Maggie McDonald (BBA ’17, MAcc ’18)
A message from Terry Warfield, chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems
The Badger Account Year in Review
News about our students and faculty—their activities, awards, and accomplishments
2017–2018
From ethics and professionalism to the global mindset initiative
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
T
he department continues to work to support the Wisconsin School of Business vision that public universities join forces with the business community to guide research opportunities, inform learning experiences, and generate inspiring ideas and leaders. As discussed within this year’s newsletter, the Department of Accounting and Information Systems has been active in the past year to advance the School’s three strategic pillars—research excellence, inspiring learning experiences, and an exemplary learning community. Following our reaccreditation last year by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), we continue to advance on our vision and mission. RESEARCH EXCELLENCE We have been exceptionally productive on the research front. As detailed in the faculty recognition section, our faculty members are publishing a growing body of scholarly articles and textbooks. Several faculty members have garnered research awards, as well as external grants to support their research projects. With the onboarding of two new faculty members, Willie Choi and Dan Wangerin, along with Tom Linsmeier last year, the productivity and impact of our research program continues to grow.
As new members of the Wisconsin Ph.D. alumni network, we hope they will join other Ph.D. alums as supporters of the program through our ongoing fundraising campaign, which has raised nearly $800,000 to date. These contributions, when combined with the Deloitte Scholars Campaign, allowed us to recognize and support Ph.D. students. Abe Carr was the first named Deloitte Scholar and Ph.D. candidate In Gyun Baek received the Lawrence and Margaret Ortman Scholarship, dedicated by Ph.D. alum Richard Ortman (Ph.D. ’71). INSPIRING LEARNING EXPERIENCES Our curriculum continues to evolve to meet the demands of the professional accounting environment, within the themes of knowledge, doing, being, inspiring, and networking (KDBIN). The Capstone course is now a well-established elective for MAcc graduate students, with 40 students enrolled this past year. The course offers a unique opportunity to address new topics and expand on exposure to topics introduced in prior coursework, utilizing an evidenced-based practice model. In fact, the analytics module in the course has spurred a faculty conversation about curricular enhancements to develop enhanced analytics skills in our graduates, aiming to ensure that our graduates continue to develop knowledge and skills in response to the evolving professional accounting marketplace. The capstone offering and the curriculum evolution in analytics complement the range of cocurricular activities including The Future is Now, the Ethics and Professionalism Program, case competitions, internships, our active student groups, and active engagement with our alumni. In addition, with support of a major grant from EY, we continue to deliver a set of curricular and cocurricular elements within the Global Mindset Leaders Program. This program supports the School’s and department’s strategic focus on diversity and business.
Our doctoral program continues as a key contributor to our research mission. Indeed, our recent hires have noted the strength of our program as a key factor in choosing Wisconsin. This year, we admitted three new students, bringing the total to 14. As discussed in the Ph.D. Program section, several of our Ph.D. students have national visibility through their roles as presenters and/or discussants at research conferences. Abe Carr and Zach Kowaleski graduated this past May and are moving on to faculty positions at Creighton and Notre Dame, respectively. 2
ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS | YEAR IN REVIEW
EXEMPLARY LEARNING COMMUNITY Our faculty members continue to make substantive contributions in the research, teaching, and service/ outreach domains, including faculty support of student case competitions and service in the Dean’s Office and on campus-level committees. We also continue to place post-graduate technical assistants (PTAs) at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). This past July, Kevin Machut (BBA ’17, MAcc ’18) and Maddie Nash (BBA ’17, MAcc ’18) began PTA appointments at the FASB and Shelby Cameron (BBA ’17, MAcc ’18) began her PTA at the GASB. Their selections continue our strong tradition of service to standard-setting boards.
Our highest priority remains increasing enrollment in the undergraduate and master’s programs. Even in the face of enrollment caps, we now have over 450 upper division accounting majors—a steady increase over prior years, with the quality of our incoming students remaining constant. We have one of the largest Beta Alpha Psi chapters in the country and just saw the largest class ever graduate from the MAcc program. In line with the emerging strategy being developed within the Wisconsin School of Business, we aim to continue the trend of increasing enrollment, along with increasing diversity in the student population. Given these growth trends, we could not be more gratified by our success in attracting tenure-track faculty to provide depth in our research and teaching capacity. Finally, I am grateful for the support of our advisory board, which provided good counsel and input during our recent accreditation and in our curriculum development.
THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS CONTINUES TO RECEIVE STRONG VALIDATION FOR QUALITY AND IMPACT. Accounting professor program rankings in Public Accounting Report, an independent newsletter of the accounting profession:
#12
UNDERGRADUATE ACCOUNTING PROGRAM
#17
I am very proud of both our accomplishments over the past year and of our outstanding students. We can all be excited about our future. Our success is due in large part to the contributions of our alumni and friends. Our future depends on your continued support. We are especially grateful to alums Tom Ragatz and Richard J. Johnson for their generous support of endowed chairs in accounting. If you, like Tom and Richard, value your Wisconsin degree, and if you feel that you have benefited from your experience here, please consider making a contribution to the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at go.wisc.edu/givetoaccounting.
MASTER OF ACCOUNTANCY PROGRAM
#19
BEST PH.D. ACCOUNTING PROGRAM
Thank you!
TOP 5 CPA EXAM PASS RATES
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# Terry Warfield PwC Professor in Accounting and Richard J. Johnson Chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at the Wisconsin School of Business
MACC DEGREE WITH TAXATION EMPHASIS
— TaxTalent Tax Educational Survey of tax employers
You can follow happenings in the department at: go.wisc.edu/wsbaccounting. WISCONSIN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS | TOGETHER FORWARD
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Ph.D. PROGRAM The Ph.D. program is a key contributor to the vibrancy of our research environment. Welcome New Ph.D. Candidates Seung Kyo Ahn Seung Kyo Ahn earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Korea. Upon graduation, he gained professional experience in business and budget planning at the Korean government company, KFTC (Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute). After three years of work, Ahn earned his Master of Science in Accountancy degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also worked as a teaching assistant. His research interest involves using behavioral and experimental methodologies with managerial accounting topics.
Julia Ariel-Rohr Julia Ariel-Rohr, CPA received her undergraduate degree in accounting from DePaul University in 2012. She started her career in the Navistar Finance and Accounting Leadership Development Program. Navistar is a large public manufacturing company. After three years, Ariel-Rohr made the transition to public accounting, working in the not-for-profit audit practice at Grant Thornton for two years. Ariel-Rohr is an AICPA Accounting Doctoral Scholar and is interested in researching audit and financial reporting topics in both public companies and not-for-profit organizations.
David Samuel David Samuel holds a B.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim and an M.Sc. in Strategy, Innovation, and Management Control from Vienna University of Economics and Business, where he also started his doctoral studies, with a major in taxation, in 2015. As part of his doctorate, Samuel visited the Department of Accountancy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Spring 2018. During his studies, he also gained professional experience in the private sector, working for PwC and BMW, as well as in the public sector at UNIDO. Samuel’s research interest is at the intersection of accounting and corporate finance, with a particular focus on the effects of taxes on corporate decision-making. Moreover, he is interested in international taxation and taxation of the financial sector.
Ph.D. ‘Reunion’ at PCAOB Conference Faculty member Emily Griffith attended the PCAOB/ AAA Annual Meeting in which standard setters and academics exchange ideas. Several UW–Madison faculty and Ph.D. alumni attended this invitation-only conference, suggesting that the accounting Ph.D. program is having a meaningful impact on auditing regulation and standard-setting. In the photo at right, accounting Ph.D. alumni pose with Emily Griffith at the PCAOB conference. Top to bottom, from left to right: Helen Brown-Liburd (Ph.D. ’03), Marsha Keune (Ph.D. ’10), Amanda Convery (Ph.D. ’15), Amy Tegeler (Ph.D. ’17), Sean Dennis (Ph.D. ’15), Pat Hurley (Ph.D. ’15), Kara Obermire (Ph.D. ’16), Griffith, and Jean Bedard (MS ’79, Ph.D. ’85). 4
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Farewell Ph.D. Students Two Ph.D. students, Abe Carr and Zach Kowaleski, completed their five-year educational journeys and graduated in May 2018.
Abe Carr Abe Carr has accepted a faculty position at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and will teach undergraduate auditing. While in our program he was recognized as a Deloitte Scholar and served as the Ph.D. coordinator for Introductory Financial Accounting, a course taken by all WSB students. He conducts research on auditor judgment and decision-making.
Zach Kowaleski Zach Kowaleski (BBA ’08, MAcc ’09) has accepted a faculty position with the University of Notre Dame. Kowaleski has emerged as a thoughtful scholar who can negotiate the complexities of both academia and the regulatory profession simultaneously. As an assistant professor at Notre Dame, Kowaleski will continue his research on auditor objectivity and audit quality issues within the broker-dealer industry.
Ph.D. Alumna Dr. Sandra Waller Shelton Recognized with Prestigious Award Sandra Waller Shelton (Ph.D. ’94), was recognized by Rhodes College, where she received her undergraduate degree, with the Black Student Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Established in 1998, the award recognizes African American alumni whose record of outstanding personal achievement and service to others has inspired Rhodes students and brought honor to their alma mater. Shelton received a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1976 and currently is the KPMG/Neil F. Casson Endowed Professor of Accountancy at DePaul University. Her research interests focus on judgment and decision-making issues with financial information. Shelton has been involved in the KPMG Foundation’s Ph.D. Project and the Accounting Doctoral Students Association since their inceptions. These initiatives were developed to enlarge the pool of minority business school faculty members, create role models and mentors for minority business students, and support diversity in business. Shelton was inducted into the The Ph.D. Project Hall of Fame in 2014 and honored by the Accounting Doctoral Students Association in 2017 for her outstanding service, leadership, and commitment to the accounting profession. A resident of Evanston, Illinois, Shelton has served on the boards of Evanston Community Foundation, Second Baptist Church, Blue Ribbon Committee of the City of Evanston, McGaw YMCA, and the North Shore Illinois Chapter of the Links, Inc., just to name a few.
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AWARDS BANQUET Banquet Features Distinguished Alumna Carrianne Basler On Thursday, October 5, 2017, over 200 students, faculty, alumni, and friends of the department gathered at Gordon Dining and Event Center to celebrate the 49th annual awards banquet of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems. Ally Haen, president of the Sigma Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi welcomed the group. Professor Brian Mayhew introduced Distinguished Alumna Carrianne Basler (BBA ’91). Knowing Basler on a personal level, Mayhew gave some insight into her selection as a distinguished alumna, concluding that she has succeeded at the highest levels both personally and professionally and is well deserving of the honor. Basler addressed the group, which included her family, and shared some excellent advice with students who will be transitioning to their professional lives in the coming years: •
Be confident! Demonstrate your confidence and be your own best advocate. Basler reminded students that nobody knows their skill set and qualifications better than they do. Basler provided examples of how this has helped in her own career.
Carrianne Basler (center) accepts her Distinguished Alumna Award with professors Brian Mayhew (left) and Terry Warfield (right)
• Build a strong support network of people who inspire, support, and mentor you. Also, pay it forward and mentor and support others. •
Build your own personal brand. Consider what you want people to say about you and work backwards to achieve that. How can you demonstrate your abilities—she reminded the group that people will always “Google” you when doing their research. Think about what you want to pop up on that search! Basler shared that her personal brand includes her allegiance to the Badgers and Packers! Basler concluded with the reminder that students should take calculated risks because an “oops” is better than a “what-if?”
The evening concluded with the presentation of awards by Professor R.D. Nair when he introduced the outstanding graduating seniors—top ten by overall GPA—and the teaching awards for Ph.D. students Abe Carr and Clay Partridge, and MAcc TAs Ben Usem and Peter Hamilton. Finally, Terry Warfield announced many scholarship recipients along with the generous donors. It was a wonderful evening celebrating the accomplishments of our students, as well as the generosity and success of our alumni.
Professors Nair (far left) and Warfield (far right) present awards to the top ten graduating seniors by GPA
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ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS | YEAR IN REVIEW
STUDENT RECOGNITION Accounting Students Chosen for Prestigious Internships with Standard-Setting Boards Master of Accountancy (MAcc) students Shelby Cameron, Kevin Machut, and Maddie Nash were awarded postgraduate technical assistant (PTA) internships. Machut and Nash joined the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Cameron joined the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) in July.
Shelby Cameron
Kevin Machut
Maddie Nash
During the one-year program, interns become highly involved with the accounting standard-setting process and come to have an in-depth understanding of the roles played by preparers, auditors, and users of financial information. PTAs will be assigned to major agenda projects or to short-term practice and implementation issues, depending on the need for staff assistance. PTAs will be involved in all phases of their assigned projects, including analyzing written submissions received on documents issued for public comment, reviewing and analyzing published research, preparing memorandums on technical issues for board members’ information, drafting due-process documents, and evaluating accounting proposals of other organizations. Additionally, PTAs will attend and occasionally participate in public board, task force, and other meetings pertinent to their projects. The MAcc program has a long tradition of students being selected for these prestigious PTA positions. Recent FASB interns have included Carolyn Lapins (BBA ’16, MAcc ’17), Andrew Debbink (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16), Tanner Engmann (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16), Andrea Willett (BBA ’13, MAcc ’14), Alex Debbink (BBA ’12, MAcc ’13), and Kate Konetzke (BBA ’12, MAcc ’13). Recent GASB interns have included Kayta Gruneberg (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16), Matt Baker (BBA ’14, MAcc ’15), and Liesl Seiser (BBA ’13, MAcc ’14).
Accounting Students Earn Prestigious Elijah Watt Sells Awards Linette Rousseau, a current Ph.D. student, Tyler Reindl (BBA ’16, MAcc ’17), and Peter Hamilton (BBA ’16, MAcc ’17) were recognized by the AICPA as top 2017 CPA exam performers. The Elijah Watt Sells Award is given to candidates who have obtained a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination and passed all four sections of the examination on their first attempt. A total of 95,858 individuals took the examination in 2017, with 58 candidates meeting the criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award. Named for one of the country’s first CPAs, the Elijah Watt Sells Award program was established by the AICPA in 1923. Sells was active in the establishment of the AICPA and played a key role in advancing professional education in the field.
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MACC PROGRAMS MAcc Alumni Recognized by American Accounting Association The American Accounting Association awarded its Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory (AJPT) Best Paper Award to two WSB alumni, Ryan Casey (BBA ’99, MAcc ’00) and Jonathan Grenier (BBA ’99, MAcc ’00), for their paper, “Understanding and Contributing to the Enigma of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Assurance in the United States.” After graduating from WSB with their MAcc degrees, both went on to pursue Ph.D. programs. Casey is an associate professor with the University of Denver and Grenier is an associate professor with Miami University in Ohio. The auditing section established this award in 2012 to annually recognize a paper published in AJPT that has had a significant influence on, or the potential to significantly influence, auditing research or practice.
Ryan Casey (left) and Jonathan Grenier (right) accept their Best Paper Award at the Auditing Section’s midyear conference where they were congratulated by their former professor, Brian Mayhew (center)
A MAcc Olympian At the Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February, Ann-Renée Desbiens (BBA ’17, MAcc ’19) helped lead Canada to the silver medal after her team lost to the U.S. in a match filled with former Badgers on both teams. Desbiens earned her bachelor’s degree in May of 2017 and returned for her master’s year through the IMAcc program this fall.
Ann-Renée Desbiens suited up at the Olympics in South Korea
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ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS | YEAR IN REVIEW
Professional Issues Course Each April, Integrated Master of Accountancy students who complete a 9-12 week internship return to campus to participate in a three-week Professional Practice Issues in Accounting, Auditing and Taxation course led by Professor Tom Linsmeier. The course allows students to use their internship experiences to build a foundation for their future development and begins to prepare the students for graduate school. The format of the course is fastpaced and challenging, but provides a common bond for the students as they reflect on their time in the WSB. The course includes several external speakers who engage the students on a variety of topics. This year’s topics included: • “Responsibilities of a CFO,” led by Dan Kelly (BBA ’84, MBA ’85), American Family Insurance • “FASB: Investor Representation, Uses of Reporting Information and Non-GAAP Measures,” Mark Siegel, FASB board member • “Tax Reform–Effects on Business,” led by Matt Lorenz, Amy Walker, and Todd Watchmaker (BBA ’82), KPMG • “PTA panel discussion” with panelists: – Troy Van Beek (BBA ’05, MAcc ’06), American Family Insurance; Carly Lapins (BBA ’16, MAcc ’17), FASB; and Kristy Putnam (MAcc ’09), Ryan Specialty Group • “Making Career Choices,” panel discussion with panelists: – Salman Aasi (MAcc ’14), Duff & Phelps Consulting; Kathy Feucht (BBA ’96), Deloitte; Troy Henkel (BBA ’13, MAcc ’14), PwC; Kristy Putnam (MAcc ’09), Ryan Specialty Group; Troy Van Beek (BBA ’05, MAcc ’06), American Family Insurance, and Erika Schwagerl, current Ph.D. student • “Ethics and Professionalism Program: A session with Walt Pavlo, co-author of Stolen Without a Gun: Confessions From Inside History’s Biggest Accounting Fraud—the Collapse of MCI Worldcom” • “FASB Standard Setting, Interactions with Russ Golden, Chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board” • “PCAOB Enforcements and Auditing Research,” Marion Koenigs, PCAOB • “Big Data and Audit Data Analytics,” Brian Kennedy and Tanner Cox (BBA ’14, MAcc ’15), EY
Students in the Professional Issues Course are treated to a fireside chat with Professor Linsmeier (left, former FASB Board member) and Russ Golden (right), current chair of the FASB. Golden discussed a ‘day in the life’ at the FASB and provided great advice to the accounting majors in the audience as they embark on their full-time careers
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MACC PROGRAMS Farewell MAcc Students Each May the department celebrates the accomplishments of graduating MAcc students as they leave their student status behind and become University of Wisconsin business alumni. On Saturday, May 12, 2018, the largest-ever graduating class of MAcc students had the opportunity to participate in the campuswide commencement ceremony at Camp Randall Stadium and hear from featured speaker, Emmy Award-winning journalist, David Muir. Later in the day, the department hosted a celebration for the graduates and their families in the newly renovated Memorial Union. Several faculty members joined Albert O. Nicholas Interim Dean Barry Gerhart (and Bucky) to personally congratulate the new graduates. The 139 graduates will soon embark on careers in tax accounting, auditing, advisory services, and standard-setting. These new alumni will represent the Badger network in cities across the United States, including Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis, Madison, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Denver, and Los Angeles.
MAcc graduates Maggie McDonald (left, BBA ’17, MAcc ’18), who is also featured on the cover, and Talia Koenigsberg (right, BBA ’17, MAcc ’18) mark their graduation at the MAcc commencement celebration
MAcc students celebrate their graduation with Bucky Badger at the MAcc commencement celebration
Welcome GMAcc Students This fall, the MAcc program welcomed fourteen students into the Graduate Master of Accountancy (GMAcc) program. The GMAcc is a two-year, full-time program that prepares students who have little or no accounting background to become successful business professionals and perform well on the CPA exam. The program provides a comprehensive set of technical and professional skills, including preparation in ethics and professionalism. Students are strongly encouraged to complete a summer internship and then apply that experience to their study of in-depth accounting topics in the second year. Students entering the program this fall arrive from a variety of undergraduate institutions, including UW–Madison, Grand Canyon University, Northern Illinois University, University of Washington, and more. Students bring with them diverse experiences from undergraduate majors in anthropology, math, molecular biology, and business. We welcome these students to the program. 10
ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS | YEAR IN REVIEW
GLOBAL MINDSET Embracing Different Perspectives With ongoing financial support to WSB from the EY Foundation, the Department of Accounting and Information Systems continues its focus on the Global Mindset initiative. Students are introduced to cultural and social diversity in business through various activities in the WSB curriculum. From sessions in the introductory accounting courses through the Capstone Course offered to MAcc students, activities are aimed at addressing the importance of embracing different perspectives in today’s global business environment. The department had the opportunity to award Global Mindset scholarships to six students this fall. Scholarship support is an integral component of the Global Mindset Leaders Program and is funded as part of the EY donation. The scholarship program will support a variety of students from incoming freshmen to graduate students. Students who receive the Global Mindset scholarships meet regularly as a group to foster mentoring and community. We are excited to support the following students with Global Mindset Scholarships: • Ronnie Haynes, WSB direct-admit freshman • Will Koehler, WSB direct-admit freshman • Cindy Ramirez, WSB direct-admit freshman • Matthew Dohse, (BBA ’21) • Nathan Yahnke, (BBA ’21) • Andrea Ghanimah, (BBA ’20)
Ousmane Kabre (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16) of EY leads a session, “Developing Future Global Business Leaders,” as part of the Global Mindset breakout during The Future is Now
A Student Perspective on the Global Mindset Experience, by Andrew Hahm During my winter 2018 audit internship with KPMG Denver, I was granted the incredible opportunity to spend four weeks working with KPMG Germany in their Hanover office, as part of KPMG’s Global Internship Program. This experience significantly enhanced my global business acumen and showed me that despite local differences in language and culture, there are many similarities shared by members of the international public accounting community. Of course, there were some differences—all my colleagues spoke German, and both professional and casual social norms differed noticeably from those I am used to. For example, an increased focus on work-life balance made accurate recording of hours extremely important. But nonetheless, the same dedication to audit quality and client service was present in Germany as it was in the U.S., and accounting’s focus on the crafting of useful financial information remained paramount. Additionally, the usefulness of English as the lingua franca of international business also became apparent to me. Overall the experience I had in Germany was an amazing one, and I cannot Andrew Hahm (BBA ’18, MAcc ’19) enjoying his time with KPMG thank WSB enough for preparing me for it! in Germany
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UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS Beta Alpha Psi The Sigma chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, led by senior lecturer Tony Greig, continues to thrive as a prominent student organization within WSB. The Sigma chapter had a busy year hosting professional events on campus, volunteering in the community, and learning more about the accounting profession. Students traveled to Chicago where they networked with many different accounting professionals. Many of the events hosted by the Sigma chapter are made possible with a biannual fundraising auction where students, faculty, and professionals come together to bid on donated items. The Spring 2018 auction raised over $12,000 to help fund future scholarships and professional development events for students. Well done!
Beta leaders celebrate a successful spring fundraising auction
Institute of Management Accountants
IMA members give back by volunteering at the River Food Pantry in Madison
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ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS | YEAR IN REVIEW
The UW–Madison student chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), led by faculty advisor Russell Epp, continues its mission of educating students about opportunities within the accounting industry, building students’ relationships with their peers and alumni, and benefitting the community through volunteer events. Some of the most successful events from the past year included an accounting trivia night where students put their accounting knowledge to the test, and a presentation from EY on the topic of blockchain and bots and their roles in the accounting profession. IMA also continued their longstanding tradition of volunteering in the Madison community.
WSB Students Participate in the Center for Audit Quality’s #AuditorProud Day! Students in Professor Emily Griffith’s undergraduate auditing course took part in the Center for Audit Quality’s (CAQ) Discover Audit initiative, #AuditorProud Day. The third annual #AuditorProud Day aims to celebrate the audit profession and its important role in the economy, helping raise awareness about the many opportunities and benefits of an auditing career. The social media event brought together those who currently work in audit, former auditors, those who work with auditors, and individuals who are helping to educate and train the next generation of audit professionals.
#AuditorProud Day participants from Professor Emily Griffith’s audtiting course gather to celebrate the audit profession
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ARTHUR ANDERSEN CENTER ACTIVITIES Center Supports Student Development The Arthur Andersen Center supports a wide range of activities in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems. The center provides an independent source of funding for department activities focused on accounting research, student development, and the accounting profession. The Andersen Center funds The Future is Now, the department’s signature student development event. WSB students interested in exploring academic and professional accounting opportunities attend a twoday event that brings together over 40 alumni to deliver content in the areas of developing a personal brand, global mindset, professional competencies, career path exploration, team building, and leadership. The Future is Now is at the center of the department’s efforts to both attract students to the profession and also start them on the path to becoming accounting professionals. Over 100 students attend this two-day event each year.
Students participate in a team-building exercise as part of The Future is Now event
The Center also sponsors a research workshop series that invites scholars to present their research in an active 90-minute presentation. Both faculty and Ph.D. students attend these workshops to learn about cutting-edge accounting research and issues. We typically invite four to six leading accounting scholars per semester and also encourage presentations by our faculty and Ph.D. students. Outside speakers meet with faculty and students one on one and in small groups to discuss research and other professional issues. These small meetings provide great networking opportunities and keep UW–Madison connected to the wider academic community. The workshop also serves an important role in recruiting new faculty. Faculty candidates give workshop presentations as part of their on-campus visits. These workshops serve a dual purpose in providing insights into the candidates’ research while also demonstrating their skills as teachers. These workshops have been a key ingredient in our successful recruiting efforts over the past several years.
Students listen to a talk on integrity from Arthur Andersen alum John Blumberg
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Workshop Speakers for the 2017-2018 Academic Year • Dan Wangerin (Ph.D. ’11), Michigan State University, “Consequences of Increased Compensation Disclosure Transparency: Evidence from CEO Pay in Acquiring Firms” • Preeti Choudhary, University of Arizona, “Direct Measures of Auditors’ Quantitative Materiality Judgments: Properties, Determinants and Consequences for Audit Characteristics and Financial Reporting Reliability” • Sean McGuire, Texas A&M University, “Macroeconomic Conditions and Corporate Tax Planning” • Jae Yong Shin (Ph.D. ’06), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, “Subjective Adjustments to Objective Performance Measures in Executive Annual Bonus Contracts” • Matt Cedergren (BBA ’03, MAcc ’04), University of Pennsylvania, “Does the Media Help or Hurt Retail Investors During the IPO Quiet Period?” • Willie Choi, University of Pittsburgh, “Bring the Noise, but Not the Funk: Does the Effect of Performance Measure Noise on Learning Depend on Whether the Learning is Experiential or Vicarious?” • Jessica Watkins, Indiana University, “The Timeliness and Detail Tradeoff in the Mandatory Disclosure of Material Events” • Kurt Gee, Stanford University, “Readability, Profitability, and Discretionary MD&A Text” • Brian Monsen, University of Texas at Austin, “The Determinants and Consequences of Big Four Lobbying Positions on Proposed Financial Accounting Standards” • Henry Laurion, University of California, Berkeley, “Do Non-GAAP Earnings Influence Managers’ Real Activities and Accounting Choices?” • Sean McCarthy, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, “What’s in a Name? The Impact of U.S. Audit Partner Identification on Going Concern Audit Report Modifications” • David Samuel, Vienna University of Economics and Business, “Repatriation Taxes, Internal Agency Conflicts, and Subsidiary-level Investment Efficiency” • Teri Yohn, Indiana University, “Using Firm-Level Favoritism to Disentangle the External Financing and Capital Expenditure Anomalies” • Steve Utke, University of Connecticut, “Financial Reporting Choices of Large Private Firms” • Jane Jollineau, University of San Diego, “Can Audit Committee Expertise Increase External Auditors’ Litigation Risk? The Moderating Effect of Audit Committee Independence” • Kendall Bowlin, University of Mississippi, “The Importance of Clarification of Auditors’ Responsibilities Under the New Audit Reporting Standards”
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ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM PROGRAM Fall Ethics Forum On Thursday, November 30, 2017, students, faculty, and staff in the Wisconsin School of Business were fortunate to hear from Howard Carver, a distinguished accounting alum, retired EY Partner, and the namesake of the Howard Carver Ethics and Professionalism Program. In a fireside chat format with Accounting Department Chair Terry Warfield, Howard discussed how ethics have impacted his professional career and the reasons that led him to give back to the department and endow the Ethics and Professionalism program. Howard shared many personal anecdotes from his professional career as an audit partner with EY, noting that some of the red flags he watched out for with his clients included: • • • •
Arrogance within senior management Pressure for employees to outperform each other Lack of transparency within the organization Too much internal competition within a company
Howard’s personal creed, which he followed throughout his time in the profession, was: expect mistakes—but not twice and not on purpose! Students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to benefit from his personal experiences in the accounting profession. Howard Carver
Spring Ethics Symposium With generous support from the Howard Carver Ethics and Professionalism Program, the Department of Accounting and Information Systems hosted Walt Pavlo as the featured speaker of the 13th annual Spring Ethics Symposium. Pavlo is a nationally recognized speaker who lectures on all aspects of white-collar crime and federal criminal cases. He co-authored “Stolen Without a Gun” with Neil Weinberg and is currently a contributor to Forbes.com and the New York University Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, for which he writes on white-collar crime issues. Drawing from his personal experiences, Pavlo shared many valuable insights and lessons with the audience of accounting students and faculty. Pavlo cautioned the students that they need to be prepared for the challenges they will face in their careers and be prepared for the consequences associated with their decisions, even the consequences of doing the right thing. Pavlo also discussed how advancements in technology have impacted white-collar crime, noting that as the distance between perpetrator and victim grows, it becomes easier to rationalize behaviors. Pavlo wrapped up the talk with some advice that he originally heard from Pulitzer Prize winner Jeff Gottlieb. When faced with a decision: • • • •
Ask questions Go with your gut instinct Get educated on relevant rules, laws, regulations, etc. Never back down if you think you are right
That was great advice to the students as they begin their professional careers. The Howard Carver Ethics and Professionalism Program is an important cocurricular element of the accounting program at WSB. We appreciated Pavlo’s contributions. 16
ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS | YEAR IN REVIEW
Terry Warfield (left) joins speaker Walt Pavlo (right) during the Spring Ethics Symposium
FACULTY UPDATES Farewell to Professor R.D. Nair After 40 years of service to the university, the Wisconsin School of Business (WSB), and the accounting profession, R.D. Nair retired at the conclusion of the Spring 2018 academic semester. During his time with WSB, Nair taught every course in the financial accounting curriculum, from introductory accounting to Ph.D. seminars. Nair devoted substantial effort to teaching financial theory to master of accountancy students and served other programs by teaching in the MBA program and in an M.S. program offered through the School of Medicine and Public Health. Nair is an accomplished researcher, with many published papers on financial accounting policy issues, including international accounting, in several major journals. With former colleague Tom Williams, Nair initiated the Big Ten Accounting Research consortium in 1980, which continues today. He also served the accounting profession in many ways, including his two-year term as a faculty fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and as a faculty resident with Arthur Andersen in their Milwaukee office and then their world headquarters. Nair held several important leadership roles in the department and WSB, serving as department chair from 1991-1994 followed by a ten-year term as senior associate dean of the School. Several major initiatives were accomplished during Nair’s time in the Dean’s Office, including the move to Grainger Hall, the construction of the Fluno Center, the launch of the Wisconsin Executive MBA Program and the Wisconsin Evening MBA Program. He also served as the director of international programs, overseeing a rapid expansion of the study abroad opportunities for WSB undergraduates. Finally, Nair was the sole principal investigator on two grants that brought in $2.5 million of federal research funding to establish a Center of International Business Education Research (CIBER) at UW–Madison, for which he served as director from 1998-2004. During the last several years, Nair has served as the chair of the department’s Professional Programs Committee, charged with providing oversight, counsel, and support for activities in the undergraduate and MAcc programs.
(L to R), Ernie Hanson, R.D. Nair, Mark Covaleski and John Wild celebrate R.D. Nair’s retirement from the Wisconsin School of Business
Nair carried out the Wisconsin Idea during his tenure by working with former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson on the Wisconsin International Trade Council. As director of CIBER, he received the Governor’s Export Achievement Award from former Wisconsin Governor Doyle and most recently, Nair has served at the appointment of Governor Walker with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), volunteering on the WEDC Board of Directors and chairing its audit committee. This past May, current and former colleagues joined Nair and his family in a retirement celebration at the Fluno Center. Stories were shared and well wishes offered as he embarked on his well-deserved retirement. While his contributions will be missed, we wish R.D. all the best in his retirement.
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FACULTY UPDATES Welcome New Faculty Willie Choi Jongwoon (Willie) Choi joined the Department of Accounting and Information Systems in 2018 after serving on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business for seven years, where he taught managerial accounting courses in various undergraduate and graduate programs. He also served as the faculty director of the Business Research Center and was a Ben L. Fryrear Faculty Fellow. His research explores the use of accounting information in managerial decision-making, with an emphasis on strategic performance measurement systems as well as performance evaluation and reward systems. His research appears in The Accounting Review and Journal of Accounting Research, and he serves on the editorial boards of several accounting journals. Willie has received several awards for his research and teaching, including the Katz Excellence in Research Award, the Best Early-Career Researcher in Management Accounting Award, the Impact on Management Accounting Practice Award, the Katz Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Pitt Business Teacher of the Year Award. Poets & Quants also recognized Willie in its list of “40 under 40 Most Outstanding Business Professors” for 2016. Willie received his BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis, his MAcc from The Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. from Emory University. Most importantly, he is a Wisconsin native who attended Mequon’s Homestead High School (’01) and is excited to be back in his home state.
Paul Kimmel Paul Kimmel (Ph.D. ’89) joins the faculty to bring his expertise in online curriculum development and delivery. Kimmel was a long-time member of the accounting faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has received teaching awards at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has published numerous articles regarding accounting instruction, financial accounting, financial instruments, and managerial accounting. Kimmel also coauthors introductory accounting textbooks and has public accounting experience with Deloitte.
Dan Wangerin Dan Wangerin (Ph.D. ’11) joined WSB in Fall 2018 and will be teaching Intermediate Financial Accounting I and the Professional Practice Issues in Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation course. After earning his Ph.D. in accounting from UW–Madison, Wangerin taught courses in financial accounting in the undergraduate and MBA programs at Michigan State University. Wangerin earned a BBA and an MPA in accounting from UW-Whitewater and worked in the audit and assurance practice for the Deloitte & Touche Milwaukee office from 2003-2006. He is also a CPA and won top honors on the May 2003 CPA exam in the state of Wisconsin. His research has been published in a number of leading academic journals, such as Contemporary Accounting Research, Management Science, Accounting, Organizations & Society, and the Journal of Accounting and Economics. His research examines a variety of financial reporting issues with a focus on standard-setting, M&A, and corporate taxation. Wangerin grew up in Hartland, Wisconsin so his return to UW–Madison is also a homecoming. 18
ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS | YEAR IN REVIEW
Joanna Wangerin Joanna Wangerin will be joining the faculty of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems as a lecturer. Prior to her appointment at WSB, Wangerin served as an instructor at Michigan State University, teaching both the Principles and Intermediate Financial Accounting courses. At Michigan State, Wangerin also served as faculty advisor to the Accounting Student Association and as an academic advisor for honors students enrolled in the accounting and information systems department. Prior to her time at MSU, Wangerin worked for eight years in public accounting, first at EY and then Deloitte. Wangerin graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a master’s in professional accountancy and a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting.
Faculty in the Dean’s Office Two faculty from the Department of Accounting and Information Systems are serving the broader WSB community through their roles in the Dean’s Office.
Ella Mae Matsumura Ella Mae Matsumura serves as the senior associate dean for academic programs. In this role, Matsumura is the chief academic officer for the School, overseeing all academic departments and all full- and part-time programs.
Brian Mayhew Brian Mayhew serves as the associate dean of undergraduate programs. In this role, Mayhew leads efforts to ensure the undergraduate experience, both curricular and cocurricular, delivers on the program learning outcomes.
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FACULTY UPDATES Accounting Faculty Recognized at WSB Year-End Celebration
Six members of the department, as discussed below, were recognized at the WSB year-end celebration for their efforts in research, teaching, service, and innovation
Research Emily Griffith, assistant professor, received the Gaumnitz Junior Faculty Research Award, which recognizes notable achievements in the area of research. Recipients are selected by their peers based on the caliber, significance, and productivity of their work. Griffith is the 2017 winner of the American Accounting Association’s Outstanding Dissertation in Auditing award and is “rapidly becoming nationally recognized as an expert on auditing uncertain valuations,” said James Johannes, senior associate dean for faculty and research. She has a top-five most cited article in the Journal of Accounting Research and another top-five most cited article in Contemporary Accounting Research. Griffith also won the “Best Paper Award” in 2014 at the American Accounting Association Auditing Section Midyear Conference.
Innovation Ann O’Brien, senior lecturer in accounting, received the Educational Innovation award. Since 2014, this award recognizes faculty and instructors who inspire student learning through innovative approaches in the classroom. Particular acknowledgement goes to innovations that are scalable and adaptable by others for larger student groups. O’Brien took an innovative approach to the traditional case writing assignment in Financial Reporting I. Using what students learn in their professional communications course, O’Brien had students write a professional memo based on a real-world case and receive feedback from peers serving as readers. She also collaborated with the WSB Academic Technology and Web team to design an online learning space with video and worked with the professional communications team to develop peer review guidelines. The initiative debuted in 2016 and is structured so new cases can be added each year. 20
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Teaching Lindsay Acker, lecturer, received the Mabel W. Chipman Outstanding Academic Staff Teaching Award. Acker teaches a diverse set of courses for the department and is excellent in all of them. Her approach to continuous improvement in her courses stands out. In particular, she engages in continuing professional education to stay on top of the rapid changes in the tax code.
Teaching Stacie Laplante, associate professor, received the Erwin A. Gaumnitz Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award. Laplante is an excellent instructor who consistently receives outstanding student evaluations across the courses she teaches. A codeveloper with Dan Lynch of computer-based testing supporting CPA exam preparation of our students, Laplante has also been instrumental in spearheading reviews of the tax curriculum for WSB’s Department of Accounting and Information Systems.
Teaching Dan Lynch, assistant professor, received the Mabel W. Chipman Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. Lynch participated in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Teaching and Learning Excellence Program, a two-semester course designed for early-career faculty and incorporated that expertise into his own classroom. Lynch regularly receives stellar course evaluations from students despite the technically challenging nature of the teaching material. Lynch strives to engage students through active learning exercises and codeveloped a computerbased testing curriculum for CPA exam preparation that was positively received by students.
Service Kristen Fuhremann, director of professional programs in accounting, received the Wisconsin Naming Gift Academic Staff Achievement Award. This award recognizes excellence in performance and impact to programs by academic staff members. Fuhremann has excelled in a variety of roles in WSB as director of the professional programs in accounting, with excellent teaching performance in several accounting courses, and in working closely with undergraduate and graduate students as they move through the accounting program.
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FACULTY UPDATES Accounting Faculty Participate in Business Writer in Residence Visit David Brancaccio, host and senior editor of American Public Media’s Marketplace Morning Report, visited WSB as the guest journalist in the WSB Business Writer in Residence Program last spring. Brancaccio co-anchored the PBS series “Now” with Bill Moyers and is also an Emmy Award winner and author of the book, Squandering Aimlessly, an examination of American attitudes toward money.
Assistant Professor Barr-Pulliam (left) and Professor Schmit participate in Business Writer in Residence panel discussion
During his three-day residency, Brancaccio moderated public panel conversations with WSB faculty on health care reform, emerging financial technologies, and corporate tax reform. Assistant Professor Dereck BarrPulliam participated in a session on financial technologies, including cryptocurrency and blockchain. Said Barr-Pulliam during the panel, “A lot of my comments are colored by the fact that I’m an accountant and I was also an auditor…I think the biggest thing is really understanding the mechanics of the technology itself. And that’s probably the hardest thing for people to understand because it looks shiny and new. But if you don’t really understand what’s under the hood, that’s when people really get into trouble.”
Assistant Professor Dan Lynch and associate professors Stacie Laplante and Fabio Gaertner comprised a panel titled “New Tax Reform,” during which Brancaccio facilitated a discussion on the impacts of the recently enacted tax reform for businesses and individuals. A key insight shared by the faculty experts was that the new law not only reduces tax rates, but likely will influence many management decisions, sometimes in unexpected ways. Started in 1989, the Business Writer in Residence program brings journalists of national stature to WSB. Past writers in residence have included Yuki Noguchi of National Public Radio, Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal, and Jean Chatzky of NBC’s Today show.
Assistant Professor Lynch (right) comments as part of The New Tax Reform panel discussion during the Business Writer in Residence visit
Professors Laplante (center) and Gaertner (left) join American Public Media’s David Brancaccio for a Business Writer in Residence panel discussion 22
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Research Spotlight, by Emily Griffith Auditors: Don’t Underestimate Your Valuation Specialist In 2008, The New York Times reported that Big Four accounting firm KPMG was under investigation for allowing mortgage client New Century Financial to report misleading financial statements. Behind the scenes, KMPG’s in-house specialists had documented information that ran counter to the overly rosy financial picture the KMPG auditors painted to the world about New Century. The audit partner ignored the specialists’ warning and allowed New Century to file its financial statements without fixing the problems identified by the specialists. New Century later restated its misleading financial statements, leaving the accounting firm potentially liable for millions of dollars. This KPMG example, plus my own experience as a former auditor, sparked my interest in the relationship between audit teams and valuation specialists, and whether auditors are using their specialists most effectively. One of my audit clients made over 200 acquisitions over a three-year period, and each one involved a valuation estimate. Audit firms bring in specialists to help with areas outside of traditional accounting and auditing expertise, and we used valuation specialists at my firm as well. With their help, my process throughout those three years got easier. Nevertheless, even with a master’s in finance, I felt like the working relationship was a bit disjointed as I struggled to pick up bits and pieces of specialist knowledge wherever I could. I carried this interest in maximizing auditors’ use of their specialists’ knowledge through to my own research. Specifically, I examined how auditors respond to a “relational cue”—the additional details or commentary from specialists that indicate where a client might be making aggressive assumptions, or estimating in their favor. The cue is similar to a hint from the specialist about how things might fit together in the bigger audit picture. Across two experiments, participants evaluated a biased estimate (for example, a client overestimated in his favor) that either included or did not include a relational cue from a specialist. The two experiments also included two risk indicators: client source credibility and engagement risk, or the risk to an accounting firm generally as the result of an audit. The findings from both studies suggest that the presence of risk seems to trigger a greater motivation on the part of the auditor to utilize the specialist’s work. The auditor seemed only to fully utilize the specialist’s commentary when there was an issue of client source credibility or some other red flag. The idea behind using specialists to begin with is that they’re going to find things that you may not notice, regardless of the risk level. The fact that the cue was helpful to the auditor when he or she paid attention to it implies that we can help auditors get better at evaluating these very complex estimates that include so many assumptions and moving pieces.
Professor Griffith’s research offers fresh perspectives on accounting and auditing
The nature of the accounting field itself is changing, moving away from this idea of accounting as a historical record and more toward the realm of valuations and estimates. How will auditors approach this new future when the old ways of working are not valid anymore? Understanding the role of specialists and the value they can add to an audit team is an important start, and one that should not be underestimated.
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AWARDS, RESEARCH GRANTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND PRESENTATIONS Russell Epp During the Spring 2018 semester, Russell Epp was selected as a University Housing Honored Instructor. Each semester, University Housing residents have the opportunity to recognize outstanding classroom instructors for their contributions to student learning. This is the third time Epp has been honored by students through this program. Epp continues to serve as the faculty advisor to the UW–Madison student chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).
Rob Misey Rob Misey’s program, “Legal Ethics as Shown in Movies and Television Shows,” won an award for best continuing education program at the American Bar Association’s Fall Meeting. In addition, the eleventh edition of Misey’s first book, “A Practical Guide to Taxation of International Transactions,” was published in August for use in the Fall 2018 semester.
Stacie Laplante Along with colleagues Dan Wangerin (Ph.D. ’11), Laura Swenson (Ph.D. ’12), and Holly Skaife, Stacie Laplante’s paper, “Limits of Tax Regulation: Evidence from the R&D Tax Credit,” was accepted for the 2018 Journal of Accounting and Public Policy’s annual conference at the London School of Economics. Laplante’s paper with Ph.D. student Ben Osswald and Tobias Borneman of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, titled, “The Effect of Intellectual Property Boxes on Innovative Activity & Effective Tax Rates,” was presented at the 2017 National Tax Association’s Annual Meeting, the 2017 Illinois Tax Conference, and the 2018 Hawaiian Accounting Research Conference. Laplante also presented this paper in workshops at the University of Arkansas and Texas Christian University. Laplante was awarded the 2017-18 Fetzer Fellowship, providing her the opportunity to visit China and discuss tax planning with Chinese tax professionals.
Tyler Thomas Tyler Thomas was appointed to serve on the AAA Management Accounting Section President’s Strategy Advisory Board. Thomas received a BRITE Lab Faculty Research Grant to fund experimental participants for the research study entitled, “Compensation Expectations and Demands Under Relative Performance Information,” with co-authors, Jeremy Douthit of the University of Arizona, Michael Majerczyk of Georgia State University, and Ph.D. candidate Bei Shi of Georgia State University.
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Emily Griffith Emily Griffith was selected as a University Housing Honored Instructor during the Fall 2017 semester upon nomination from her students. Griffith was appointed to the Cynthia and Jay Ihlenfeld Professorship for Inspired Learning in Business for 2018-2019 in recognition and support of her proposal to redesign the MAcc-level advanced audit class to incorporate a data analytics mindset. Griffith’s paper, “The Elaboration Likelihood Model: A Meta-theory for Synthesizing Auditor Judgment and Decision-making Research,” co-authored with Christine Nolder of Suffolk University and Richard Petty of Ohio State University, was accepted for publication in Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory. Griffith served on a panel to provide new faculty perspectives at the AAA Auditing Section Doctoral Consortium in January 2018. Two of Griffith’s papers were recognized among top-five most cited in their respective journals, Contemporary Accounting Research and Journal of Accounting Research.
Karla Johnstone Karla Johnstone published “A Field Experiment Examining Audit Subordinates’ Knowledge and a Partner-led Intervention in Fraud Brainstorming,” with Sean Dennis (Ph.D. ’15) in Accounting, Organizations and Society (2018). Johnstone served as past president of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association. Johnstone completed a new edition of her textbook, Auditing: A Risk-Based Approach to Conducting Quality Audits, Eleventh Edition, Cengage Publishing, 2018, by Professors Karla Johnstone, Audrey Gramling, and Larry Rittenberg.
Dan Lynch Dan Lynch published “Supplier Internal Control Quality and the Duration of Customer-Supplier Relationships,” in 2018 with Andrew Bauer and Darren Henderson, in The Accounting Review, Vol. 93, No. 3, pp. 59-82. Research by Associate Professor Fabio Gaertner, Assistant Professor Dan Lynch, and Ph.D. student Mary Vernon on the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on defined benefit pension contributions was featured on American Public Media’s Marketplace Morning Report program, which airs on NPR. The results suggest firms increased pension contributions in 2017 in response to the corporate rate reduction to take advantage of the higher tax rate in 2017. Listen to the full program here: go.wisc.edu/marketplace-2017-tax-bill.
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AWARDS, RESEARCH GRANTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND PRESENTATIONS Willie Choi Starting in January 2019, Willie Choi will begin a three-year term as an editor for the Journal of Management Accounting Research. He will be serving as a co-organizer of the 2019 and 2020 Management Accounting Section Midyear Meeting Doctoral Colloquium of the American Accounting Association. Choi is serving on the association’s nominations committee for the Accounting, Behavior and Organizations Section.
John Wild John Wild published with Victoria Dickinson and Dan Wangerin (Ph.D. ’11) “Accounting Rules and Post-Acquisition Profitability in Business Combinations,” in Accounting Horizons: December 2016, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 427-447.
Fabio Gaertner Fabio Gaertner was promoted to associate professor with tenure. Gaertner has contributed to research excellence and building inspiring learning experiences during his time with WSB. This promotion represents well-earned recognition of his great work. Each year WSB identifies the top 10 most-covered faculty research in the national and international news media. Gaertner’s research was #6 and #10 on the list. He investigated the impact of shareholder wealth and border adjustment taxation, as featured in Politico; Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation; Agenda—A Financial Times service (9.6 million impressions). Gaertner makes the list a second time for his work on the relationship between tax overpayments and forced CEO departures, as featured in Accounting Today, CPA Practice Advisor, CFO Magazine (789,000 impressions).
Terry Warfield Terry Warfield was elected to serve a three-year term on the University Committee. He serves as co-chair of the Oversight Committee as a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation. He published (with Don Kieso and Jerry Weygandt), the third edition of “Intermediate Accounting–IRFS Edition.”
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ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
Department of Accounting and Information Systems Advisory Board Members
Steven Carter* V.P. Finance Kleen Test Products Corporation
Amy Mutziger* Assistant Corporate Controller Johnson Controls, Inc.
Robert J. Cottingham* Tax Partner Wipfli LLP
Sarah Nemke* Senior Director SC Johnson
Dianne Dubois* CFO Say Media, Inc.
Jason Schultz* Director – Leveraged Finance Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company
Katherine Feucht* AERS Partner Deloitte & Touche Scott Harmsen* Tax Services Partner Grant Thornton LLP Brian Kennedy Assurance Services Partner EY Tim Mattke* Executive Vice President – CFO MGIC Investment Corporation Derek Matzke* Assurance Partner BDO USA, LLP
Tom Sheahan* Partner and Assurance Quality Co-Leader Baker Tilly Isabel Tarnowski* SEC Compliance Manager Douglas Dynamics, Inc. Troy Van Beek* Controller, V.P. American Family Insurance Todd Watchmaker* Tax Partner KPMG Brad Zastoupil* Assurance Senior Manager PwC *Alumnus
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975 University Avenue Madison, WI 53706
STAY IN TOUCH TERRY WARFIELD
KRISTEN FUHREMANN
PwC Professor in Accounting and Richard J. Johnson Chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems
Director, Professional Programs in Accounting kristen.fuhremann@wisc.edu 608-262-0316
terry.warfield@wisc.edu 608-262-1028