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April 17, 2020

2020 Faculty Updates

2020 Faculty Updates
School of Accountancy faculty recap their accomplishments during the past year.
Crabtree
Dr. Aaron Crabtree
Director of the School of Accountancy, Associate Professor

I have worked with our faculty to update our SOA Strategic Plan and create a new mission statement. We also created a new course, Accounting Research and Communication (ACCT 455), that incorporates Fine and Performing Arts faculty to teach our students improvisation. I am looking forward to the changes to our curriculum. I am also working with our CoB Communications, Marketing and External Relations office to better market our MPA program and strengthen our partnerships. We tested some new efforts this spring that provided positive results.
 
Akamah
Dr. Herita Akamah
Assistant Professor

I taught Intermediate Accounting II (ACCT 314) class in the fall. My current research projects seek to provide insights into the costs and benefits of several accounting regulatory initiatives. I published the article “Severance and Bad News Disclosures” in Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance (forthcoming). I also received the IACMR-RRBM Responsible Research in Management Award for the published article “Tax Havens and Disclosure Aggregation,” and continue to serve on the board of Lincoln Literacy Center where I try to leverage my accounting knowledge to further the cause of bringing literacy, very broadly defined to include financial literacy, to the community.
 
Allen
Dr. Arthur Allen
Raymond C. Dein Professor of Accountancy

I enjoyed teaching Intermediate Accounting (ACCT 313) and Advanced Accounting (ACCT 804) this year. Both cover external financial reporting for corporations. Advanced Accounting also covers government and nonprofit accounting. I have recently published in the Journal of Government and Nonprofit Accounting, Financial Accountability & Management, and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. My most recent article investigated how financial information is used by private foundations in making grants to public charities. My service includes the UNL Library Committee, the SOA Assessment Committee as well as the CoB Learning and Transformation Committee.
 
Black
Dr. Dirk Black
Assistant Professor

I am enjoying my second academic year at UNL. Since the last edition of The Nebraska Ledger, I became a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach. In the fall, I again taught in the MPA program, working with students in Seminar in Financial Accounting (ACCT 803) and Business Valuation and Fundamental Analysis (ACCT 808). Once again, UNL students impressed me with their collective work ethic and positive attitude. I was honored to be named the recipient of the 2020 CoB Distinguished Teaching Award. My research continues to examine alternative earnings measures disclosed by companies, as well as other financial reporting and performance evaluation topics. I review research for some of the best accounting journals and conferences in the world, and enjoy serving on various committees at the SOA and university levels.
 
Cosgrove
Deb Cosgrove
Associate Professor of Practice

This year marked my 18th year as a professor of practice at Nebraska. I am the only instructor for Accounting Information Systems (ACCT 309), which I teach every semester. Every spring, I also teach Advanced Accounting Information Systems (ACCT 809). In the summer, I teach the Intro to Managerial Accounting (ACCT 308). I enjoy the classes I teach and getting to know the students. Moving to teaching online has been difficult, mainly because I structured my classes as “flipped” classes, and they are heavily discussion and project based. I have missed my students these past couple weeks, but am meeting some of them via Zoom. I am also the faculty advisor for Nebraska’s Beta Alpha Psi chapter. The honorary organization is for high-achieving accounting and finance students. Our chapter meets every Tuesday evening in the fall and spring, and we have community service and social events. For more than 20 years, our chapter has consistently earned Superior or Distinguished status within the international Beta Alpha Psi organization. In 2018, I was selected as one of five Outstanding Faculty Advisors from all of the 341 chapters! I am also faculty advisor for the Deloitte Audit Innovation Challenge, which takes place every fall semester. I organize a team of six students who explore a technology that can be leveraged to enhance audit services, prepare a presentation and travel to Minneapolis to compete against six other universities in a regional competition. The teams always make me proud!
 
Dearden
Dr. Stuart Dearden
Assistant Professor

I am in my second year teaching senior and master’s level audit courses at Nebraska. I enjoyed many busy seasons as an auditor for KPMG, auditing clients in a variety of industries, sizes and regulatory environments. I use my public accounting experience to inform students of relevant audit issues. My research focuses on audit quality, auditor bias and audit- office issues. In particular, my recent research has examined how audit-office client portfolio characteristics can affect going concern opinions and how institutional investors demand higher quality audits even when other monitoring mechanisms are available. I have been an ad hoc reviewer for the audit sectional, regional and annual accounting meetings.
 
Downes
Dr. Jimmy Downes
Assistant Professor

I finished my sixth year at SOA where I teach Intermediate Accounting II (ACCT 314) and Advanced Accounting (ACCT 804). My research examines how investors interpret the accounting for cash flow hedges and how firm investment changed due to the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. In the past year, my research was presented at the 2019 Contemporary Accounting Research Conference, the 2019 American Accounting Association Annual Meeting and the 2020 Hawaiian Accounting Research Conference. My research was published in the Journal of the American Taxation Association, Journal of Information Systems and the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy.
 
Gonzales
Dr. Amanda Gonzales
Assistant Professor

In the classroom, I taught my seventh semester of Intermediate Accounting I (ACCT 313). As a recently named CoB Seacrest Teaching Fellow, I am helping my students learn to work more effectively in teams by leveraging their individual strengths and utilizing team charters. This allows me to bring to the classroom the knowledge I gained this year by becoming a Gallup- Certified Strengths Coach. My research on the financial reporting effects of alternative accounting treatments for pollution reduction programs is forthcoming in Management Science. I am also working with colleagues to examine the influence of work experience in jurisdictions with high corruption norms on company insiders’ corporate misconduct.
 
Harris
Dr. Ling Lin Harris
Assistant Professor

I joined the faculty in the fall and taught Financial Accounting (ACCT GRBA 809) to MBA students, both in-person and online. This was my first time teaching an online course and it has been very rewarding and exciting. When it comes to research, I primarily use an experimental approach and rely on psychology theory to answer my research questions. In 2019, one of my studies, which investigates how linguistic features of financial reporting affect investors’ judgments, was published in the Journal of Financial Reporting. I also served on the SOA Workshop Committee and as an ad hoc reviewer for the American Accounting Association sectional and annual meetings.
 
Hegeman
Dr. Steven Hegemann
Assistant Professor of Practice

I currently teach Introductory Accounting I (ACCT 201) and Fraud Examination (ACCT 401). I leverage more than 15 years of experience as a CPA and certified fraud examiner in New York City in my teaching. I enjoy introducing students to the world of accounting beyond their preconceived notions and the common stereotypes. This year, I received my second certificate of recognition for contributions to students from the UNL Parents Association. Since coming to Nebraska four years ago, I have also received three Outstanding Educator of the Year awards from the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and an Outstanding Professor Award from the Delta Sigma Pi professional business fraternity.
 
Kang
Dr. Tony Kang
Deloitte Chair and Associate Professor
I currently teach Financial Accounting (GRBA 809) and Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation (ACCT 808) courses to MBA and MPA students. My main research interests are international capital markets and corporate governance. I am serving on several committees for the SOA, CoB and university. Externally, I am an editorial board member of the Contemporary Accounting Research and the Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting.
 
Kubick
Dr. Tom Kubick
Elsworth Fulk Chair of Accountancy and Associate Professor

I joined the college in July 2019. I’m glad to be back at my alma mater and back in my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska. I spent the last seven years as an accounting faculty member at the University of Kansas, most recently as an associate professor. During the past year, I’ve enjoyed meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends. My research interests are in the areas of taxation, financial reporting, incentives and governance. My research has recently appeared in The Accounting Review, Management Science, National Tax Journal, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, International Journal of Auditing and Accounting Horizons. I currently teach an undergraduate tax course (ACCT 312) and a Ph.D. seminar (ACCT 969) in empirical tax research. I also serve on the editorial board of Accounting Horizons.
 
Maresh
Kathryn Maresh J.D
Assistant Professor of Practice and Executive in Residence

In my undergraduate and graduate level tax courses we continue to explore the tax law changes and apply the concepts to research and tax return projects. To enhance learning, several area CPA firms develop tax research projects and work with the graduate students in one of my classes to provide students with real-world experiences. For the third year, I was faculty advisor for the UNL Deloitte FanTAXtic competition. In November, the team traveled to Chicago for the competition and while there we also attended the play, “Hamilton.” During the last year, I received a certificate of recognition from the UNL Parents Association, the College of Business Excellence in Teaching Award and the School of Accountancy Educator of the Year Award (MPA students).
 
Melessa
Dr. Sam Melessa
Assistant Professor

This is my first year at UNL and I am so impressed with the students, faculty and staff, facilities and the alumni support for SOA and CoB. During the fall, I had a great experience teaching Accounting for Business Decisions (ACCT 200) for business minors and Using Accounting Information (ACCT 301) for non- accounting business majors. I am currently focusing on my research activities which center on financial reporting quality and the corporate information environment. In one of my current projects, my co-authors and I find that firms with major customers strategically classify certain SG&A expenses as COGS in order to artificially lower their gross margin and thereby reduce the ability of their major customers to bargain for lower prices. We also find that quality monitoring by auditors and analysts mitigates this behavior. I am also working with several Ph.D. students, which I thoroughly enjoy, and serving on the Ph.D. Committee.
 
Morris
Jina Morris
MPA Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Practice
I currently teach Introductory Accounting II (ACCT 202) and coordinate the accounting internship for our master’s students. This spring we have 12 master’s students at various internships with small to large public accounting firms and some with private corporations. I also enjoy advising the MPA students. I am the current president of the Institute of Management Accountants local Platte Valley Chapter, and this year, I received a nomination for the College of Business Excellence in Teaching Award.
 
Omer
Dr. Thomas Omer
Professor, Delmar Lienemann Sr. Chair of Accounting, Ph.D. Coordinator

This June, I will complete my seventh year at Nebraska. I continue to teach Accounting and Data Analytics (ACCT 850), its lab, and Corporate Tax (ACCT 813). In the fall, I will teach a Ph.D. Seminar in Auditing (ACCT 995). For the School of Accountancy, I serve as our recruiting chair, personnel chair, Ph.D. program director, and graduate director. Additionally, I serve on the college’s committees for promotion and tenure, research and professorship review, and Ph.D. programs. My research continues to focus on issues related to corporate taxation, capital and organizational structure choices, factors influencing audit and non-audit fees and earnings quality. I serve as an editor for five journals including Contemporary Accounting Research, Auditing: A Journal of Theory and Practice, Journal of Accounting Auditing and Finance, The International Journal of Accounting, and Journal of International Accounting Research. I recently published articles in The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of International Accounting Research, Auditing: A Journal of Theory and Practice, Management Science and Journal of Accounting and Public Policyand Accounting Horizons.
 
Saunders
Dr. Kelli Saunders
Assistant Professor

Teaching the MPA Seminar in Auditing (ACCT 831) this fall was especially interesting because we studied Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) around the same time as large accelerated filers with fiscal years ending in June 2019 were filing Forms 10K, allowing us to consider this much-anticipated change in the format of the audit report in “real time.” In Fraud Examination and Internal Audit (ACCT 401), a visitor from the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts discussed several frauds perpetrated in our state, including specific evidence examined during their investigations, which I found both fascinating and disturbing, but the students enjoyed it immensely. My current research projects are primarily focused on audit quality. In late spring 2019, my co-authors and I received a grant through the Center for Audit Quality’s Access to Audit Personnel program. Over 150 auditors from seven of the largest public accounting firms participated in our online experiment during summer and fall 2019. We are optimistic about the results of that study and plan to present at several upcoming conferences.
 
Shelley
Dr. Marjorie Shelley
BKD, LLP Professor of Accountancy

Last fall I taught the Accounting and Data Analytics (ACCT 850) and Contemporary Research in Accounting (ACCT 916), the first accounting Ph.D. seminar. Accounting and Data Analytics continues to evolve and the demand for analytics evolves in practice. In fall 2019, we offered a totally revised first Ph.D. seminar to better address new students’ needs for hypothesis testing and experimental design coverage before they begin their topic related research courses. In spring 2020, I again taught the online Seminar in Management Accounting (ACCT 858), but with a revised front end and a new set of management accounting cases. My research included revisions of a working paper on the effect on audit and financial reporting quality of lead independent directors who are also audit committee members. The paper was accepted for the 2020 EAA Congress research forum.
 
Thornack
Dr. Todd Thornock
Assistant Professor

I teach Introductory Accounting I (ACCT 201) to the Nebraska Business Honors Academy and Managerial Accounting (ACCT 308). I love teaching how accounting works and how it impacts decision making from one’s own life to the financial markets. This past year my research was published in the Journal of Management Accounting Research and Strategic Finance. I served as an ad hoc reviewer for Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting Organizations and Society, and other high-quality research journals. I also organized a virtual brown bag series for the top managerial accounting behavioral researchers around the world. I have been blessed to work with excellent Ph.D. students – all of whom will take the Nebraska name out to other institutions!
 
Trucke
Jill Trucke
Assistant Professor of Practice

This year, I taught my first online class, Accounting for Business Decisions (ACCT 200) for business minors. I also taught Using Accounting Information (ACCT 301) for non-accounting majors, Auditing (ACCT 410), Advanced Accounting Information Systems (ACCT 409) and an accounting course for the Raikes School students. I enjoy the opportunity to teach accounting to accounting and nonaccounting students. Highlights include working with the City of Lincoln on a data analysis project and my auditing class participating in an inventory count at the Huskers Shop at Memorial Stadium. Last summer I hosted the third annual high school Accounting Summit (now called Discover Accounting). We had 14 high school students attend the two-and-a-half day event which overviewed the many career opportunities in the accounting profession and provided a brief introduction of business. I also became a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach.
 
Wu
Dr. Biyu Wu
Assistant Professor

I teach Managerial Accounting (ACCT 308) and serve on the Undergraduate Curriculum, Ph.D. Conference/ Presentation, and Workshop Committees. My main research inte rests include initial public offerings (IPOs), financial reporting quality, securities regulation, and auditing. My current research focuses on the financial reporting quality of IPOs and its implications for IPO price formation and post-IPO stock performance, the effect of significant IPO firms on industry incumbents, and auditors’ influence on management’s use of optimistic language in audited financial statement disclosures. In the past year, I presented my research at the American Accounting Association (AAA) Annual Meeting, and served as a discussant at the AAA Auditing Midyear Meeting. One of my working papers was recently selected for presentation at the PCAOB Conference on Auditing and Capital Markets. I also volunteer as a referee for journals and AAA meetings.