutgers University’s Student Affairs Executive Advisory Council. She has received numerous accolades for her accomplishments, and is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer on topics relating to leadership, professional development, diversity and inclusion, culture and talent management.
Jennifer Mueller-Phillips, Auburn University
Diversity Efforts of Firms and Schools
Friday, February 7, 2020, 9:00 am – 10:15 am
Seasoned Leader
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Jennifer Mueller-Phillips is the KPMG Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the the Harbert College of Business at Auburn University. She joined the Auburn faculty in 2000, and previously served as Director of the School of Accountancy. She holds a Ph.D. and Master of Accountancy from Virginia Tech and a B.S. in Accounting from Jacksonville State University. She has been recognized numerous times for outstanding teaching at Auburn University, including the college’s prestigious McCartney Award. Her research interests relate to auditor judgment and liability, with publications appearing in premier journals such as Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory and Behavioral Research in Accounting.
Shannon Mulally, Michigan State University
Accounting Accreditation Standards – Bane or Boon?
Friday, February 7, 2020, 10:45 am – 11:35 am
Seasoned Leader
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Shannon Mulally has been at Michigan State University since 2005 as the Director for the MS in Accounting Program. In total, she has over 20 years of experience in university admissions, student affairs, diversity and inclusion, and outreach in higher education. Shannon holds two degrees from Norther Michigan University, including a bachelor of arts degree in International Studies and a master's in Educational Counseling (K-12). As Director of the MSA, Shannon is responsible for the admission, advising, and programming for 170-180 students. In addition to those responsibilities she serves as the Chair for the Diversity Initiatives Committee in the recruiting and retention of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and many other department and college wide committees.
Len Pepe, Bentley University
Preparing Students for the Real World
Friday, February 7, 2020, 2:45 pm – 3:35 pm
At Bentley University in Waltham Massachusetts, Len is the Director of the Graduate Programs in Accounting and Accounting Analytics as well as a lecturer for both graduate and undergraduate students. At Grant Thornton LLP, an international accounting and consulting firm, Len was an audit partner, the Assistant Managing Partner of the New England offices and the Leader of Industry Groups and Markets. Additionally, Len led New England’s Construction, Real Estate, Hospitality and Restaurant Practice. He focused primarily on auditing and business consulting. Len has over forty years of audit, accounting and consulting experience in national accounting and consulting firms. He has extensive experience serving public and private companies and has also concentrated on business consulting with Venture Capital and Private Equity firms. Before joining Grant Thornton, Len was the Assurance practice leader of leader of another international firm and was also a managing partner of a regional firm in Boston.
Gary Peters, University of Arkansas
Seasoned Leader
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Gary Peters, Department Chair and S. Robson Walton Endowed Professor of Accounting at the University of Arkansas, received his B.A. from Arkansas Tech University, his MAcc from University of Missouri- Columbia, and his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. Peters’ research emphasizes factors that influence audit risk, accounting disclosure, and corporate governance.
Andrew Reffett, Miami University
Fresh on the Job
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Ensuring the Value and Sustainability of Accountancy Graduate Programs
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 8:15 am – 9:05 am
Andrew Reffett, is a professor of accountancy in the Farmer School of Business at Miami University. Drew primarily teaches topics related to financial statement auditing, but has also taught intermediate financial accounting. Drew's research interest relate to factors that affect auditors' litigation and regulatory risk, and how those factors affect audit practice. Drew currently serves as the chair of the Department of Accountancy at Miami University.
Marc Rubin, Miami University
Seasoned Leader
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Marc Rubin is the Dean and Mitchell P. Rales Chair in Business Leadership of the Farmer School of Business. He served as the chair of the accountancy department at FSB from 2003 to 2017 and the PwC Professor of Accountancy. He currently serves as the past-president of the American Accounting Association and was a member of the AACSB Accounting Accreditation Committee from 2015 to 2018. He earned a B.S. in accounting from Miami University, a M.A.S. from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas and is a CPA and has experience with a national accounting firm.
Ananth Seetharaman, University of North Texas
Preparing Students for the Real World
Friday, February 7, 2020, 2:45 pm – 3:35 pm
Engagement and Fundraising
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 9:10 am – 10:00 am
Ananth Seetharaman, department Chairman and Professor of Accounting, holds the Don and Donna Millican endowed chair. He joined the UNT faculty on September 1, 2016. Prior to this, Ananth served as the Ernst & Young Distinguished Professor and chairman of the department of accounting in the John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University. Dr. Seetharaman earned his PhD, MBA and Master of Taxation degrees from Georgia State University. His principal teaching interests are in income taxation and managerial accounting. He has taught courses at the undergraduate, Master of Accounting, and MBA levels. He is an award winning teacher. Despite his administrative responsibilities, Ananth has maintained an active research agenda and his research has been published in several premier and high-quality academic and practitioner journals including the Journal of Accounting and Economics, The Accounting Review, Financial Management, Accounting Horizons, The Journal of the American Taxation Association, The Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, The Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and the Journal of Accountancy. Dr. Seetharaman is a chartered accountant from India (inactive) and a CPA (Missouri) and a CGMA. In his spare time, he enjoys riding his motorcycle, playing guitar, traveling, and spending time with his friends and family.
Antoinette Smith, Florida International University
Lunch and Award Presentations
Friday, February 7, 2020, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Dr. Antoinette Smith is a Worlds Ahead Full Professor within the School of Accounting, College of Business at Florida International University. She holds a PhD. in Business Philosophy from the University of South Florida. She served as a Faculty Fellow in FIU's Office to Advance Women, Equity & Diversity (AWED). In 2017, Dr. Smith was recognized as one of Miami's Top Black Educators of 2017 by Legacy Miami. Additionally, Dr. Smith is the author of two self-help books, as well as numerous articles that have been widely published in premier journals such as The Accounting Review, Decision Sciences, Journal of Information Systems, Accounting Horizons, and Journal of Behavioral Finance. In 2017, her research was featured in the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Smith was the brainchild behind FIU’s 1st Accounting Bridge Program, South Florida's 1st Accounting Behavioral Research Symposium, and South Florida Teaching and Leadership Excellence Conference. She teaches undergraduate accounting information systems, and graduate forensic accounting and information systems auditing courses. Her passion to educate and inspire transcends FIU boundaries into Miami-Dade and Broward communities.
Dr. Smith currently serves as President of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy. In this role, she leads the organization in efforts to support and promote high-quality accredited graduate accounting programs.
Prior to pursuing a PhD, Dr. Smith left a successful career at the Air Force Audit Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, Eason Lawson & Westphal, and NASA Langley Research Center, specializing in financial, IT, and government audits, fraud detection, and information systems.
Steven Smith, The University of Texas at Austin
Program Culture
Friday, February 7, 2020, 10:45 am – 11:35 am
Stephen Smith is the Senior Director of the MPA Program and a Lecturer in the Department of Accounting at The University of Texas at Austin. He received his M.S. at the University of Virginia and his B.S. in Accounting at North Carolina State University. After spending several years in public accounting, he moved to Austin and began working for Dell Inc. His time at Dell included financial roles in Dell Ventures, Corporate Reporting and Treasury. Steve primarily teaches fundamental financial and managerial accounting and on occasion teaches intermediate financial accounting and financial statement analysis.
Greg Sommers, Southern Methodist University
Preparing Students for the Real World
Friday, February 7, 2020, 2:45 pm – 3:35 pm
Greg Sommers is the director of the Master of Science in Accounting program and a Professor of Practice in Accounting in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. He holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from Fresno Pacific University and a PhD in Accounting and Management Information Systems from The Ohio State University. Professor Sommers is a Certified Public Accountant who practiced in California and continues to be licensed in California and Texas. Professor Sommers’ research focuses on market-based empirical studies of the relations between currently available accounting data, expectations of future accounting data, expected cost of capital and valuation. Professor Sommers teaches at the undergraduate and graduate programs as well as in executive education. Professor Sommers’ teaching has earned him numerous awards including Outstanding BBA and MBA Teaching as well as recognition from student organizations. He currently serves on the board of the APLG.
Lara Sweet, Snap Inc.
Lunch and Award Presentations
Friday, February 7, 2020, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
As Chief People Officer, Lara Sweet is responsible for managing talent and supporting a strong company culture by overseeing recruiting, talent management, benefits and compensation, diversity and inclusion, council and workplace services teams. Ms. Sweet also served as our interim Chief Financial Officer from January 2019 to May 2019. She served as our Chief Accounting Officer from October 2017 till September 2019, responsible for leading the global accounting, financial reporting, shared service and financial operations processes. Previous to that role, she served as our Controller since June 2016, joining Snap t o build out our accounting function and prepare for the IPO. From November 2014 to June 2016, Ms. Sweet served as Controller and Chief Accounting Officer at AOL, Inc., and previously served as Vice President, Internal Audit from April 2014 to November 2014, and Vice President, Assistant Controller from August 2011 to April 2014. Prior to her time at AOL, Ms. Sweet led internal audit, accounting, and external reporting functions in the financial services, travel and hospitality industries. She graduated from George Mason University in 1996 with a B.S. in accounting and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
Cynthia Turner, The Ohio State University
Diversity Efforts of Firms and Schools
Friday, February 7, 2020, 9:00 am – 10:15 am
Cynthia W. Turner serves as Assistant Dean and Chief Diversity Officer of the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Cynthia has an M.A. and Ph.D. in accounting from The Ohio State University and a B.S. in accounting from North Carolina A&T State University. In addition to her leadership role, Cynthia is a faculty member in the Accounting & MIS Department, and teaches courses in cost and managerial accounting, and accounting and information systems in the undergraduate and MAcc programs. Further, she teaches in the executive education program at Fisher College. As a researcher, Cynthia's scholarly work has been in the Journal of Accounting Research and the International Journal of Accounting. In 2016, Cynthia created Project THRIVE, a diversity initiative designed to increase the underrepresented minority talent within the undergraduate program in the Accounting and MIS department. In 2018, she was honored for her success in doubling the diversity within the undergraduate program in two short years, and was awarded the Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award by the university.
Keith Urtel, University of Notre Dame
Preparing Students for the Real World
Friday, February 7, 2020, 2:45 pm – 3:35 pm
Keith Urtel is an Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Notre Dame and has over 35 years experience in public accounting practice, primarily with Ernst & Young. At EY, he held various audit and accounting leadership roles, traveled worldwide in client service and logged over 500 hours as an in-class room instructor. Keith completed EY’s leadership certificate program at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (2007) and the AACSB’s Bridge Program, “Your Path from Executive to Educator”, at Washington University in St. Louis (2016). Keith maintains his professional credentials as a Principal/Consultant of Quality & Risk Management for MBAF, a top 40 CPA firm. Keith is also the Faculty Academic Director of the University of Notre Dame's Masters of Science in Accountancy program. Keith is married and has two sons, who are both married, and two grandsons.
Sandra C. Vera-Muñoz, University of Notre Dame
Fresh on the Job
Friday, February 7, 2020, 1:50 pm – 2:40 pm
Sandra C. Vera-Muñoz is the Deloitte Foundation Accountancy Department Chair at the University of Notre Dame. She teaches Strategic Cost Management (undergraduate) and Sustainability: Accounting and Reporting (graduate). Her research focuses on corporate climate-change risk disclosures and assurance, and judgment and decision making. She received a B.B.A. (Accounting) from the University of Puerto Rico, an MBA from Penn State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Her dissertation on accounting knowledge and opportunity costs was honored with the AAA/ABO Outstanding Dissertation Award.
She has published in The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting Horizons, Accounting, Organizations and Society, and the Journal of Business Ethics, among others. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of International Accounting Research, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, The Accounting Review, and Contemporary Accounting Research, among others. She has also served on the AAA/Grant Thornton Doctoral Dissertation Award Committee, the AAA/Publications Committee, the New Faculty Consortium Planning Committee, and as a faculty liaison with KPMG. At Notre Dame, Sandra currently serves in the Ryan Ethics Chair Search Committee and the Building Bridges Mentoring Program, and has served on the Sustainability Strategy Standing Committee.
Leilani Wai, Accounting and Auditing Roadtrip Interviewer
Expanding Visions of Where an Accounting Degree Can Take Your Students
Friday, February 7, 2020, 11:40 am – 12:30 pm
Leilani Wai was selected as one of three students selected out of 470 applicants to explore what the accounting and auditing profession has to offer by traveling the country to interview people in a wide range of roles and different career paths that began with a degree in accounting. A graduate of California State University – Long Beach, Leilani is an incoming audit associate at KPMG. While at Cal State, Leilani worked as an accounting tutor, instructing up to 15 students per shift by guiding them through difficult courses to promote retention of accounting concepts.
Jeff Wilks, BYU
Lunch and Award Presentations
Friday, February 7, 2020, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Engagement and Fundraising
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 9:10 am – 10:00 am
Update on CPA Evolution
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 10:30 am – 11:20 am
Lunch: CPA Evolution Discussion
Saturday, February 8, 2020, 12:20 pm – 1:35 pm
Jeff Wilks is the EY Professor at BYU’s School of Accountancy. Since 2000, he has taught financial reporting and technical research on topics including revenue recognition, variable-interest entities, financial instruments, and fair-value measurement. From 2006 to 2009, Jeff was an academic fellow at the FASB and a technical consultant to the IASB. He managed the revenue recognition project, co-authored over 50 research memos, and led board deliberations on these memos. He also co-authored the 2008 FASB/IASB Discussion Paper on Revenue Recognition, which formed the foundation of the new international standard effective in 2018.
Jeff has served as a technical advisor to Connor Group, which provides GAAP review and SEC reporting guidance to firms preparing for IPO. He has advised clients on matters such as revenue recognition for digital goods, residential solar leasing arrangements, and pharmaceutical licensing and milestone arrangements. He has also served as a consulting expert for the Securities and Exchange Commission and various public companies. Jeff served as a member of the FASB’s Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council from 2014-2017 and the AICPA’s Revenue Recognition Task Force from 2016-2017. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at the Hale Center Foundation for Arts and Education and is a member of Deloitte’s Center for Controllership. Jeff is also a board member of the National Assoc. of Corporate Directors (NACD) Utah Board.
Jeff’s research examines financial reporting policies, revenue recognition, fair-value measurements, and fraud detection. He has published in The Accounting Review; Review of Accounting Studies; Contemporary Accounting Research; Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory; and Management Science. Jeff is an associate editor at Accounting Horizons and he is the founder of RevenueHub.org, which has published over 70 articles on ASC Topic 606, Revenue Recognition, and has over 18,000 monthly readers.