2026 Deloitte/KU Auditing Symposium
The 2026 Deloitte/University of Kansas Auditing Symposium will be May 7–9 at the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence.
Register to attendOverview
The theme of the 2026 Deloitte/University of Kansas Auditing Symposium is "The Future of Auditing.”
The biennial event features a mixture of practitioner and academic presentations and provides opportunities for engaging discussion between leading practitioners and academics.
Participants will:
- Understand the challenges facing the audit profession.
- Understand how public accounting firms and regulators are addressing these challenges.
- Identify the latest academic research in auditing.
Participants will earn 14 CPE credits.
- Basic knowledge of auditing
- Advanced Preparation: None
- Program Level: Basic
- Delivery Method: Group Live
Registration information can be found on the Symposium registration page.
Registration is free. Please contact us if you register but are unable to attend. For questions or more information regarding cancellations, complaints and program cancellation policies please contact Jenny Rezak at 785-864-3157.
The University of Kansas School of Business is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website.
2026 Symposium Agenda: Thursday, May 7 | |
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| 7–9 p.m. | Reception Oread Hotel — All Seasons Den |
2026 Symposium Agenda: Friday, May 8 | |
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Capitol Federal Hall, School of Business | University of Kansas Note: Buses will transport Symposium participants from the Oread Hotel to Capitol Federal Hall, running every 8 minutes from 6:45–8:30 a.m. All presentations will close with 10 minutes of Q&A from the audience. | |
| 7–8 a.m. | Breakfast Tim Barton Colloquium, 1010 Capitol Federal Hall |
| 8–8:20 a.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks
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| 8:20–9:10 a.m. | "The Audit of the Future" Matt Wangard, Managing Partner, Audit & Assurance | Deloitte |
| 9:10–9:20 a.m. | Refreshment break |
| 9:20–10 a.m. | PCAOB Update George Botic, Board Member | PCAOB |
| 10–10:50 a.m. | "The Future of AI in Auditing" Tim Persons, Principal & AI Leader | PwC |
| 10:50–11 a.m. | Refreshment break |
| 11–11:50 a.m. | Panel Discussion: "Artificial Intelligence in the Audit" Panelists:
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| 11:50 a.m.–1:10 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:10–2 p.m. | "Private Equity in Accounting; Lots of Questions – Should Those Questions also be Concerns?" Jeff Hughes, National Managing Partner of Assurance Quality and Risk | Grant Thornton LLP |
| 2–2:10 p.m. | Refreshment break |
| 2:10–3:40 p.m. | Panel Discussion: "Audit Firm Ownership, Auditor Independence, and Audit Quality" Panelists:
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| 3:40–3:50 p.m. | Refreshment break |
| 3:50–5:30 p.m. | Research Session
"Government Agencies’ Demand for Audit Quality: Evidence from Government Audit Procurement"
"Real Effects of PCAOB Inspections: Evidence from Audit Employee Turnover"
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| 5:30 p.m. | Bus will transport Symposium participants from Capitol Federal Hall to Oread Hotel Note: Buses will transport participants from Capitol Federal Hall to the Oread Hotel. Buses will run every 8 minutes from 5:30–6:30 p.m. |
| 6:30–8:30 p.m. | Reception and dinner Oread Hotel — Griffith Room |
2026 Symposium Agenda: Saturday, May 9 | |
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Capitol Federal Hall, School of Business | University of Kansas Note: Buses will transport Symposium participants from the Oread Hotel to Capitol Federal Hall between 7:15–9 a.m. You may leave your luggage in a locked room in the Capitol Federal Hall. There are no buses back to the Oread Hotel after the Symposium. If you need a ride back to the Oread, let Symposium organizers know. If you have a car, you can park in the main surface lot (Lot 90) south of Capitol Federal Hall in any stall except for the front row that faces the building, which has a blue sign. All presentations will close with 10 minutes of Q&A from the audience. | |
| 7:30–8:30 a.m. | Breakfast Tim Barton Colloquium, 1010 Capitol Federal Hall |
| 8:30–10 a.m. | Research Session "Interoffice Auditor Transfers and Knowledge Sharing: Evidence from Financial Reporting Comparability"
"Acquiring Big 4 Talent: Impacts to Non-Big 4 Office Culture and Audit Production"
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| 10–10:15 a.m. | Refreshment break |
| 10:15–11:45 a.m. | Research Session "Big 4 Firms’ Offshore Shared Service Center Labor and the Demand for U.S. Auditors"
"Opinion Shopping and Audit Demand"
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| 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1–2:30 p.m. | Research Session
"Flexible Work Arrangement Practices and Audit Quality"
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| 2:30–2:35 p.m. | Concluding Remarks |
Acknowledgment
The School of Business would like to thank Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation for more than 50 years of generous sponsorship of the Auditing Symposium. The interactions of academics and business professionals enabled by this event have greatly enhanced the development of auditing theory and practice.