Accounting research


A faculty member points at a number on a projector screen in an ACCT 325 course

Research information

The Accounting academic area has highly productive research faculty who also are outstanding educators. Accounting faculty hold editorships at and regularly publish in leading academic journals, including The Accounting Review and Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, among many others.

KU Accounting faculty rank No. 1 globally for audit archival research and No. 2 globally for all audit research contributions, according to Brigham Young University's 2023 index of account research. BYU’s accounting research rankings also place our faculty at No. 11 over the past six years and No. 12 over the past 12 years for their contributions in all archival research.

The area's mission contains three dimensions:

  • To provide high-quality programs that prepare students for professional careers in accounting or for successful graduate study;
  • To enable faculty to conduct exceptional research that contributes to the field of accounting, and to share the results of that research with academic and professional communities;
  • To provide service to the academic and professional communities at the University of Kansas, in the state of Kansas, and at the regional and national levels.

Every two years, the Accounting academic area hosts the Deloitte/KU Audit Symposium, a two-day conference that brings leaders from the public accounting industry, regulatory agencies such as the SEC, FASB and PCAOB, and university accounting scholars to discuss issues and present research relevant to the contemporary audit environment. The Deloitte/KU Audit Symposium has been held since 1972 and is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious and influential academic accounting conferences.

Area directors

Degree programs

Research topics

  • Auditing

  • Financial reporting & accounting

  • Regulation

  • Corporate taxation

  • Disclosure

  • Accounting information systems

In the Media

  • Photo close-up of a hand punching numbers on a calculator

    Forbes

    What happens to audit partners who issue negative internal control opinions?

  • A person taps a credit card on a mobile device held by another person.

    Wall Street Journal

    Not enough accountants? The CFO’s tenure might get a little shakier

  • Exterior view of the White House

    Kansas Reflector

    Corporate executives offer rosier business forecasts if politically aligned

  • Illustration of person pointing to "audit" text

    Accounting Today

    Depositors blame bank failures on audit firms

Recent research & news

Blurred ambulance driving down street

Attorney marketing tactics compared to ‘corporate ambulance chasing’ in new study

Research co-authored by associate professor Eric Weisbrod and Larry D. Horner/KPMG Professor Adi Masli reveals that both traditional and social media announcements of plaintiff’s attorneys’ corporate investigations strongly predict future litigation.
Rendering of file on desk with "audit" stamped on it and "financial statement" and "accounting records" labels in view

PCAOB risk-based inspection consequences evaluated using new model

Research by Mike Wilkins, Larry D. Horner/KPMG Professor, investigates how auditors respond to engagement-level inspection risk. The findings suggest there are more benefits than costs associated with auditors’ responses to a selection approach that is primarily risk-based.
Aerial view of Capitol Federal Hall with Fraser Hall in the background

Accounting faculty again earn top spot in BYU rankings

For the fifth year in a row, KU accounting faculty earned a No. 1 global ranking for their audit archival research contributions over the past six and 12 years, according to Brigham Young University’s 2023 rankings.
Two people meet at a table with notebooks and a laptop

Study: Reliable internal candidates preferred over more qualified external ones

Working hard is regarded as a strong motivation for earning a promotion. But research from associate professor Jeremy Lill suggests companies that are hiring favor such extra effort when displayed by internal candidates even more than better-qualified external candidates.

Area directors

Keith Jones
Keith Jones
Area Director, Accounting, Deloitte Professor
Alee Phillips
Alee S. Phillips
Master of Accounting Program Director, Assistant Area Director, Accounting, Lecturer, Area Industry Mentor, Accounting

Accounting faculty

Josh Arpin
Josh Arpin
Lecturer
Matthew Beck
Matthew Beck
Associate Professor
Mark Best
Mark Best
Lecturer
Scott Bronson
Scott N. Bronson
Associate Professor
Kelvie Crabb
Kelvie Crabb
Master of Accounting Program Associate Director, Lecturer, Area Industry Mentor, Accounting
Mike Falk
Mike Falk
Lecturer
Rachel Green
Rachel A. Green
Director of Accounting Scholars, Lecturer, Area Industry Mentor, Accounting
Mehmet Kara
Mehmet Kara
Assistant Professor
Chan Li
Chan Li
C.A. Scupin Professor
Jeremy Lill
Jeremy Lill
Associate Professor, Jack and Shirley Howard Mid-Career Professor
Nathan Lundstrom
Nathan Lundstrom
Associate Professor
Adi Masli
Adi Masli
Larry D. Horner/KPMG Professor
Lawrence Morriss Jr.
Lawrence D. Morriss Jr.
Professor of the Practice
Min Park
Min Park
Assistant Professor
Susan Scholz
Susan Scholz
Interim Dean, Stanley P. Porter Professor
Lana Scroggins
Lana Scroggins
Assistant Teaching Professor
Kristin Stack
Kristin Stack
Assistant Professor
Eric Weisbrod
Eric Weisbrod
Associate Professor
Mike Wilkins
Mike Wilkins
Larry D. Horner/KPMG Professor, Doctoral Coordinator, Accounting
Amanda Winn
Amanda Winn
Associate Professor