Alumni Newsletter Fall 2021

Department of Accounting and Information Systems Alumni Newsletter Fall 2021

Faculty Announcements • Lynn Almond – Promoted to Associate Professor of Practice • Jing Huang – Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure • Nadia Rogers – Promoted to Professor of Practice

UNIVERSITY DISTINGUISED PROFESSOR France Bélanger

WHAT’S INSIDE

• Most Powerful Women in Accounting • Alumni Spotlights • ACIS Writing Initiative • CPA Evolution • Faculty Research and Updates

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Department of Accounting and Information Systems (0101) Pamplin College of Business Pamplin Hall, Suite 3007, Virginia Tech 880 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 www.acis.pamplin.vt.edu Phone: (540) 231-6591 Fax: (540) 231-2511 Faculty Directory Name Phone

E-Mail (@vt.edu)

Dean :

Robert T. Sumichrast

(540) 231-6601 (540) 231-6591

busdean jmaher

Department Head

John J. Maher

and Thomas M. Wells & Kathy Dargo Professor Professors : KPMG Professor University Distinguished Professor, R.B. Pamplin Professor & Byrd Senior Faculty Fellow

Reza Barkhi

(540) 231-9640

reza

France B é langer Sudip Bhattacharjee Ling L. Lisic Sattar A. Mansi Steven D. Sheetz Jingjing Huang Sarah E. Stein David P. Tegarden Linda G. Wallace Andrew A. Acito Matthew A. Cobabe Matthew J. Erickson Michelle K. Harding Sean M. Hillison Michelle R. Lowry Marshall D. Vance Kimberly Walker Cintia M. Easterwood Donald R. Compton Colleen M. Green Nadia A. Rogers Lynn A. Almond Robert H. Davidson Liang Tan Dana P. Garner

(540) 231-6720 (703) 538-8422 (540) 231-5971 (540) 231-7216 (540) 231-6096 (540) 231-7352 (540) 231-6577 (540) 231-5881 (540) 231-6099 (540) 231-6328 (540) 231-6359 (540) 231-0764 (540) 231-6542 (540) 231-3181 (540) 232-8432 (540) 231-7155 (540) 231-8753 (540) 231-2527 (540) 231-9170 (540) 231-7920 (540) 231-9464 (540) 231-6564 (540) 231-8163 (540) 231-5504 (540) 231-6103 (540) 231-9642 (540) 231-7436 (540) 231-9241 (540) 231-7654 (540) 231-5869 (540) 231-5869 (540) 231-2530 (540) 231-6294 (540) 231-5869

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Thomas M. Wells & Kathy Dargo Professor

Wayne E. Leininger Professor Wells Fargo Professor PwC Senior Faculty Fellow

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smansi sheetz

Associate Professors : William S. Gay Junior Faculty Fellow John F. Carroll, Jr. Faculty Fellow Deloitte Foundation Faculty Fellow

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jjhuang sestein

david.tegarden

Konrad W. Kubin Senior Faculty Fellow

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Assistant Professors :

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Collegiate Assistant Professors :

Professors of Practice :

Associate Professor of Practice : Assistant Professors of Practice: Darrell and Betty Martin Faculty Fellow

Jean M. Lacoste Eric A. Martin Jason P. Sharp Jacob L. Shortt F. Fulton Galer Randal J. Gatzke Ryan Hamilton Trevor Hughes Robert M. Brown

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Adjunct Professors :

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Manager of Alumni Relations:

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Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identify, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees, or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.

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Greetings Alumni and Friends,

This Fall we have been fortunate to experience the return to fully face-to-face classes for the majority of our university courses along with the familiar marching and drumbeat of the Highty-Tighties practicing on the drill field. These are welcome sounds and sights representing a joyful return to near normality that we profoundly missed last academic year. Notwithstanding the immense challenges the pandemic presented our students and faculty, the ACIS Department has continued to achieve many positive outcomes and awards. Perhaps most important among these achievements is the vast majority of our graduating seniors (94%) obtained placements prior to or shortly after graduation. We are very proud of the energy and perseverance of our students, graduates, and faculty to overcome the challenges of Covid and continue their important work. One of the downstream effects of difficult times is that it often brings out the best in quality people. I continue to be humbled witnessing the way Hokies come together when times get tough. I’ve been a Virginia Tech faculty member for over 35 years and have witnessed many challenging events during that time including the 9-11 and 4-16 tragedies. The aftermath of each of these events resulted in the Hokie nation coming together in various positive ways to support one another. This same spirit of support and solidarity has been present during the Covid pandemic. I was privileged to behold a clear portrayal of this harmony at the May 2021 graduation. After an academic year of mostly zoom classes, the University held in-person graduations spread over seven days in voluminous Lane Stadium so that parents and friends could attend. Two Pamplin graduations were held on Sunday May 16 th . Even though it was drizzling rain and there were no faculty handshake receiving lines or diplomas provided, the students were thrilled to hear their individual names announced as they walked across the stage to the applause of proud parents and friends

in the stands. The students were remarkably happy to be able to share this in-person moment with their classmates and family. They gathered before and after the official graduation ceremony laughing and taking informal group pictures and selfies on the football field. Of all the joyful graduations, May 2021 will stand out in a special way in my mind for Pamplin students. I commend the upper-level Virginia Tech administration for their planning of that May graduation, and also for their handling of our return to classes this Fall. All students were required to prove they were vaccinated (with some prescribed legitimate exceptions permitted) and those that did not provide the necessary proof had their course registrations removed until they verified their vaccination status. This was followed by a vaccine requirement for all employees (with the same exceptions). In addition, a mask mandate was instituted for all university classrooms and indoor public spaces. These precautions resulted in a very successful Fall semester with a very low incidence of Covid among our university community. At the time of this writing, the positivity rate of those tested was 0.1% during the past week. We hope and pray that this trend continues so we can continue our return to normality. In the meantime, our students, alumni, and faculty continued to work and be recognized for their excellence in a wide variety of ways. We describe some of these in this newsletter including current undergraduate Meredith Slaw’s great success on the softball field. Graduate students Karneisha Wolfe and Carissa Malone have individually been recognized with awards for their research efforts. Alumnae Lynne Doughtie and Kelly Pope have been named among the Most Powerful Women in Accounting by the AICPA. ACIS PhD alumnae Damon Fleming and Pamela Smith have each

Jack Maher

been named to the head Dean position at AACSB accredited business schools. Furthermore, our faculty have received an assortment of awards in the past year comprising numerous promotions and recognitions including France Belanger’s selection as a University Distinguished Professor. Finally, Rob Davidson was named to become the new Department Head of ACIS beginning January 1 st , 2022. I am pleased to successfully complete my five-year term and will rejoin the teaching and research faculty. We provide more details about these and other ACIS events in the remainder of this Newsletter. In closing, thank you for your support in helping us educate the current generation of Virginia Tech ACIS students. Best wishes for a peaceful and enjoyable holiday season. Go Hokies!

John J. Maher

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businesses, governments, and individuals. The ultimate goal is to obtain a more lucid understanding of the phenomena that exist at the intersections of society and technology. Upon her receipt of this honor, VT President Tim Sands noted; “Professor Bélanger is an influential researcher and leader in information systems and technologymanagement, having earnedmanydistinguishedhonors and recognitions throughout her career.” He further notes that Dr. Bélanger is “One of the top 100 most cited information systems researchers, she continues to make innovative contributions to her field and others through her research on information privacy and cybersecurity.” ACIS Department Head, Dr. Jack Maher notes that France is “a pioneer in research on digital interactions. Her work in the mid-2000s focused on the protection of children from online exploitation, the findings of which were widely distributed to parents to assist them with practical knowledge.” A recent research project she has started since the onset of the pandemic has been a delve into how information privacy preferences amongst individuals can lead to tensions within family units. A similar outcome was discovered in a previous research study on smart home speakers conducted by Dr. Bélanger and Katherine Allen, professor of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. The duo noted that as a tool for controlling the spread of Covid-19, mobile contact tracing applications are at their peak effectiveness when they are widely adopted and left running indefinitely. A conclusion drawn from this study was adoption rates of this technology is in part low due to privacy concerns. After receiving a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), they commenced a new research study to posit how an individual and family preferences surrounding privacy issues could result in household tension and ultimately suppress adoption of contact tracing tools. Dr. Bélanger joined the faculty of Virginia Tech in 1997 and con- currently serves as an affiliate faculty member of the Hume Center for National Security and Technology and of the Center for Ger- ontology at Virginia Tech. While her scholarly achievements are certainly worthy of praise, she is also a beloved and respected class- room teacher for scores of ACIS students each semester. Several current Junior ACIS faculty were fortunate enough to have France as a professor during their undergraduate days at Virginia Tech and all have fond memories of her classroom presence and note what a tremendous colleague and advocate for the ACIS department she has been. “Very importantly, Professor Bélanger has been an out- standing teacher and mentor to our information systems Ph.D. stu- dents,” Maher said, noting that “many of these students have gone on to develop highly successful careers in academia.” Bélanger earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce at McGill University and a Ph.D. in business administration, information systems, and deci- sion sciences at the University of South Florida.

France Bélanger

France Bélanger Named University Distinguished Professor

To say that France Bélanger had a fruitful and meritorious past year despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic might just be the understatement of the year. Dr. France Bélanger, R.B. Pamplin Professor and Tom and Daisy Byrd Senior Faculty Fellow in the Pamplin College of Business (Department of Accounting and Information Systems), has added to her list of career accomplishments by being named as a University Distinguished Professor at the March 21, 2021 Board of Visitor’s meeting. The University Distinguished Professor is the preeminent faculty rank at Virginia Tech. This achievement is only bestowed by the Board of Visitors upon deserving faculty who have demonstrated scholarly attainments that have consistently received national or international recognition. As a foundation to receiving this distinction, Dr. Bélanger has been ranked in the top 1 percent of information systems researchers worldwide and has authored or co-authored in excess of 200 papers and book chapters on the topic. Her primary research interests focus on information and security privacy issues with an emphasis on digital interactions amongst

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Pamplin Graduates Named Among Most Powerful Women in Accounting

Lynn Doughtie

Kelly Richmond Pope

Virginia Tech alumnae Lynne Doughtie and Kelly Richmond Pope have been named among 2020’s most powerful women in accounting by the American Institute of CPAs and CPA Practice Advisor. Doughtie, who received a B.S. in 1985, is the former U.S. chairman and CEO of KPMG. Pope, who received a Ph.D. in 2001 and a Master of Accountancy in 1997, is an associate professor of accounting at DePaul University. The awards are given annually to “women leaders who are helping to define and advance the profession,” according to a recent announcement by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor. The awards “celebrate the increasing presence of women at the highest positions in accounting firms and organizations that oversee the profession and recognize those who have had the most impact,” the announcement noted. “It’s a great honor for us to have two alumnae included in this distinguished group of 25 top accounting leaders who represent a diversity of backgrounds and roles across the profession and who are a source of inspiration to a new generation of women,” said Dr. Jack Maher, head of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems in the Pamplin College of Business and the Tom Wells/Kathy Dargo Professor. Doughtie, who has regularly appeared on various “most powerful women in business” lists throughout her career, served from July 2015 through June 2020 as U.S. chairman and CEO of KPMG. She built a 35-year career there that was capped by her appointment as its first female chief executive. Doughtie is a longtime member of the advisory board of the accounting and information systems department and a member of the Pamplin Advisory Council. She is one of three co-chairs of Boundless Impact: The Campaign for Virginia Tech. She received Virginia Tech’s 2018 University Distinguished Achievement Award. In the summer of 2020, she and her family and the KPMG Foundation made a $2.5 million commitment to Virginia Tech’s planned Global Business and Analytics Complex.

Pope had also worked at KPMG, in the forensic accounting practice, before launching her academic career. As a researcher, she has focused on organizational misconduct, ethics and fraud, and how organizations design cultures and compliance systems to confront these challenges. Her research has been published in leading accounting and business ethics journals and resulted in her selection to develop a TED-Ed lesson, “How People Rationalize Fraud,” and a TED Talk, “Why Do We Hate Whistle-blowers?” Watch Pope’s TED Talk: “How Whistleblowers Shape History.” In addition to being a popular keynote speaker and advisor to organizations, Pope is also a filmmaker. In 2017, she directed and produced the award-winning documentary, “All the Queen’s Horses,” which explores the largest municipal fraud in U.S. history. It premiered as the No. 1 documentary on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and Direct TV during its debut week on the video-on-demand platforms in April 2018. The announcement on CPA Practice Advisor noted the increasing numbers of women in the profession: “Women have surpassed men in accounting and auditing positions and are increasingly attaining the reins of power in accounting firms.” It cited research by Catalyst showing that women comprise 62 percent of the number of accountants and auditors in the U.S. but hold 24 percent of partner roles at U.S. accounting firms and only 21 percent of partner roles at Big Four firms. It noted the potential of the profession being shaped significantly by women in the future as they continue to expand their leadership roles in the industry, public administration, and education. Nominations for the award are open to the public and reviewed by independent judges who select the award recipients, based on criteria that include being a driving force for innovation and excellence, contributing to the success of their organization and the accounting profession, and representing the profession through civic and community outreach. Written by Sookhan Ho

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Karneisha Wolfe Earns 2021 Deloitte Foundation Doctoral Fellowship

“Companies are increasingly utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the accuracy of their accounting processes. Karneisha’s research examines how external auditors utilize this data during their audit judgments. She is a highly motivated, bright, and committed doctoral student who is examining a timely topic that has the potential to contribute to the practice and theory of auditing” says her advisor, Dr. Sudip Bhattacharjee, Professor of Accounting and Information Systems. Last year, another Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Tech was also awarded the Deloitte Foundation Doctoral Fellowship. “Given the competitiveness of this fellowship, winning this award two years in a rowmeans that our Ph.D. Program has risen to a high level with national recognition. It’s a great achievement for our Ph.D. Program.” says the Director of the Ph.D. Program in Accounting and Information Systems, Dr. Ling Lisic. A native of Charleston, SC, Karneisha graduated with honors from the University of South Carolina, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting and human resource management. She also holds a master’s of accountancy from Wake Forest University and she is a licensed CPA in the state of

North Carolina. Prior to entering the doctoral program, Karneisha worked as a controller at a Fortune 100 company and an auditor at a public accounting firm. She is also a 2018 AICPA Accounting Doctoral Scholars Program scholar. Karneisha’s primary research interests are auditing and financial reporting. She enjoys researching topics that align with her unique work experience. After completing her Ph.D., Karneisha hopes to join the faculty at an university that champions research and values teaching, where she can help to increase diversity within the accounting profession. The Deloitte Foundation, founded in 1928, is a not-for-profit organization that supports education in the U.S. through a variety of initiatives that help develop the next generation of diverse business leaders, and their influencers, and promote excellence in teaching, research and curriculum innovation. The Foundation sponsors an array of national programs relevant to a variety of professional services, benefiting high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and educators.

Karneisha Wolfe

Karneisha Wolfe, a third-year Ph.D. candidate, is a recipient of the prestigious 2021 Deloitte Foundation Doctoral Fellowship.The award is designed to support outstanding accounting Ph.D. candidates in hopes of strengthening the quantity and quality of accounting professors. Each year, the foundation awards fellowships to 10 top accounting Ph.D. candidates across the U.S. from the approximately 100 universities invited to nominate a doctoral candidate for the fellowship.

Highlights of ACIS Department Achievements 2016-2021 Under Dr. Jack Maher • Perhaps the biggest achievement we have accomplished together is the hiring of 17 of our current 32 full time faculty members, 1 new staff member, and 5 adjunct faculty members. These hirings of very high-quality people have had a transformational positive effect on our department that should last for many years. • Becoming one of nine high quality universities to partner with membership in the KPMG MADA program with its associated training for our faculty in accounting analytics that flows through many of our undergraduate and graduate courses. • Implemented our ACIS technology initiative to ensure technology projects are incorporated in every one of our upper division and graduate courses. • Initiated our writing initiative last Fall and hired PhD student in Rhetoric and Writing to help assess and improve the critical written communication skills of our undergraduate and master’s students. • ACIS undergraduate student placement rate shortly after graduation is 94% to 95% the last several years while the ACIS graduate stu- dent placement rate has averaged 97% prior to graduation. • Successful AACSB Re-accreditation with several department activities lauded as “Best Practices”. • Increased research profile and rankings for ACIS Department, e.g., BYU rankings increasing 37 places from #82 to #45. Even more dramatically, our UT-Dallas rankings have increased 57 places from below 100 in 2015 to #43 in 2020. ACIS rankings should increase even further based on what faculty have already achieved due a lagged effect of already-accepted publications. • Perhaps most importantly, we have fostered and maintained a very supportive and collegial atmosphere for everyone in the workplace.

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Michelle Harding Receives the Diversity Excellence Award

Michelle Harding, assistant professor of Accounting and Information Systems, re- ceived the Diversity Excellence Award for the most recent academic school year. Dr. Harding joined the ACIS Faculty in the fall of 2017 after completing her Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee. In her time at Virginia Tech, she has been a strong ad- vocate for diversity initiatives within the department and college at large. Her con- tributions in this area have raised aware- ness and consciousness about diversity, inclusion, and equity within the context of Virginia Tech and the Pamplin communi- ty from both a faculty and student point of view. Dr. Harding is a well-respected and im-

passioned voice that fosters a collegial aca- demic and work environment that embrac- es excellence and diversity broadly. The Diversity Excellence Award recognizes her contributions as she has demonstrated ex- emplar leadership in the areas of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Dr. Harding has demonstrated strong outreach in both in- formal and formal mentorship of her stu- dents in the areas of diversity and account- ing. An important part of this outreach is her active role and efforts in recruiting diverse faculty and doctoral students to Virginia Tech. Dr. Harding holds a B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and is licensed as a CPA in the state of Florida.

Michelle Harding

Carissa MaloneWins Best PhD Student Paper fromAAAAudit Section Carissa Malone, PhD student, Sean Hillison, assistant professor, and Sudip Bhattacharjee, Tom Wells and Kathy Dargo Professor, were awarded the Best PhD Student Paper Award by the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association at their 2021 Auditing Midyear Meeting in January 2021. Their paper, Auditing from a Distance: The Impact of Remote Auditing and Supervisor Monitoring on Analytical Procedures Judgments , was selected from conference submissions for the Best PhD Student Paper Award which was established to recognize high-quality submissions to the Auditing Section Midyear Meeting. The paper examines how two remote auditing factors, the distance between the auditor and their client (i.e., whether the auditor is working in the field or remotely) and the frequency of the supervisor’s status update request, can impact auditors’ judgments. They find that when working remotely, auditors considered a greater range of potential causes to explain the unexpected fluctuations in financial statements and exhibit higher decision quality in uncovering the cause of the fluctuations, when asked to provide status updates less frequently rather than more frequently. Therefore, working remotely can enhance audit quality, conditional on the nature of the supervisor’s monitoring. Audit supervisors may consider delicately balancing the frequency of monitoring of remote workers to allow for the benefits of remote auditing to manifest.

Carissa Malone

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Cal Poly Names Damon Fleming as New Dean of Orfalea College of Business

Damon Fleming, dean and professor of accounting of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis, has been named as the new dean of the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly. Fleming will begin in this role on Aug. 2, 2021. “I look forward to welcoming Dr. Fleming to our campus and working with him to support the students, faculty and staff of the Orfalea College of Business,” said Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, Cal Poly’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “He brings a wealth of experience in both higher education and industry and a strong commitment to the success of the college and the university as a whole.” Prior to his current role, Fleming spent nearly 13 years on the faculty of the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University where he was professor of accounting, Ernst & Young Faculty Fellow, and William E. Cole Director of the Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy. “I am honored to be the next dean of the Orfalea College of Business, which is well positioned to lead the future of business education with its focus on student success through career-ready experiential learning,” said Fleming. “The powerful combination of exceptional students, highly collaborative faculty and staff, and engaged business community offers the opportunity to ingrain the application of theory to practice and advance the California and global economies.

Nadia Rogers

Damon Fleming

“I look forward to working with all Cal Poly and Orfalea College of Business stakeholders to fully realize the Learn by Doing mission in what will be an exciting new era.” Fleming’s teaching areas include financial reporting, financial statement analysis, accounting research, management accounting, and accounting judgment and decision making. Fleming was selected as the Most Influential Faculty Member four times by the annual Outstanding Student graduating from the SDSU Master of Science in Accountancy program and earned two Fowler College of Business Outstanding Faculty Contribution awards from his colleagues for teaching innovation and effectiveness. Fleming’s research uses theories from psychology and behavioral decision research to investigate accounting issues (including cross- cultural contexts) in the areas of auditing, ethics, financial reporting, and taxation. Fleming has 29 publications in accounting journals including: “Accounting Horizons,”” Behavioral Research in Accounting,” “Journal of the American Taxation Association,” “The International Journal of Accounting,” “Issues in Accounting Education,” “Journal of Business Ethics,” “Journal of Accountancy,” and “Strategic Finance.” Fleming earned his doctorate in business (accounting) fromVirginia Tech and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from San Diego State University. Prior to entering academia, Fleming worked in venture capital focusing on due diligence and valuation. Fleming is a CFA charterholder and certified management accountant.

Reprinted courtesy of Cal Poly News

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Alumna Pamela Smith Served as Interim Dean of the College of Business at the University of Texas at San Antonio

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Kimberly Andrews Espy announced the appointment of Pamela Smith as interim dean of the College of Business, effective January 1, 2021, while a national search for a permanent dean is conducted. “Pamela will provide strategic and experienced leadership as the college prepares for its AACSB accreditation review visit in 2021– 2022, since she has been deeply involved in the college’s assessment and accreditation processes for AACSB as well as the university’s SACSCOC reaffirmation of accreditation” said Espy. A professor of accounting, Smith joined the faculty of the College of Business in 2001. Since September 2019 she has served as the college’s associate dean of administration and faculty. In this position Smith has been responsible for overseeing COB operations and administrative functions—including the budget, human resources, information technology, facilities and space planning, infrastructure, and faculty affairs—and for collaborating with the dean’s staff and department chairs to coordinate and implement college initiatives, academic programming and student success efforts. Prior to her current role, she served as the college’s associate dean of graduate studies from 2016 to 2019. Courtesy of The University of Texas at San Antonio

Pamela Smith

ACIS Alumnus Julian Eugensen Received Mentorship Award

Eugensen, Class of 2012, was one of two recipients of the Pamplin Col- lege of Business 2020 Mentorship Award, which recognize a “distin- guished individual who consistently embodies the spirit of mentorship of Pamplin students, graduates, and those in their local community.” Julian Eugensen is a Director at Citi- group in Global Markets Relation- ship Management. In his role, he performs extensive senior client-fac- ing responsibilities by covering Citi’s Platinum & Priority Investor Clients. Julian provides investors with the highest-quality services and resourc- es across the Markets & Securities

Services division, including Indus- try-leading insights and access to se- nior management. Previously, Julian was the acting strategy head of the global team, directly supporting the global head in the daily operations and management of the group. He is also responsible for managing and coordinating the hiring, training, and workflow of Sales & Trading Analysts for the RM Team. Julian graduated Summa Cum Laude from Virginia Tech in 2012 with dual bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Finance. He lives in New York City. Courtesy of Jeremy Norman

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Class of 2021: Joshua Del Rosario Finds Success Through Service

For senior Joshua Del Rosario, a commitment to service has driven him to get involved extensively within his community at Virginia Tech. He is the 2021 recipient of the Pamplin College of Business Service Award because of his impactful community involvement that exemplifies Virginia Tech’s motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). The Pamplin Service Award seeks to honor senior students who demonstrate extraordinary service in Pamplin programs and activities. “Receiving this award means a lot because it shows that the dedica- tion and hard work I put in didn’t go unnoticed,” Del Rosario said. “It’s cool to see how serving in your Pamplin community can go a long way, and the fact that Pamplin has an award based on service shows how important Ut Prosim is at Tech.” Del Rosario found a home in Pamplin as an undergraduate. There, he filled his record with valuable teamwork and leadership experi- ences due to his determination to be a part of the Pamplin Hokie community from day one. One of the first organizations he joined was the Pamplin Under- graduate Mentoring Program (PUMP). The mission of PUMP is to provide support to students with their transition into and through college by connecting them with resources to help them develop academically, personally, and professionally in the classroom and their careers. “As a freshman, I wanted to make sure I got involved in Pamplin. I didn’t know where to start, but they had so many opportunities right off the bat,” Del Rosario said. “I joined PUMP as a mentee, and my mentor was awesome. He gave such great advice and guid- ance that I made sure to become a mentor myself.” He credits his PUMP mentor for helping him get his foot in the door with KPMG, where he will begin work as an audit associate after graduating in May. Del Rosario continued to guide four men- tees his sophomore year and nine mentees his junior year, instilling the same drive for service in all of them. One of his favorite roles was as the vice president of hospitality for the Pamplin Leadership Development Team (PLDT). In that role, he helped plan the Annual Student Leadership Conference for Pamplin students and saw the hard work come to life. “Being able to be a part of an organization that helps students foster their leadership skills was really rewarding,” Del Rosario said about PLDT. “Seeing the final product was incredibly fulfilling.” A double major in accounting and finance, he also joined Virginia Tech’s Accounting Society his freshman year. He found that he en- joyed helping people within his major network and encouraged his fellow students to put themselves out there.

Joshua Del Rosario

“I liked how the Accounting Society was a more intimate setting for students to meet employers,” Del Rosario said. “I wanted to get involved more so I served as the vice president sophomore year. Junior year, I served as the president.” In addition to his active roles in Pamplin organizations, Del Rosa- rio is also a part of his campus ministry, NLCF. “In high school, I served in my local church. I wanted to make sure that continued when I got to Tech, so I played in the music minis- try at NLCF. I’ve been a part of that for about two years now.” A common theme across his extracurricular activities was his de- sire to encourage and help peers navigate through college. With an excellent track record of volunteer and organizational activities, Del Rosario was able to develop and hone the leadership skills he needed to succeed. “I could tell that he cared about his education,” said Jason Sharp, assistant professor of practice in accounting and information sys- tems and one of Del Rosario’s biggest supporters. “He even helped me out a few times by volunteering to sit on some student panels with one of the publishers.” Sharp continued, “Joshua is someone that truly embodies the Ut Prosim motto at Virginia Tech, and he is well on his way to being a highly respected professional out in the business world.” As well as beginning his career with KPMG, Del Rosario plans to pass the CPA exam to receive his professional accounting certifica- tion. In the future, he stated that he intends to be more involved with his church and reprise his role as a youth leader outside of work. The biggest lesson he took away from his undergraduate experi- ence is to jump headfirst at opportunities that are presented. “It never hurts to put yourself out there and to try new things. Your greatest learning experiences are a result of getting out of your comfort zone. I’m an introvert at heart, so I never imagined myself being involved in this many organizations,” Del Rosario explained. “But if I never attended those first meetings or went out of my way to talk to people, I would’ve missed out on so many valuable expe-

riences and opportunities.” Written by Virginia Nguyen

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Meredith Slaw

Meredith Slaw has a Passion for Softball Meredith Slaw is a Senior in ACIS who is entering the Master of Accounting and Information Systems program upon graduation. In addition to being a stellar student she is also an infielder for the Virginia Tech Softball Team. Meredith grew up in a small town called Warsaw, Virginia. She loved growing up in a small town, where her graduating class was only 82 students. As a result, coming to Virginia Tech was an extreme change, but a change that she has handled with much success. Meredith is also very family-oriented and is excited that her younger sister also aspires to be a collegiate student athlete. Meredith started her journey to play college softball when she was in middle school. She joined an elite team in high school and committed to VT as a sophomore. Her best memory of softball thus far was her opportunity to play against UCLA in the 2021 super regionals where she was able to play against an Olympian. Meredith’s role as a student athlete took a hit in 2020 as the softball season was canceled halfway through due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. She took this adversity and found a way to adapt as the softball team was given a 5 th year due to the pandemic which coincided with her desire to attend Virginia Tech for an additional year to pursue her graduate degree. Meredith’s goal is to one day become a partner for an auditing firm. She has had a great opportunity to start her future with Kearney and Company. Here she began as an extern which turned into multiple internship opportunities doing financial statement auditing. She feels that Kearney and Company is the perfect fit for a small-town girl like herself, and she is excited for her next internship opportunity this summer.

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Beta Alpha Psi President Gives Back Ben is a senior at Virginia Tech majoring in Accounting and Information Systems. In his free time, he enjoys playing, coaching, and watching sports. Currently he participates in intramural sports, with his favorites being basketball and flag football.

shelter guests. At the same time, they worked on setting up policies and procedures to check guests in and out, provide meals and other services, and create a safe community environment. The shelter became operational in late May and typically hosted 80- 100 guests daily. He worked at the shelter 5-6 days a week and his responsibilities ranged from checking guests in and out, feeding guests, coordinating volunteers and donations, cleaning, and fixing tents, and responding to guests’ needs. Over the course of the summer, he worked through many challenges with guests such as drug overdoses, conflicts and altercations, and law enforcement issues; but those challenges came with many successes with guests including guests finding housing, connecting with loved ones, getting job offers, or agreeing to enter rehab. The shelter became a small community where he enjoyed connecting with the guests. One of Ben’s favorite moments during the summer, was when he was talking with one of the shelter guests about the National Basketball Association (NBA). The guest mentioned how he missed watching basketball. This discussion was happening when the NBA championships were being played, so Ben took his laptop to the shelter, hooked it to a monitor, and streamed several of the championship games for the shelter guests. The reaction from the guests was overwhelming and they shared with Ben how much it meant to them. Next spring, Ben will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in ACIS and will be working as an audit intern in the Norfolk office of BDO next summer. Ben’s plan is to return to Virginia Tech for graduate school and pursue a Master of Accounting degree. In his free time, he looks forward to continuing volunteering at the homeless shelter. He noted that his summer experience has taught him the importance of giving back to his local community and helping those in need – lessons he is passionate about carrying with him as he embarks on his accounting career.

Ben was recently elected to the position of President of the Gamma Lambda Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi. In this role, he hopes to continue the strong

Ben Herndon

BAP tradition at VT and support the accounting, finance, and BIT members through networking and service opportunities. Ben’s mother was a BAP officer at JMU in 1990. One of Ben’s passions is helping with homelessness in Norfolk, Virginia. For years, he has volunteered with the Norfolk Emergency Shelter Team (NEST), which is a temporary homeless shelter sponsored by The Urban Renewal Center (URC) that operates in various churches during the Winter months. This spring, The URC worked with the City of Norfolk to extend the homeless shelter concept and set up a year-round program. The head of URC asked Ben to work with them this summer to set up and begin operations of Norfolk’s first city-sponsored year-round homeless shelter. He eagerly accepted the opportunity, and it turned out to be one of the most fulfilling things he has ever participated in. The homeless shelter was set up in an old Greyhound bus station in downtown Norfolk. The URC team and Ben started by building a platform in the parking lot and setting up 80 tents and cots for Meet our MACIS Student Council Our Master of Accounting and Information Systems (MACIS) Student Council’s mission is con- nectivity amongst all MACIS and 152-Hour students. The Council is comprised of a diverse subset of students (pictured to the right) who plan various social events, maintain MACIS student social media accounts, assist with our de- partmental social media accounts, and provide recommendations as to events or actions we can take as a department to meet students’ needs as it relates to connectivity. A recommendation of the MACIS Student Council in years past was a mentorship program. We are excited and incredibly grateful that several of our ACIS Emerg- ing Leaders Board members have agreed to serve as mentors to our MACIS students, beginning this Fall. This mentorship program will be a great opportunity for our students to connect with profes- sionals working in different areas of the accounting profession. We are extremely thankful for the leadership of our MACIS Student Council members.

Front Row (left to right) : Shaina Garg, Yi Wu, Emily Fusaro; Middle Row: Reagan Martin, Lexi Simmers, Josephine Mensah (Chair); Back Row: Will Vaughan, Maria Fernandez Orozco, Zemin Yu, Matthew Griffith

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Jingjing Huang Named John F. Carroll Jr. Faculty Fellow Jingjing Huang, assistant professor of accounting and information systems in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, has been named the John F. Carroll Jr. Faculty Fellow in Accounting and Information Systems by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. The John F. Carroll Jr. Fellowship was established in 2002 to attract and retain eminent scholars in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems. The fellowship recognizes excellence in teaching and research. A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2014, Huang focuses her scholarship on corporate taxation and its intersection with innovation, financial reporting, and international business. Since coming to the university, she has published four articles in leading academic journals, placing her among the most productive tax scholars among peers at other universities. Her work addresses important organizational questions with significant implications for practice and public policy. She frequently collaborates with colleagues across the college and at other universities. In addition to her research accomplishments, Huang has made many contributions in teaching and service. She has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses and has received strong evaluations from her students and colleagues. She has also served on two doctoral dissertation committees. Huang received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Shanghai University of Electric Power in China, a master’s degree in accounting from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Oregon. Written by Sookhan Ho and Mark Owczarski Academic journal editorial board members provide a critical role in analyzing and scrutinizing the validity of the research papers that are eventually accepted for publication in a particular journal. We have many ACIS faculty members that have served in these positions over the years. Here is a current listing of ACIS faculty serving on editorial boards. Faculty on Editorial Boards Andrew Acito • Editorial Board, The International Journal of Accounting (Since 2017) Reza Barkhi Ling Lisic • Editor, Journal of International Accounting Research (Since 2019) • Editorial Board, The Accounting Review (Since 2021) • Editorial Board, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory (Since 2016)

Jingjing Huang

• Senior Editor, Decision Support Systems (Since 2015) • Associate Editor, Information Technology Management (Since 2013) France Bélanger • Senior Editor, Journal of the Association for Information Systems (Since 2015) • Senior Editor, MIS Quarterly (Since 2021) Sudip Bhattacharjee • Editorial Board, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (Since 2017) Sean Hillison • Editorial Board, Current Issues in Auditing (Since 2020)

• Editorial Board, Accounting Horizons (Since 2019) • Editorial Board, Contemporary Accounting Research (Since 2020) Sarah Stein • Editorial Board, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (Since 2017) • Editorial Board, The Accounting Review, (Since 2020) • Editorial Board, Contemporary Accounting Research (Since 2020) Linda Wallace • Associate Editor, Information and Management (Since 2018)

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Jean Lacoste Named Darrell D. and Betty R. Martin Junior Faculty Member Jean Lacoste, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, has been named the Darrell D. and Betty R. Martin Junior Faculty Fellow in Accounting and Information Systems by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. The Darrell D. and Betty R. Martin Junior Faculty Fellowship was created through a gift from Darrell D. Martin, a 1972 graduate of Virginia Tech, to allow the Department of Accounting and Information Systems the flexibility to recruit, hire, and retain the best faculty. The fellowship, which is to reward teaching and scholarly excellence by those holding the rank of assistant or associate professor, is for a three-year period.

A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 1997, Lacoste has been a leader in the practice and development of online education. Her work has explored effective teaching practice in both synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments with a specific emphasis on student engagement in large online sections. She has developed effective multimodal education for as many as 1,600 students a year, giving students the opportunity to choose how they interact with learning materials while enhancing learning, engagement, and satisfaction. Her contributions to innovations in delivery and course development have been noteworthy, receiving strong evaluations from her students and colleagues. This year, Lacoste was awarded the Pamplin College of Business’ 2021 Certificate of Teaching Excellence. In 2016, she received Virginia Tech’s Diggs Teaching Scholars Award. She is the third Pamplin faculty member to win this award since its inception in 1992. Lacoste received her bachelor’s degree from Salisbury State University and her master’s degree from the Department of Accounting and Information Systems. Courtesy of Sookhan Ho and Mark Owczarski Wayne E. Leininger Professorship Awarded to Ling Lisic Jean Lacoste

Ling Lisic was awarded the Wayne E. Leininger Professorship in August 2021. She is also the ACIS Ph.D. Program Director. Ling’s research interests focus on archival tests of economic theories of auditing and financial accounting. Ling has published 12 papers in FT 50 journals such as The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Financial Economics, Production and Operations Management, Contemporary Accounting Research, and Review of Accounting Studies. She is ranked as a top 1% author on SSRN by paper downloads. Ling is an editor of Journal of International Accounting Research and has previously served as a guest editor for Journal of Business Research. She also serves on the editorial boards of The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting Horizons, and Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory. She has reviewed for many leading business journals and has been invited to present at more than 50 universities worldwide. Ling’s teaching interests are in auditing, financial accounting and managerial accounting, at the Ph.D., master, and undergraduate levels. She has taught Auditing and Intermediate Financial Accounting I to master and undergraduate students, Introductory Financial Accounting to master and undergraduate students, and Financial Statement Analysis and Introductory Managerial Accounting to undergraduate students.

Ling Lisic

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Writing Initiative with English PhD CPA Evolution

Sean Hillson In response to faculty requests across the country for information to prepare or ad- just curricula for the upcoming changes, the AICPA and NASBA released a Model Curriculum in June 2021. One of our faculty, Nadia Rogers, Professor of Practice and Director of our Master of Accounting and Information Systems Program, served as Co-Chair of the Information Systems and Controls Task Force, which was charged with developing the learning objectives of this discipline section for inclusion in the Model Curriculum. Our ACIS faculty have and will continue to analyze the Model Curriculum as a whole and consider additional authoritative information available in the future to ensure that our curricula remain leading edge, preparing students for success in the profession and on the CPA Exam. This is an exciting and transformative time within the accounting profession, and we are committed to continuing to provide our students with a world class education. Technology continues to change at a rapid pace, leading to new opportunities for the accounting profession and changed skills and knowledge expected of accounting pro- fessionals. In an effort to evolve CPA licensure to better align the skills and knowledge needed to be successful today and in the future as well as to continue to protect the public, the AICPA and NASBA joined forces to develop the CPA Evolution Initiative. In January 2024, a new CPA Exam will be released that utilizes a core plus discipline model with accounting, auditing, and tax in the core (technology heavily intertwined) as well as Business Analysis & Reporting, Information Systems and Controls, and Tax Compliance and Planning as disciplines. Exam candidates will be required to pass all three sections of the core in addition to passing one discipline section.

One important skill that is often overlooked, but highly valued by employers, is written communication skills. Effective writing skills are also important when a student sits for the Uniform CPA examination. CPA sections such as BEC (Business Environment & Concepts) evaluate and analyze a candidate’s written communication skills. Most students that are graduating with an accounting degree are going to spend lots of time studying topics such as financial accounting, managerial accounting, information systems, corporate/individual tax, audit, and data analytics. Accounting programs in the United States, most likely, spend little or no time at all providing feedback to students on effective written communication skills. The ACIS Department, led by Dr. Jack Maher, have put an emphasis on graduating accounting students with effective written communication skills. Starting last Fall 2020, the ACIS Department hired an English PhD student to work with various upper-level accounting classes to improve the writing skills of our students. The PhD student from the English Department has helped with courses such as Financial Statement Auditing, Auditing Theory, Tax Research, Financial Analytics, and Accounting Analytics. The students are being given guidance on how to communicate effectively when writing client letters, memos, accounting reports, research papers, etc. We hope that this partnership with the English Department will give our accounting graduates a competitive advantage in the future.

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