Department of Accounting Newsletter

1IU KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESSIndiana University

The Department of

AccountingFall 2020

Dear Friends of the Accounting Department,

Hello! Warm greetings from the beautiful but eerily empty and quiet campus of IU-Bloomington. The effects of the social and physical distancing requirements to combat COVID-19 have turned our normally vibrant and energetic campus into a ghost town. We truly hope the preventive measures we are all taking will curb the virus, so we can get to whatever will be the new “normal.”

Despite the pandemic causing us to convert all of our courses into online modality in March, our department still had an excellent year in fulfilling our missions of teaching, research, and service. This newsletter will bring you up to date on some of our major accomplishments over the past year, introduce you to some great new colleagues, and provide some information about how we, at the Kelley School of Business are planning to approach our teaching mission this coming year. We are striving to achieve the best balance possible by providing excellent learning experiences for all of our students while also keeping everyone safe and healthy. As always, as faculty, alumni, students, recruiters, supporters and stakeholders of the Accounting Department, the Kelley School, and IU, we have so much for which we should be proud and grateful.

This newsletter will also bring you up to date on some significant changes in leadership within the school and the department. For example, after six years of excellent service as the Chair of our Graduate Accounting Programs, Professor Pat Hopkins has agreed to serve as the Chair of the Kelley Undergraduate Business Program. Also, Professor Leslie Hodder has graciously agreed to serve as the new Chair of our Graduate Accounting Programs. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Pat for his past service in GAP, and to both Leslie and Pat, in advance, for their willingness to step up and take on these huge responsibilities.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who are such great friends and supporters of the Accounting Department. After having the honor of serving for six years as the chair of what I believe is the best accounting department in the world, I am stepping back into a normal faculty role. [Back when I agreed to serve a second three-year term as chair, my wife made me promise that I would not serve a third term!] The past and continuing success of our department is a direct result of the great support and friendship we receive from all of you – thank you, thank you, thank you.


Great news! Professor Sonja Rego has graciously agreed to step into the role of Accounting Department Chair! Sonja is the type of faculty member (and person) who is excellent at everything she does. She is a very highly regarded scholar of tax research, an editor of the AAA’s leading research journal, an award-winning teacher, a selfless colleague, and a very thoughtful and kind person. The leadership of our department will be in very good hands. I will leave the rest of this letter to Sonja so she can say a few words. Thank you, Jim, for your kind introduction! And more importantly, THANK YOU for your outstanding leadership over the past six years! During your time as chair, the research reputation of the department has increased dramatically. Based on the most recent BYU Accounting Research rankings, our department ranks 8th in the world based on citations of accounting research articles published over the last six years (12th based on articles published since 1990). Based on the number of accounting research articles published over the same time period, we rank 2nd in the world (3rd based on articles published since 1990). These extraordinary rankings are due, in part, to the faculty hired during Jim’s time as department chair and to his efforts to enhance the department’s research environment through his support of events such as the Hoosier Accounting Research Conference, the Accounting Leading Scholar Seminar series, and the IU Spring Tax Camp. During his time as chair Jim also reformed the Accounting Advisory Group and initiated the Accounting Alumni and Friends Recognition Banquet, which brings together IU accounting alumni and stakeholders to celebrate their professional, academic, and community-based achievements. These efforts have significantly enhanced the reputation and standing of the department among academics and professionals alike. Well done!

As I transition into the role of chair of our department, I am struck by how much we have already achieved as a team. We have incredible accounting faculty that excel in teaching, research, and service. I am grateful to have the opportunity to lead them through these challenging times, and to develop new relationships with external stakeholders in the months and years to come. Given the uncertainty of the pandemic, we have all spent a lot of time this summer preparing for the fall semester so our accounting team can deliver outstanding courses this fall, regardless of whether they are delivered in-person, online, or in hybrid modality. But looking further into the future, I am eager to focus on longer-term issues, such as enhancing our curriculum to meet the needs of students entering the accounting profession; developing our relationships with IU accounting alumni and recruiters; and supporting our incredible accounting faculty so they can continue their remarkable achievements in the classroom, in the global community, and in the accounting academy. I look forward to working with all of you!

Sonja Rego (KPMG Professor) and Jim Wahlen (James R. Hodge Chair of Excellence)

in the world, Accounting Research Publications

#2 #4 #7in the U.S, Undergraduate

Accounting Programs, U.S. News & World Report

in the U.S., Accounting Programs, Public

Accounting Report

#7


42%

GO FROM MOMENT TO MOMENTUM3

Faculty Spotlight: Brian Miller Promoted to Full Professor by Christy Heitger-Ewing

Brian Miller, who joined the IU faculty in 2008, was recently promoted to Full Professor. He has taught across all programs in the Kelley curriculum—undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, & Ph.D., and across multiple formats, including online, international, discussion-based courses, experiential learning courses, and traditional lectures.

“I’m most proud of the work that I’ve done with GLOBASE courses, where we lead student teams to work with small business owners in developing countries to improve their businesses,” says Miller, who has led several trips to Guatemala with his MBA students. “I’ve enjoyed working with students to impact the lives of individuals running businesses in Guatemala. It’s impactful to see what a difference giving back in business skills can make in people’s lives.”

Miller has taught Intermediate Cost Accounting (2009-2015), Honors Managerial Accounting (2016-2019), MBA Global Business and Social Enterprise Consulting (Guatemala 2017-2020); IU/SKKU Executive MBA Managerial Accounting (Seoul Korea 2017); Capital Markets Doctoral Seminar (2019); Core MBA Financial Accounting (2019), and Online MSA Managerial Accounting (2019).

Miller has had papers published in several top journals including The Journal of Accounting and Economics, The Accounting Review, The Review of Accounting Studies, and Management Science. He currently serves as an Associate Editor at Management Science, and on the Editorial Review boards of The Accounting Review, The Review of Accounting Studies, and Accounting Horizons.

Though his research has been awarded the American Accounting Association Notable Contribution to the Accounting Literature Award, Miller is most proud of projects that have been published with current and former Ph.D. students.

“Most recently, I had a paper accepted to Management Science with Professors Merkley and Pacelli and a Ph.D. student Braiden Coleman—Does FOIA Foil the SEC’s Intent to Keep Investigations Private?” says Miller. “I continue to have many projects with current and former Ph.D. students that I hope to see through the publication process.”

Miller, who has received the Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award three times and was a finalist for it three times, also serves on the American Accounting Association Doctoral Consortium Committee, where the team plans and provides advice for current Ph.D. students from around the U.S. on research, teaching and university service.

An avid runner who enjoys competing in triathlons, Miller and his college sweetheart wife Renee have three children, two in college and one still in high school. For the past several years, their family has traveled to Mexico to build houses for less fortunate individuals.

“I love to travel and in the past few years have visited Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Cyprus, and Brazil,” says Miller. “My favorite vacation spot is Hawaii because of its ecological diversity.”

Miller says the last dozen years at Indiana University has been so gratifying due to his fantastic colleagues as well as the Ph.D. students he has mentored.

“My biggest joy working in the field of accounting has been understanding the impact that accounting can have on efficient business decisions,” says Miller.

GO FROM MOMENT TO MOMENTUM4 4IU KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Professor Leslie Hodder accepted the appointment as faculty chair of our Graduate Accounting Programs, which began August 1. She succeeds Professor Pat Hopkins, who, became chair of the Undergraduate Program. Hodder, who holds the Conrad Prebys Professorship, joined the Kelley School in 2003 and earned tenure in 2008. She previously taught at Stanford University. She earned her doctorate at the University of Texas, and her joint MBA/Master of Accountancy in information systems, and bachelor’s degrees at the University of New Mexico. She is a Certified Public Accountant, and prior to earning her doctorate, worked as Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded bank, in private consulting, and in public accounting at EY.

At Kelley, she has taught at every degree level. For successfully bringing her practical experience into the classroom she received Alpha Kappa Psi’s “Beyond Kelley” teaching award. In addition, she has served on the Curriculum Quality Committees for the undergraduate and graduate accounting programs and has been instrumental in significantly revising and creating new course content, jointly receiving Kelley’s Innovative Teaching Award for developing a course in applied accounting research. Hodder also is co-developer of an innovative intermediate accounting learning system designed as an affordable textbook alternative.

Hodder’s research areas include risk measurement and disclosure, measurement issues in accounting, including the use of fair value, financial instruments, and financial institutions. Her work has been featured in prestigious accounting journals, and she has been recognized for her research nationally and locally, winning the American Accounting Association’s Wildman Medal as well as Kelley’s Outstanding Researcher Award.

Hodder has a long list of service activities and previously served as the chair of the Doctoral Program Committee for accounting. She has been actively involved in the development and lives of undergraduate students, and received the Outstanding Faculty Advisor award. Nationally, she served for four years as Executive Vice President of Finance for the American Accounting Association, and two three-year terms as editor of The Accounting Review. Last December, Hodder was named to the advisory board to the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation.

For these and other service activities, she was awarded Kelley’s Service Award for 2020. Because giving is less prevalent but even more important in times of uncertainty and austerity, Hodder has committed to donate the stipend associated with her award to a fund providing for student fellowships.

With a continuing focus on student growth and experience, Hodder plans to build on Hopkins’ successes with GAP and continue the momentum while responding creatively to challenges and opportunities for constructive change arising from the pandemic.

Leslie Hodder Named New GAP Chair

New Faculty: Michele Mullaney

Michele Mullaney joins the IU Kelley School of Business faculty from the Ph.D. program in Accounting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on how taxes affect firm decision-making. Mullaney is an academic researcher with the IRS, which provides her access to confidential tax return data for use in her research. One of her current projects with these data investigates tax planning differences between public and private firms. Her dissertation studies how tax evasion in certain countries around the world affects the propensity of U.S. multinational firms to establish subsidiaries in those countries.

Prior to entering the doctoral program, Mullaney earned her BBA from Emory University in Atlanta and worked for three years in the tax practice at EY Atlanta. Her work at EY primarily involved Federal and state tax return preparation and tax provision audits for medium- and large-sized publicly-traded companies.

Mullaney grew up in Maryland, outside of the DC area, until she was 15, at which time her family moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Her parents grew up in Jacksonville, and that is where most of her extended family resides. When not working, she enjoys traveling, listening to music, going to the movies and the beach, eating out, and watching sports (she played basketball and softball competitively for many years in middle and high school).

Mullaney visited IU to interview for the Accounting Ph.D. program more than five years ago and is thrilled to be returning to Bloomington as a faculty member.

“I can’t think of a better place than IU to have the opportunity to launch my academic career,” says Mullaney, who will teach undergraduate tax courses at Kelley. “The mix of tax and non-tax researchers on the faculty, along with the incredibly collaborative culture, are exactly what I was looking for.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Karen Ton earned her B.S. in finance & accounting and her Ph.D. in business from the University of Southern California. Prior to going into academia, she worked as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), specializing in construction contract accounting. She also worked on buy side due diligence for PwC’s advisory practice. She is an active CPA in the State of California.

Ton’s research interests relate to financial reporting, auditing, regulation, and mergers & acquisitions. She was on the faculty at Emory University since 2015 and was awarded the Crystal Apple for Excellence in Undergraduate Business Education in 2020.

She will be teaching Intermediate Accounting I in the undergraduate program at Indiana University.

“I am excited to visit IU and be part of Kelley’s intellectual community,” says Ton. “I am eager to engage with the faculty and doctoral students and look forward to starting joint research projects.”

Ton enjoys traveling, trying different food & restaurants, hiking, and checking out new surroundings.

“My family and I are looking forward to discovering Bloomington and cheering on the Hoosiers at the foOtball and basketball games!” says Ton.

Visiting Professor: Karen Ton

P.J. Hoffman, who was a Visiting Assistant Professor during the 2019-2020 academic year, will continue in a long-term capacity as a Clinical Assistant Professor. Hoffman taught Intermediate Accounting in the undergraduate program to finance majors in the fall (A310) and accounting majors in the spring (A311). He will also begin teaching Advanced Financial Accounting in the undergraduate and graduate programs going forward.

Before joining Kelley, Hoffman served on the faculty of the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. During his time there, Hoffman was included on the Krannert Distinguished Teaching List eight times, twice received an Honorable Mention for the Krannert Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher Award, and was named one of the Top Three Favorite Professors by the Krannert Society of Minority Managers.

Hoffman received his Ph.D. from the Smeal College of Business at the Pennsylvania State University and his B.B.A. from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in accountancy and philosophy. Prior to the financial crisis, he worked for EY’s Financial Services Office (FSO) asset management assurance group in New York, specializing in auditing hedge funds, particularly those run by major investment banks.

“I considered myself incredibly lucky to join the faculty last year in a visiting capacity,” says Hoffman. “The Kelley family, and really the accounting department in particular, are absolutely incredible. Once I arrived here, I knew I wanted to stay in a long-term position if possible. I’m very excited it worked out so well!”

Shaun Fleener, who was a Visiting Lecturer during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 academic years, was promoted to Lecturer of Accounting and will continue to teach Cost Accounting (A325) in the undergraduate program and Field Consulting (A569) for the graduate accounting program.

Fleener received his MBA in Finance from Kelley and his B.S. in Accounting from Indiana University.

Previously, he served as Director of Operations Accounting for Circle K stores where he was responsible for strategy, acquisition integration and daily operations of the shared services accounting operations in Columbus, Indiana. Before joining Circle K, Fleener was the Director of Supply Chain Finance for Hillenbrand Industries.

“This is truly a dream come true for me. Not many people know that my original goal in life was to be a teacher. As life would have it, a turn of events led me into the corporate world where I held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, across various industries,” says Fleener. “Every day I am thankful I was given a chance to join the Kelley family. The people I work with are amazing, and I am so blessed to have this opportunity. I can’t imagine myself in a career more rewarding and satisfying than teaching at Kelley. I absolutely love my students.”

Faculty Promotions: P.J. Hoffman & Shaun Fleener


Teaching Highlights

Bridget Stomberg and Katie Metz were awarded the Kelley Innovative Teaching Award. Sonja Rego and Brian Miller were awarded Indiana University Trustees Teaching Awards.Brian Williams was a finalist for the Kelley Sauvain Undergraduate Teaching Award.Julie Head, Katherine Glass, Katie Metz, Anita Morgan, and many other accounting department faculty members have been instrumental in serving on committees and task forces for IU and Kelley dedicated to developing faculty skills, tools and resources for online teaching and learning.

Presentations at Conference and Universities:American Accounting Association’s (AAA) Doctoral Consortium Swiss Accounting Research Conference Financial Accounting Reporting Section Midyear Meeting AAA Auditing Midyear Meeting AAA ABO Section Research Conference 2019 MIT Asia ConferenceBYU Accounting Research Symposium Hawaii Accounting Research Conference University of Maryland’s virtual doctoral seminar PCAOB Conference in Washington, D.C.Doctoral Consortium of the AAA Auditing Midyear Meeting University of MissouriDoctoral Consortium of the AAA FARS Midyear Meeting University of HoustonDuke University Virginia TechBaylor University Cornell University Norwegian School of Economics Florida Atlantic University Maastricht University University of Amsterdam Monash University University of Illinois University of Oregon

Accounting Ph.D. Student Placement: Junwei Xia

Junwei Xia grew up in Shanghai and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Broadcasting Journalism from Shanghai International Studies University. To fulfill her dream of studying abroad and exploring different cultures in other countries, Xia came to the U.S. to pursue a Master’s degree in Accounting at Virginia Tech.

“For someone who is used to the hustle & bustle of big cities, living in Blacksburg, Virginia, was a brand-new experience,” says Xia. “Surprisingly, I grew to love the peacefulness & simplicity of small-town living.”

Prior to joining the doctoral program in 2015, Xia was a senior tax associate at KPMG in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she worked on tax compliance and tax planning projects for large private equity clients. Her passion for taxation continued after she entered the Ph.D. program at Indiana University. Her research interests are at the intersection of tax-related disclosure and corporate taxation. Specifically, she uses empirical methods to examine whether and how tax disclosure affects firms’ tax practices, and how internal and external factors, such as firms’ information environment and various stakeholders, influence firms’ tax reporting outcomes.

“I am incredibly grateful for everyone in the Accounting Department at IU for their endless encouragement and support,” says Xia. “Without the people who truly invested in me and helped me improve, I would not have been where I am today.”

Although she is sad to leave Bloomington, Xia is excited about the next chapter of her life and career in College Station, Texas, where she will be joining the Accounting Department at Texas A&M University.

“I’m lucky to join a group of exceptional scholars at Texas A&M, and I will always be proud to be an IU grad,” says Xia.


The Accounting Department held the third Accounting Alumni and Friends Recognition Banquet on Thursday, November 7, 2019, in beautiful Presidents’ Hall in Franklin Hall. In addition to recognizing the accomplishments of the honorees, the evening allowed approximately 125 alumni to reconnect with faculty, students, Kelley and IU. We would like to thank our generous supporters of this wonderful event, including Crimson level support from BKD, EY, KPMG, Protiviti and PwC, and Cream level support from Crowe and Deloitte.

At the Banquet, we recognized the following set of outstanding alumni:

Lifetime Achievements: Ted Dickman, 1983, CEO of BKD

Professional Excellence: Sarah Cole, 1995, Crowe Jean Cunningham, 1978, Lean Enterprises Institute Robert Michael, 1992, Abbvie

Three Under Forty: Chad Kellar, 2002, Crowe Angela Konkle, 2002, 2004, PwC Gary Manowitz, 2002, 2003, Blue Torch Capital

Community Service Excellence: Mike Becher, 1975, Deloitte (retired) Nick Hall, 1992, EY Outstanding Friend of Kelley: Linda Watson, 1975, EY (retired)

Academic Excellence: Frank Hodge, 1996, 2000, Accounting Professor and Dean of the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.

The next Accounting Alumni and Friends Recognition Banquet is planned for April 2021. Of course, that will depend on whether we can all get together for large group gatherings by then. In any case, please nominate Kelley Accounting Alumni and Friends for consideration for recognition (self-nominations are also welcome). Nominating someone is easy; just go to the following link: https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/departments/accounting/index.cshtmlWe look forward to seeing you at the next Accounting Alumni and Friends Recognition Banquet!

Accounting Alumni and Friends Recognition Banquet


by Christy Heitger-EwingGrowing up in a family where parents, aunts, and uncles like to weigh in our your future has its

advantages. Just ask Ted Dickman (IU, ‘83). His father owned a medium-sized business where

Dickman worked when he was a teenager. His uncle, the CFO of the business, took him under his

wing, teaching him how to keep the books.

“He knew I was thinking about becoming an accounting major, but more than that I suspect he

was interested in getting somebody to do some of the work so he could take a vacation every once in

awhile,” says Dickman, who ultimately did major in accounting because he had an aptitude for

numbers and considered himself a “financially-minded person.”

“It just kind of clicked for me,” says Dickman of the profession. He suspects that accountants are

largely misunderstood by the general public.

“People think we sit around adding up numbers or pouring over spreadsheets all day long,” he says. “But it’s surprising how

little of that we actually do. It’s more analysis, reading research and talking to clients to help them understand how things affect

their business.”

He admits that 30 years ago there really was no way to have a clear vision on the impact technology would have on our

lives, but he wholeheartedly embraces the evolution.

“I personally thrive on change,” says Dickman, CEO of BKD. “I enjoy constantly trying to improve how we work. It’s how I’m

wired—with a natural instinct to do something better.”

When COVID-19 changed life as we know it, Dickman ramped up his workload in order to be an effective leader.

“In an odd way, I enjoyed the challenge of helping the firm navigate through the pandemic,” says Dickman. Though the

amount of uncertainty that surrounded society made planning difficult, he quickly built adaptable plans and models that could

be altered based on new information as it came in. He made sure to consider both the business and human side as they moved

forward in the business. The number one thing was transparent communication, both with their team and their clients.

“We had to ask, ‘What are we doing? What are we thinking about? How are we trying to approach it and deal with it in a

manner that will give people some comfort so they have a little less uncertainly in their own lives?” asks Dickman, who

estimates that over the spring and summer, their communication was tenfold, if not 100-fold, of what it would normally be.

“People want and need communication, so we stay connected. We hear what’s on people’s minds,” says Dickman. “I’m

listening way more than I’m talking.”

Dickman and his wife Kim, both IU grads, have five children, four of whom also call Indiana University their alma mater.

When their twins (a daughter and son) graduated from IU this past spring, Dickman says he and his wife “hit full empty-nester

status.”

Dickman is gearing up for another life change in May 2021 when he retires from BKD.

“That will be a big change to navigate through, which I’m generally excited about it, but you never know for sure until you

get there,” he says. “But I plan to go as fast as I can professionally all the way to the finish line!”

When giving advice to newbies in the field, Dickman reminds them that the reward they feel from an experience is directly

proportional to the degree of devotion that is invested.

“When you put your heart and soul into something, you’ll get a lot out of it,” he says. “If not, the experience won’t be as

rewarding.”

And if he could go back in time and counsel his younger self, he has a simple yet vital piece of wisdom he would pass along.

“Sometimes you get caught up in what you’re doing. You’re climbing that mountain and you get to the top of that one and

you see another one you want to climb and you go do that,” says Dickman. “I wish I had taken a little more time along the way to

reflect back and take satisfaction in the journey that had been accomplished instead of always tearing off for the next

mountain.”

Recognition Spotlight Lifetime Achievement: Ted Dickman


Professional Excellence: Jean Cunningham Jean Cunningham’s (IU, ‘78) career encompassed moving up the accounting ladder in high tech in the 80s, to manufacturing CFO positions in the 90s and early 2000s, and 15 years of consulting ongoing. “My specialty was taking the tenets of lean manufacturing, a process waste reduction and improvement system based on the Toyota Production System, and applying them to non-manufacturing functions,” says Cunningham. In particular, she was an original thought leader for lean accounting, now a component of Lean Management Systems, that are slowly being adopted by companies in most industries. Cunningham has authored three lean books and recently retired as chairperson of the nonprofit, Lean Enterprise Institute.Her career is one she will always look back on fondly.“When you love what you are doing, it is not really work but a paid hobby!” she says.

Professional Excellence: Robert MichaelRobert Michael (IU ‘92) is the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of AbbVie. Michael is responsible for all of AbbVie’s financial operations, including financial planning and reporting, treasury, tax, accounting, internal audit and investor relations. He is also responsible for business technology solutions. Upon graduating from IU, Michael joined Abbott as a member of the Financial Development Program. After AbbVie’s separation from Abbott in 2013, Michael held a series of leadership roles of increasing responsibility including Vice President, AbbVie Financial Planning and Analysis; Vice President, Controller for Commercial Operations; Vice President, Treasurer; and Vice President, Corporate Controller. Upon completion of the Allergan acquisition in 2020, AbbVie will become the fourth largest pharmaceutical company in the world.“IU is where I met my closest friends, learned my toughest lessons and developed the confidence to succeed,” says Michael.

Three Under Forty: Chad Kellar Chad Kellar (IU, ‘02) is a partner at Crowe LLP and leads the firm’s Financial Services Advisory Practice. After graduating from IU, Kellar started his career in the Financial Services Audit practice at Crowe where he provided financial statement audits for banks, credit unions and specialty finance companies. Specializing early in his career on mergers and acquisition (M&A) accounting and valuation matters, Kellar began focusing on providing advisory solutions to the market. Since then Kellar has developed various technology solutions and lines of business associated with M&A, financial instrument modeling and accounting advisory.“IU provided me a solid foundation in accounting and finance, which got me in the door at Crowe,” says Kellar. “The philosophy instilled through the professors of teamwork, critical thinking, and building personal and professional networks is really what accelerated my career.”

Accounting Alumni and Friends Banquet Spotlights by Christy Heitger-Ewing


Three Under Forty: Angela Konkle Angela Konkle (IU, ‘02 & ‘04) joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Cincinnati as an audit associate. She served large privately held companies in industries ranging from construction and scrap metal to automotive and heavy industrial manufacturing. After living in Sydney, Australia, for two years, Konkle moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2011 to take on the lead manager role of a Fortune 200 client in the steel industry. Known for her agility and keen ability to serve clients well across multiple sectors, Konkle was admitted to the partnership at PwC in 2018 as an audit partner focused on serving clients in the health industries. Konkle, passionate about creating a unique experience for her clients and teams, is a proud alum and often can be seen sporting candy stripe pants and other IU garb on Saturdays in the office during the audit busy season (which conveniently coincides with basketball season). “As a child of two IU alumni, I always felt attending IU was my destiny,” says Konkle. “What I know now is that it was an honor and privilege that prepared me for a life full of problem solving and exploration.”

Three Under Forty: Gary Manowitz Gary Manowitz (IU, ‘02 & ‘03) is the Chief Financial Officer with Blue Torch Capital with responsibilities that include Blue Torch’s operations, treasury, fund accounting, valuation, tax reporting, and administration functions. Prior to joining Blue Torch, Manowitz was the Chief Accounting Officer for the Credit Platform at HIG Capital. While at HIG, he sponsored an internship opportunity for three students in Dave Greene’s class/intern program over the course of three years. Manowitz also worked at Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. as Controller of the Credit Platform of Cerberus Business Finance, Ableco Finance LLC, Merrill Lynch, and PwC. Early in his career, Manowitz served as a board member of the IU Kelley School Metro NY Alumni Chapter, which included two years as President of the Board. “I cherish the time I spent at IU and the Kelley School of Business,” says Manowitz. “The atmosphere, environment, professors, and faculty more than prepared me to start my professional career. I’ll continue to stay involved with the Kelley School of Business and IU the best I can. Thank you for the amazing memories, support and continued guidance.”

Community Service: Mike BecherMike Becher (IU, ‘75) was the managing partner for the Indianapolis office of Deloitte for a number of years. He also led the audit and risk management practices of a nine-office region and served as the national managing partner for the firm’s Middle Market audit practice.“I was involved in a wide variety of community activities in my role as the managing partner of the Indianapolis office,” says Becher. “In retirement, I have the time and flexibility to give back and, hopefully, have a positive impact to my community. This is also a great opportunity to recognize the many people who helped me in my career and in my community.”A board member at Marian University, Indianapolis Symphony, United Way of Central Indiana, and First Merchants Corporation, Becher says he owes a large part of his success to Indiana University and the Kelley School of Business. “The years at IU were very formative years for me,” he says. “I received a lot of counsel on how to succeed in business and in life from quite a few professors.”

Accounting Alumni and Friends Banquet Spotlights Cont.


Professor Vann Sewell, in particular, had the greatest impact—especially when it came time to accept an offer. “I remember him saying to me, ‘Do you want to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?’”

recalls Belcher. “That advice helped me choose Deloitte for my career. I will always be thankful for his advice.” Community Service: Nick Hall

Nick Hall (IU, ‘92), the Strategic Alliance Director at Ernst & Young, is also the Founder of Graham’s Foundation, whose mission is to support, comfort, inform, and guide families who experience a premature birth. The nonprofit organization was borne out of personal heartbreak.

“The longer you live, the more stuff happens,” says Hall, noting that early in his career, his community service was as much about building his resume as it was about giving back.

“Then my twins were born 15 weeks premature,” says Hall. “My son died after 45 days of life. Stuff you never imagine, happens.”

Hall founded Graham’s Foundation as an opportunity to put his education and experience to great use.“I can give back to others not as fortunate as I and help me get through the most challenging time of my life,”

says Hall. “I’m grateful for the opportunities IU provided that contributed to me becoming an open, responsible, caring human being. Outstanding Friend of Kelley: Linda Watson

Linda Watson (IU ‘75), now retired from EY after 35 years, was also a partner in International Tax Service. She lived and worked in Chicago, New York and London. Watson volunteers as an Advisory Board member of the IU Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University and IU Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council. She’s also an IU Foundation Board member. In Chicago, she volunteers for Impact Grants Chicago, Chicago Lights and Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly.

“Supporting Kelley is important to me as I’d like to ensure that all its students have the same opportunities I did to learn and develop the skills necessary to have an interesting and fulfilling career,” says Watson.

Academic Excellence: Frank HodgeIn July 2019, Frank Hodge (IU, ‘96 & ‘00) became the 14th dean in the 102-year history of

the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. Prior to that role, Hodge served as Accounting Department Chairperson and UW Faculty Athletics Representative to the Pac-12 Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He earned his MBA and Ph.D. from the Kelley School, and upon graduation in 2000, joined the faculty at Washington. Hodge’s teaching has been recognized with more than 30 awards across the undergraduate, graduate and executive levels at Washington. His research focuses on how managers disclose and individuals use accounting information to make investment decisions. Hodge has published with an extensive list of coauthors in the leading accounting journals and has presented his work at the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as more than 40 conferences and universities around the world.

Before joining the Ph.D. program, Hodge says he didn’t know much about what a faculty member in accounting actually did. “But I did know that I thought the world of and greatly respected the accounting faculty at the Kelley school,” says Hodge. “I went with my gut, which told me that great people do great things and that I wanted to be around great people.”

Accounting Alumni and Friends Banquet Spotlights Cont.


Professor Pat Hopkins, Glaubinger Chair for Undergraduate Leadership

News from Graduate Accounting Programs

Despite the challenging circumstances imposed by the global pandemic, Graduate Accounting Programs (GAP) had another strong academic year during 2019-2020. In May, 47 students from the 3/2 Accounting Master of Business Administration (MBA) program and 45 students from the Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) program earned their degrees. We expect 66 students to start the first year of the 3/2 MBA program this fall. This very large entering class will be in residence with 32 students beginning the second year of the 3/2 MBA program this fall. Our enrollment in the MSA program is holding steady, and we expect 45 students to enroll in that program this fall.

Resilience and responsiveness are key themes of the upcoming academic year. We drafted this update in July 2020, while many details related to program delivery are still being ironed out. To protect the health of our students and faculty, the university has instituted campus-wide restrictions that limit our capacity for in-residence gatherings. We are attempting to be as creative as possible in managing these constraints while delivering the personalized, hands-on experiential learning that separates each for our graduate accounting programs from those of our peer schools. Professors Dave Greene, Terry Campbell, Chris Cook, Bree Josefy and our excellent GAP staff are working on Plans A-through-Z to be ready for any circumstance. As we learned in the spring, the situation can change rapidly and we will be prepared for whatever gets thrown at us.

In other news, effective August 1, Prof. Pat Hopkins stepped down as GAP Chair and will assume responsibilities as Chair of the Kelley Undergraduate Program. We are excited to share that a long-time GAP instructor, supporter and advocate, Prof. Leslie Hodder, has taken over the GAP Chair responsibilities. Despite immediate challenges posed by the pandemic, we continue to explore ways to improve our programs’ academic content and delivery. For the MSA program, we are still on track to launch the “W-internship” option for entering MSA students who wish to complete a busy-season internship during the spring semester of their senior year. For these students, the internship will take place during the first the first 10 weeks of the spring 2021 semester. During the last seven weeks of the semester, the students will have the opportunity to be in-residence at Kelley to earn six credit hours in the MSA program while paying undergraduate tuition rates. This will effectively reduce the August-to-May MSA program to 24 credit hours. We already see students attempting to juggle their studies and CPA exam prep during the second semester of the MSA program, so this will provide additional time for students to attempt to complete they CPA by (or shortly after) the time they graduate. While the 2020-2021 W-internship is assurance-focused, we plan to launch a complementary tax-focused W-internship during the 2021-2022 academic year.

We are extremely disappointed the global pandemic prevented us from hosting our summer 2020 alumni receptions in Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis and New York City. Along with you, we hope the situation soon improves and we are able to be in the same physical space, again. Until that time, GAP alums should be sure to stay up to date on GAP’s social media feeds. In addition, we welcome continuing dialogue with our alumni, students and friends. If you would like to discuss any element of our programs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the GAP Director, Gretchen Handlos ([email protected]), and/or the incoming GAP Chair, Leslie Hodder ([email protected]).


Diving into Real-World Business Problems: A569 & A505 Programs

Fall 2019 was another great semester for A569, the Jim Grandorf Field Consulting Project Course. In this semester-long course, GAP student teams, with guidance from a faculty advisor, work with clients to understand a specific problem and propose a thoroughly researched plan for solving it. Client partners receive free, in-depth analysis and recommendations for improving operations and strategy for an identified business problem.

This year 96 students worked directly with 25 different companies across the variety of industries ranging from not-for-profits to global manufacturing firms with the support of the faculty team of Bree Josefy, Terry Campbell, Shaun Fleener, and Chris Cook.

This year’s projects included organizations that were sourced directly by current GAP students (Bent Hair), sponsored by alumni (Qrunch, Gibbs Financial), and/or were continuations from the A505 Field Study Program (IU Foundation). We also continue to partner with other programs within the Kelley School to support their initiatives and provide a broader range of opportunities to the community. The Bee Corp and Civic Champs are both organizations that were originally developed, in part, through the Kelley School’s Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Working with corporate partners across multiple programs and courses is beneficial as it enables students to gain a better appreciation for how business use multiple services to better solve complex projects. We are grateful for all of the partners who help make this course such a tremendous success by supporting students, sponsoring projects, and/or serving as judges. This year’s finalist teams included:

• American Express - Global Business Travel• Eli Lilly• Indiana University’s Golf Course• Oliver Winery• Visit BloomingtonCongratulations to this year’s winner, Visit Bloomington. The team consisted of Ralph Pucharoenworakul,

Cailin LaRocque, Paul Rothman, and Michael Kraft. Working with Mike McAfee at Visit Bloomington, the team helped to create a Bloomington Strategic Destination plan for 2020-22, complete with video marketing. This plan not only promotes Bloomington and Monroe County as a destination for business and tourists but also maintains Bloomington’s accreditation status with Destinations International.

A special note of thanks goes out to Adam Hadley (MSA, ‘14) and Cole Sears (MBA, ‘16) who served on the judging panel and to Tracy O’Brien (MBA, ‘14) Chief Marketing Officer for Turner Mining Group, who was this year’s guest speaker at the awards dinner and spoke about the importance of work-life balance and having a diverse set of interests. We are grateful for the time and energy they bring to support this program.

The Jim Grandorf Legacy

The Jim Grandorf Field Consulting Project is named in honor of retired Kelley professor Jim Grandorf, who served as the course’s visionary leader. First as a faculty advisor and then as course coordinator, Grandorf advised more than 200 student consulting teams between 2005 and 2017.

To propose a project or explore project options with a faculty advisor, contact either Erin M. Allen in Graduate Accounting Programs [email protected] or Chris Cook Senior Lecturer [email protected].

From left to right Ralph Pucharoenworakul, Cailin LaRocque,

Paul Rothman and Mike McAfee.

15IU KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESSGO FROM MOMENT TO MOMENTUM15

Going International Means Going There…Until the Pandemic: 3/2 MBA Field Study Program

The degree offerings within Graduate Accounting Programs include a unique accounting-and-finance-integrated MBA degree that launched in the Fall of 1997 specifically for high-achieving Kelley School undergraduate students. The degree has been coined the “3/2 MBA” over the years, as the standard program of study allows the student to earn both a bachelor’s degree in accounting (or accounting and finance) and an MBA in accounting or financial analysis within five years. The two-year graduate curriculum is steeped in experiential learning. After graduation, these young MBAs typically start their careers in entry-level positions where their company can leverage their deep knowledge of accounting and finance, such as in the deals space, corporate finance rotation programs, or consulting/advisory.

One of the pivotal 3/2 MBA learning experiences is the international Field Study course that occurs at the end of the first year of graduate study. The experience is a seven-week assignment to an international host organization, often a corporation but occasionally an NGO, where a small team of two to four students works on an important, but not urgent, business project. These projects can be focused on accounting and/or finance, given the capabilities and education of our 3/2 MBA students but do not have to be. Deliverables of recommendations, financial models, white papers, etc., including final oral presentations to local senior leadership, are a staple of the student teams’ contribution to their host organization.

Putting theory into practice across the globe was the original philosophy until we were derailed in Spring 2020. In March 2020, students were in preparation to travel to their respective locations: Bucharest, Romania; Warsaw, Poland; London, United Kingdom; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Taipei, Taiwan. Ten days prior to their expected arrival date, however, travel was prohibited due to the pandemic.

Faculty and students turned 180 degrees to locate projects in the local area. We were able to find 17 diverse projects for 32 students with organizations such as IU Foundation, IU Treasury, IU Purchasing, IU UITS, IU FMS, Dillman Farms, Cummins, Turner Mining, Boys & Girls Club-Bloomington, IU Capital Planning & Facilities, Grayhill, Dr. Tavel, Suitables, Heliponix, Mercury LLC, Orange County [Center for Rural Engagement], and Owen County Auditor.

Host organizations [local and international] consistently share their high levels of satisfaction with the quality of the work product and professionalism of the 3/2 MBAs. Similarly, upon the students’ return to their final year of graduate study post-Field Study, Kelley faculty are impressed with the recognizable increase in maturity and perspective of the group. This is attributed to the experience of being pushed out of their comfort zones, working remotely or working remotely in either case.

Maintaining focus on field study projects for graduate accounting students when travel is prohibited has proven to be solvable. Substitute assignments were made in rapid fashion. Yet, relationships must be maintained for the next international assignments. Just in case, the future international and/or domestic assignments have to be done remotely.

For Spring 2021, projects are expected to be international as we expect travel to the countries will be permitted. If travel is not permitted, then domestic projects will be needed.

Graduate Accounting Programs is committed to transforming the lives of students and are proud to partner with host organizations around the globe and domestically to realize this mission for Kelley’s 3/2 MBAs. Further information is available from Erin Allen [email protected] or Terry Campbell [email protected]. We welcome support for these important projects.

Clinical Professor Terry Campbell


We were invited to assemble a team to participate in the regional Deloitte Audit Innovation Campus Challenge that was held in Chicago in November of 2019. Our six-person team was limited to a maximum of two juniors, with the remaining team being made up of sophomores. For a bit of perspective, our two juniors were in ICore at the time of the competition and our sophomores had yet to take ICore. This is very early in their Kelley education, which underlines how impressive these students are.

Our team was made up of Alex Cespedes, Mac Gallagher, Jackson Gillen, Amy Lyons, Bethany Mezger, and Story Shaw. We assembled the team in early October of 2019 from a pool of interested and well qualified Kelley students. They were presented with the challenge statement on October 14. The challenge was as follows:

“With its size, global network, and deep experience in multiple disciplines, Deloitte has the ability to lead diverse, multidisciplinary engagements with professionals drawn from Deloitte businesses (Tax, Risk, & Financial Advisory, Audit & Assurance, Consulting) to perform permissible services. For this challenge, identify a breakthrough idea for the Audit & Assurance business that:

•Uses Deloitte’s existing capabilities and talent to deploy the world’s leading edge analytical and AI technologies and/or

• Anticipates a future marketplace need that isn’t a priority yet but will be critical in the future and can significantly position and differentiate Deloitte in the marketplace.

In my opinion, this was quite a challenge for our students, considering none of them had taken an accounting or auditing course at Kelley yet. Thus, they had to learn about Deloitte’s various business lines, learn something about assurance and auditing, and combine this newly learned information into a creative and forward-looking business venture that might be “critical in the future.”

After receiving the challenge, they were provided with three “human resources”—me, as their faculty advisor, a subject matter leader from Deloitte (Chris Wisecup, Audit and Assurance Senior Manager from the Columbus Office of Deloitte), and a Deloitte Advisor (Peter Leadstrom, Chicago Partner and Kelley Alum).

The team’s response to the challenge statement was interesting. Their breakthrough idea was in the area of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) disclosures. While there are relatively few ESG-related disclosures mandated in the US currently (and therefore no current auditing requirements over such disclosures) they identified this area because they concluded it was (1) important to stakeholders, (2) currently unregulated in the U.S., and (3) fit very well with Deloitte’s current existing capabilities, both in terms of developing tools for measuring environmental outputs, and in providing assurance over related disclosures. Their proposal was designed to benefit audit and non-audit clients alike. Deloitte would develop measurement tools to help non-audit clients measure ESG-related impact that could then be disclosed to interested stakeholders. Using the accumulated information within and across clients, our team suggested that Deloitte could help clients to forecast how their actual ESG status would change under various conditions. For example, how would the company’s environmental impact change if they undertook a certain capital project or built a new manufacturing facility, or purchased another business? Ultimately, our team took the position that ESG disclosures would become mandated in the future, at which point Deloitte could apply their measurement and disclosure tools to the auditing of those disclosures.

Ten schools participated in Chicago (Loyola – Chicago, Penn State, Marquette, University of Illinois, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Indiana University, University of Wisconsin, Miami University, and Michigan State University). Each team delivered a 20-minute presentation for two Deloitte partners, which was followed by a ten-minute Q&A. The top five teams were then asked to present for the entire group. Ultimately, our team (along with a team from the University of Illinois) was selected as the regional winners and were invited to attend the national competition in Dallas in April.

IU Kelley Accounting Students Shine at the Deloitte Audit Innovation Campus Challenge by Marcy Shepardson

Associate Professor Marcy Shepardson

17IU KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESSGO FROM MOMENT TO MOMENTUM17

In the fall of 2017, after speaking with Kelley Professor Carolyn Goerner about female representation in accounting, Anna Herold reached out to her fellow students in the 3/2 MBA Program seeking volunteers to help form Women in Accounting (WIA). Carrie Miller was eager to help because she felt it was important to support women in fields that are generally considered male-dominated.

“We wanted to give women in Kelley a support network to be able to develop professionally,” says Miller. “We wanted to create an environment that took what our members may have learned…and apply it specifically to women in our profession.”

Bree Josefy, Clinical Assistant Professor of Accounting, agreed to sponsor the group. Though Women in Business was a well-established group that had been around for some time, it had limited membership.

“These two GAP students were eager to get more females interested in accounting,” says Josefy.

Planning began in Fall 2017, and WIA had a soft launch during the Spring 2018 semester, holding meetings every two weeks. They created their own presentation material and spent the summer preparing for the fall and the organization fairs. “We felt fortunate to be invited to speak at the Accounting Advisory Board meeting that December and we were able to recruit representatives from all of the accounting firms and organizations to speak on the seminar topics we had brainstormed,” says Miller. The following semester they passed the role of president to Jessica Lipski and watched the panels & seminars unfold.

Josefy used the first year to get a better understanding of what the students wanted to get out of the program. In Spring 2019, they rolled out a more formal program with a professional development series that engaged members from the accounting advisory group. They invited speakers from accounting & industry firms, ranging from partner level to two or three years out; they also formed panel discussions.

“Our overarching goal was to provide a space for women to be able to ask questions and gain resources and skills to accomplish their professional goals,” says Miller, who is currently an associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions Tax Group at PwC in Chicago.

“One of the big pushes by Anna and Carrie was that they wanted the group to be a means of connecting graduate and undergraduate students to form mentor/mentee relationships,” says Josefy.

According to Miller, developing a support network for women while in college and being able to candidly address the issues that women may encounter is vital. That network allows women to develop themselves at Kelley while making professional connections.

Last year Herold and Miller received the Leadership in Women award at a GAP ceremony for their work with WIA. Skylar Reilly, Vice President of WIA, heard about the group when she was a freshman looking for ways to get involved on

campus. “I thought it was awesome that there was a club for women within the specific major to provide them with resources

throughout their college career and beyond,” says Reilly. “[Thanks to WIA], I’ve heard from several women from many different companies & organizations, which has increased my confidence and [made me] more comfortable pursuing my major and entering the workforce.”

Jennifer Wagner, VP of Finance, maintains that WIA has provided a strong connection of academically and professionally motivated women that she can always rely on for resume reviews, planning classes, or advice.

Nicole Malinowski, VP of Membership, originally joined WIA because she wanted to be a part of a group where women who are interested in accounting careers could come together and share their experiences with one another. What she’s gotten has far exceeded her expectations.

“Serving on the executive board has allowed me to develop myself professionally and improve my leadership skills,” says Malinowski. “I’ve also gained a network of professionals and students who have helped me explore different opportunities within the accounting and finance industries. This organization creates meaningful bonds amongst its members. I love knowing that I have a group of people I can always go to for help when I need it, whether it be professional or personal.”

Women in Accounting Provides a Professional Support Network for Femalesby Christy Heitger-Ewing

Clinical Assistant Professor Bree Josefy


Innovation Tax Class Uses Hybrid Learning Approach by Christy Heitger-Ewing

In 2019, tax professors Katie Metz, Bridget Stomberg and Casey Schwab received a Summer Instructional Development Fellowship through the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning to significantly redesign A329, Taxes and Decision Making, the only required undergraduate tax course for accounting majors. In the redesign, Stomberg, Metz and Schwab moved away from the traditional lecture format to a hybrid learning approach.

“We wanted to not only better relate tax skills learned in the class to multiple business disciplines but also engage students in the principles and policy of taxation by making it more fun,” explains Stomberg, who, along with Metz, piloted the course redesign in the fall, challenging students to create their own tax system following the AICPA’s Ten Guiding Principles of Good Tax Policy. Metz and Stomberg assigned student teams to create either individual or business income tax systems but otherwise left the teams to their own devices to design creative income tax systems in real or fictional societies.

“The project was a comprehensive, collaborative effort that required teams to consider challenging tax policy questions such as what types of income their system would tax, what deductions their system would allow, and what types of behavior their tax policies would encourage or discourage,” says Stomberg. Teams also grappled with ensuring their tax systems generated sufficient revenue to provide desired resources to citizens. Teams evaluated one another’s proposed tax structures using the AICPA’s guiding principles and drawing on what they learned throughout the semester. The hybrid approach invited students to watch a 20- to 30-minute pre-recorded video on Canvas and complete a basic comprehension quiz prior to coming to class.

“We spend a bit of time reviewing material at the beginning of class, then students have 30-45 minutes to work together in groups to tackle more ‘real-world’ problems, like choosing between compensation packages or evaluating whether Lyft drivers are employees or independent contractors,” says Stomberg. Professors follow up the class meeting with a post-quiz that asks more challenging questions to give students multiple exposure to the material over a short period of time. Instructors also incorporate articles from the popular press into class discussions. Student Beatris Gomez found it refreshing to be in a tax class where the focus was on research and real-world application rather than memorization.

“In practice as a VITA tax site coordinator, I rely on up-to-date IRS publications to address tax questions because tax law changes so frequently,” says Gomez. Fellow classmate Rachel Ott agrees. “The class provided a useful format to understand the key topics without getting stuck in the details, which is especially important in an area like tax where the details are constantly changing,” says Ott.

Since the tax systems designed could be for a real or fictional society, the project inspired a great deal of creativity. Students created tax systems for the world of Harry Potter, Seussville, Far Far Away Land (from Shrek), and Gotham City, to name a few. Students enjoyed the challenge. Lauren Bernas loved the flipped version of the class because it allowed her to learn the technical side of the material on her own. Plus, she could review the videos multiple times before quizzes. “This style of the classroom allowed us to focus more on current events in the tax world that was relevant to the topics we were learning,” says Bernas. “Overall, this class made me realize tax was far from a dry, technical class because I was able to see the tax consequences and interesting debates around the world.”

“Teams delivered outstanding, innovative results!” says Stomberg.

Associate Professor Casey Schwab

Associate Professor Bridget Stomberg,

Weimer Faculty Fellow

Senior Lecturer Katie Metz

Advancements in financial technology (FinTech) are revolutionizing product offerings across the financial services industry and redefining the way individuals participate in financial markets. In a recent study, Braiden Coleman, Ken Merkley and Joseph Pacelli provide the first large-scale empirical investigation of the properties of investment recommendations produced by “Robo-Analysts,” which are human analyst-assisted computer programs that conduct automated research analysis. They argue that Robo-Analysts represent an important innovation as they can analyze large amounts of financial data and generate stock recommendations that are potentially less subject to human limitations such as information processing constraints and behavioral, cognitive and incentive-driven biases.

Their study examines the characteristics and investment value of Robo-Analysts’ recommendations as compared to those from traditional Wall Street analysts by tracking the activity, recommendation revision patterns and investment value of approximately 75,000 reports issued by prominent Robo-Analyst firms over the past 15 years. First, they find that Robo-Analyst recommendations are significantly less skewed towards buy recommendations, consistent with having lower incentives to bias their recommendations. For a given stock in their sample, Robo-Analyst firms are 14 percent less likely to issue a buy recommendation and 16 percent more likely to issue a sell recommendation than are traditional analysts. Second, they document differences in the research processes that Robo-Analysts employ, finding that Robo-Analysts revise more frequently than do traditional analysts and rely more on complex, periodic filings as opposed to earnings announcement press releases in making these revisions. Perhaps most importantly, using a portfolio analysis to conduct an implementable trading strategy, they find that Robo-Analysts buy recommendations earn abnormal returns that are statistically and economically more significant than those from traditional analysts (annualized returns are about 5 percent higher).

Their study has been widely publicized in numerous domestic and international media outlets including Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, BBC World Service, Institutional Money, and others as well as in live television interviews on CNBC’s Power Lunch and Yahoo Finance InTV.

Braiden Coleman is a doctoral student in accounting and Kenneth Merkley and Joseph Pacelli are accounting professors at the Kelley School of Business. Their paper, “Man versus Machine: A Comparison of Robo-Analyst and Traditional Research Analyst Investment Recommendations,” is available for download on SSRN.com.

Man versus Machine: A Comparison of Robo-Analyst & Traditional Research Analyst Investment Recommendations

Associate Professor Ken Merkley

Assistant Professor Joseph Pacelli

Doctoral student Braiden Coleman


The Kelley School of Business Undergraduate program was again ranked #10 overall by U.S. News and World Report and continues to be ranked second among its Big Ten peers and sixth overall among public institutions. The school has ranked in U.S. News’ top 10 in four of the past five years.

“We always appreciate being seen as a top 10 business school through rankings like these, but also important to us is the confidence placed in our program by our students and their families, who see tremendous value in the education we offer and our talent-management model, as well as from companies across the country and the world who recruit our graduates,” Kelley School Dean Idalene “Idie” Kesner said.

Nine specialties in the Kelley School are ranked in the top 15. The Accounting Program’s ranking improved to #4.

During the 2019–2020 academic year, the top hiring industries continue to be public accounting, consulting, investment banking, retail and financial services (see graphic). The top full-time hiring companies were EY, KPMG LLP, Deloitte, PwC and Grant Thornton LLP. Starting salaries for accounting majors averaged $63,000. In addition, Kelley School of Business accounting majors also received an average signing bonus of $5,500. Employment opportunities are expected to remain steady for accounting graduates in 2021.

NOTE: All data are as of 7/2/2020 and preliminary to the UCSO Annual Report.

IU Kelley School’s Undergraduate Program Maintains #10 Overall Ranking by U.S. News and World Report


2019 - 2020 Research Seminar Series

The following list shows our schedule of research workshops and seminars during the 2019-2020 school year. As you can see, we had a very active and productive seminar series despite the COVID-19 pandemic!

Date Presenter Affiliation

August 15 Junwei Xia IU (Brownbag)

September 6-7 Hoosier Accounting Research Conference

September 13 Ayung Tseng IU (Brownbag)

September 20 Ole-Kristian Hope Toronto

September 24 Joe Schroeder IU (Brownbag)

September 27 Michael Majerczyk Georgia State

October 4 Ryan Wilson Oregon

October 8 Junwei Xia IU (Brownbag)

November 8 Dan Taylor Wharton

November 15 Bob Libby Cornell

November 22 Joanna Wu Rochester

December 3 Rosh Sinha IU (Brownbag)

December 13 Teri Yohn IU/Northwestern

January 14 Andrea Down Michigan

January 17 Matt Kubic Duke

January 21 Musaib Ashraf Arizona

January 28 Yifang Xie Washington University

January 31 Ivy Feng Maryland

February 4 Enrique Gomez University of Georgia

February 11 Benjamin Osswald Wisconsin

February 14 Michele Mullaney UNC

February 18 Andrew Belnap UNC

February 21 Jennifer Glenn Texas A&M


Research Highlights 2019-2020 Publications and Acceptances:Lori Bhaskar “How do Risk-Based Inspections Impact Auditor Behavior? Experimental Evidence on the PCAOB’s Process.” The Accounting Review, forthcoming.

Braiden Coleman, Ken Merkley, Brian Miller, and Joseph Pacelli “Does FOIA Foil the SEC’s Intent to Keep Investigations Confidential?” Management Science, forthcoming.

Greg Geisler “On the Way to Financial Freedom When Beginning a Career.” Journal of Financial Service Professionals, forthcoming.

Greg Geisler and Bill Harden “Should Charitable Taxpayers Donate Directly from an IRA or Donate Appreciated Securities?” Journal of Financial Planning, December 2019.

Ken Merkley, Kris Allee (IU Ph.D. alumnus), Ted Christensen, and Bryan Grade “The Genesis of Voluntary Disclosure: An Analysis of Firms’ First Earnings Guidance.” Management Science, forthcoming.

Ken Merkley, Joseph Pacelli, and Roni Michaely “Cultural Diversity on Wall Street: Evidence from Consensus Earnings Forecasts.” Journal of Accounting and Economics, forthcoming.

Joseph Pacelli, Janet Gao, and Kristoph Kleiner “Credit and Punishment: Are Corporate Bankers Disciplined for Risk Taking?” Review of Financial Studies, forthcoming.

Rosh Sinha, Frank Hodge (IU Ph.D. alumnus) and Kim Mendoza “The Effect of Humanizing Robo-Advisors on Investor Judgments.” Contemporary Accounting Research, forthcoming.

Bridget Stomberg, Shannon Chen and Kathleen Schuchard “Media Coverage of Corporate Taxes.” The Accounting Review, September 2019.

Bridget Stomberg, Casey Schwab, Michelle Nessa, and Erin Towery “How Do IRS Resources Affect the Corporate Audit Process?” The Accounting Review, March 2020.

Bridget Stomberg, Dan Lynch, Miles Romney, and Dan Wangerin “Tradeoffs Between Tax and Financial Reporting Benefits: Evidence From Purchase Price Allocations In Taxable Aquisitions.” Contemporary Accounting Research, September 2019.

Ayung Tseng, Jeremy Bertomeu, John Harry Evans, and Mei Feng “Tacit Collusion and Voluntary Disclosure: Theory and Evidence from the U.S. Automotive Industry.” Management Science, forthcoming.

Ayung Tseng, Teri Yohn, Jason Schloetzer, and Yeo Sang Yoon “The Level of Blame and Firm Disclosure Propensity.” The Accounting Review, forthcoming.

Brian Williams, David Guenther and Ken Njoroge “Allocation of Internal Cash Flow When Firms Pay Less Tax.” The Accounting Review, forthcoming.


Research Highlights 2019-2020 Publications and Acceptances, Cont.Brian Williams and Paul Mason “Does IRS Monitoring Deter Managers from Committing Accounting Fraud?” Journal of the Accounting, Auditing, and Finance, forthcoming.

Brian Williams, David Guenther, and Linda Kull “Identifying Various Types of Tax Avoidance: Implications for Empirical Research.” Journal of the American Taxation Association, forthcoming.

Donnie Young, J. Johnson, J. Theis, and A. Vitalis “The Influence of Firms’ Emissions Management Strategy on Investors’ Valuation Judgments.” Contemporary Accounting Research, 2020.

Donnie Young “How Social Norms and Social Identification Constrain Aggressive Reporting Behavior.” The Accounting Review, forthcoming.

Donnie Young, E. Griffith, and K. Kadous “Improving Complex Audit Judgments: A Framework and Evidence.” Contemporary Accounting Research, forthcoming.

Other Notable Research Activities:

Lori Bhaskar, Patrick Hopkins, and Joe Schroeder “An Investigation of Auditors’ Judgments When Companies Release Earnings Before Audit Completion” was awarded the American Accounting Association’s 2020 Deloitte Foundation Wildman Medal Award.

Jason Brown, Patrick Martin (former IU faculty), Geoff Sprinkle, and Dan Way (IU Ph.D. alumnus) “The Effect of Performance Measures on Risk in Capital Investment Decisions” was awarded the American Accounting Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting’s Management Accounting Best Paper Award.

Bridget Stomberg was awarded a Kelley Research Productivity Award.

Rosh Sinha and Donnie Young were awarded a $25,000 IAAER-KPMG Research Opportunities Grant for “Research Informing the IASB Decision Process.” Patrick Hopkins was also originally part of this project team, but he rolled off the grant when he took an IASB service position.

Braiden Coleman was awarded the Dalton publication award as well as the Kelley Research Productivity Award.

Sonja Rego is winding down a three-year term as Editor of The Accounting Review and beginning her appointment as an Associate Editor for the Journal of the Accounting and Taxation Association.

Brian Williams has been appointed to the Editorial Board for the Journal of the Accounting and Taxation Association.

Brian Miller is serving as an Associate Editor for Management Science and serves on the Editorial Boards for The Accounting Review, the Review of Accounting Studies, and Accounting Horizons.

Research by accounting faculty, particularly Ken Merkley, Joe Pacelli, and Brian Miller received numerous mentions in a variety of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Forbes, CNBC, the BBC World Service, Yahoo! Finance, and many others.

During 2020, professors in the Accounting Department at the Kelley School of Business have been awarded two very prestigious awards for their research from the American Accounting Association (AAA). Lori Bhaskar, Pat Hopkins (Glaubinger Chair for Undergraduate Leadership), and Joe Schroeder (PwC Faculty Fellow) received the AAA’s 2020 Deloitte Foundation Wildman Medal. The Wildman Medal recognizes research that is “judged to have made or will be likely to make the most significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of public accountancy.”

Bhaskar, Hopkins and Schroeder were honoured for their paper, “An Investigation of Auditors’ Judgments When Companies Release Earnings Before Audit Completion,” which was published in the Journal of Accounting Research in May 2019. It also was supported by the Center for Audit Quality. While there were many benefits that came from the adoption of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 and the establishment of the PCAOB as the regulator of public company audits, there were also some unintended effects. Among them were increasing requirements that led to year-end audits taking longer, many of which are not completed as of the client’s earnings announcement date.

“We found that a client releasing earnings before the audit is complete places considerable pressure on auditors to avoid year-end audit adjustments,” Bhaskar said. “Under these circumstances, we found that audit partners and senior managers unintentionally engage in biased information search and evidence evaluation in a manner that supports the client’s aggressive accounting treatment. These findings are concerning for the audit practice and for investors given the majority of public companies now release earnings prior to the completion of the audit.”

“While we demonstrated that a client releasing earnings before the audit is complete will reduce the quality of audit partner and senior managers’ judgments and decisions regarding detected misstatements, there is hope,” Schroeder added. “We demonstrated that the ‘unconscious bias’ in audit partner judgments is mitigated when the there was a strong and proactive audit committee that was committed to strong oversight of the client.”

Kelley Professors Receive American Accounting Association Research Awards

Assistant Professor Lori Bhaskar

Professor Pat Hopkins

Associate Professor Joe Schroeder

Professor Jason Brown

Professor Geoff Sprinkle

“It demonstrates the importance of strong proactive audit committees that advocate for the audit process,” he added. “For investors, this means it is important to invest in a strong audit committee function as it will ensure the proper oversight of management who work on behalf of the investors. It ensures that investors have accurate financial information by which they can truly evaluate management and make investment decisions.”

“As researchers, we constantly strive to make a difference through our work. To win an award that is focused on the intersection of rigorous empirical research and professional practice is extremely gratifying,” Hopkins added. “Kelley has invested in and actively promoted a culture of research excellence in the 25-plus years I’ve been on faculty at IU. As a result, we have an amazing bench of talented research scholars who happen to also be great people. I’m extremely thankful to have this group as colleagues.”

In addition, accounting professors Jason Brown and Geoff Sprinkle (PwC Stan Pressler Faculty Fellow) were awarded the AAA Annual Meeting Management Accounting Best Paper Award. Brown and Sprinkle received this award together with Dan Way, a recent graduate from the Kelley accounting PhD program and now a faculty member at Clemson University, as well as Patrick Martin, who had been a member of the Kelley accounting faculty from 2013 to 2017, and is now on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. The team was honoured for their research contributions in the paper entitled, “The Effect of Performance Measures on Risk in Capital Investment Decisions”. The study conducts an experiment that examines the effects of individuals’ risk preferences and two commonly-used performance measures – return on investment (ROI) and residual income (RI) – on risk-taking in capital investment decisions. They predict and find that the use of ROI as a performance measure leads to riskier choices as compared to RI, and that this effect is concentrated in relatively more risk-averse individuals. These results contribute important insights into the effects of accounting information and performance measures on managers’ risk-taking behaviors.

Kelley Professors Receive American Accounting Association Research Awards, Cont.

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