Dear Friends,
For anyone who thinks that people who work at universities (or any schools, for that matter!) have “the summer off,” I’m happy to send them this newsletter to prove them wrong!
While our faculty and staff have been taking some hard-earned time off to enjoy this year’s July 4th celebrations, the World Cup, baseball games, barbecues, concerts and vacations, they’re also gearing up for the next academic year. They’re creating new activities and assignments for classes, moving research projects forward, getting ready to launch a CPA exam prep program, lining up new student workers to replace the ones who graduated (whom we already miss!), welcoming new faculty (you’ll read about them in a later newsletter)…I could go on!
Because of that, we have lots of news to share. While you’re soaking up the summer sun, please also soak in these stories about our graduating students, faculty who’ve won teaching awards and had their research published, students who received prestigious scholarships, and more.
One more thing: Put Thursday, August 20, on your calendar for #MoveInMiami 2026, Miami's annual day of giving, and spread the word (and the link)!
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Love & Honor,
Anne Farrell
PwC Professor and Chair
Department of Accountancy
Farmer School of Business
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Congratulations to our 2026 Graduates! |
This year saw 213 undergraduate and 53 graduate Accountancy students march across the stage and receive their diplomas. The Master of Accountancy students were recognized in a special ceremony held May 17, 2026, at the Wilks Theater of Armstrong Student Center, with accountancy alum Jeff VonDeylen '86 (MAcc '88) giving the keynote address. Congratulations to all our graduates!
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Accountancy Professors Tim Eaton and Katie Tew Recognized for Excellence in Education |
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Accountancy professors Katie Tew and Tim Eaton were among ten Farmer School of Business faculty members who received awards for outstanding work in teaching, service, and research during the 2025–2026 academic year.
Katie Tew received the Gifford Junior Faculty Teaching Innovation Award for her creative "small-class feel" strategy for her large lecture classes, allowing students to reap the benefits of a small classroom experience by providing multiple ways for students to ask questions and create active participation
Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor in Accountancy Tim Eaton is this year’s recipient of the Richard K. Smucker Teaching Excellence Award as the Outstanding Professor. He earned the award for his profound commitment to the teacher-scholar model, most notably through mentoring numerous students in the EY Teacher-Scholar program and co-authoring 19 publications with them.
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Accountancy Students Win Prestigious Scholarships |
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Top: Nicole Bennett (left), Julia Liebelt (right); Bottom: Jared Jordan (left), Kelsey Gruber (right)
We are proud to recognize four accountancy students who were recently awarded prestigious scholarships.
For the eighth consecutive year, Miami accountancy students were awarded the PCAOB scholarship—three of them this year! Congratulations to Nicole Bennett, Jared Jordan, and Julia Liebelt. This scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate an interest and aptitude in the auditing profession. Each student will receive a $15,000 scholarship from the PCAOB for the 2026–2027 academic year.
We also congratulate Kelsey Gruber, who was awarded a scholarship by the Cincinnati chapter of Finance Executives International (FEI). In addition to a cash award, she will also receive a subscription to the Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) Research Reports, along with inclusion of her resume in the chapter membership’s database for future employee searches. We featured her business venture in a recent blog article.
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New Scholarship Established in Honor of Emeritus Professor of Accounting Tom Porcano |
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| The Professor Thomas Porcano Accountancy Scholarship will be given to a junior or senior accountancy student who demonstrates either financial need or exceptional academic achievement.
The fund was established by Richard Purdue '79, to honor Dr. Porcano for being "what every professor should be—not just a teacher of information but also demanding the best from their students." Purdue added, "What I respected most about Dr. Porcano was his demand for excellence and mastery of the subject matter."
This generous gift ensures that Dr. Porcano's legacy of excellence will continue to inspire and support future accountants.
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Preparing Future Consultants: An AI-Enhanced Accounting Capstone in Industry Analysis |
As the first department in the Farmer School of Business to participate in Miami University’s AI in the Majors integration process, accountancy faculty have implemented classroom activities to prepare students for an AI-enabled working environment. Students in ACC 495/595, Accounting Analysis, taught by Professor Yibo (James) Zhang, were asked to prepare a comparative analysis for a public company that is considering entering a new industry. By combining AI-assisted analysis with teamwork, research, and professional presentations, the capstone gave students experience that closely mirrors the consulting projects they will encounter in their careers.
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We would also like to recognize these recent achievements:
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Congratulations to our Beta Gamma Sigma Inductees! Thirty accountancy students were inducted to the international business honor society at a ceremony held May 5 at Taylor Auditorium.
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Tim Eaton won the Accounting Hall of Fame's inaugural "Accounting Hall of Fame In the Classroom" prize. The selection committee recognized Tim for a classroom innovation that engages students, inspires them throughout the semester, and is easy for other faculty to adopt. He will be recognized at the Accounting Hall of Fame Inductee Celebration Breakfast at the August 2026 American Accounting Association (AAA) Global Connect meeting in Las Vegas.
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Accountancy alumni also recognized by the AAA include Gregory Miller '90 (University of Michigan), who received the Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Literature Award, and Mary Sasmaz '98 (Case Western University), who received the Ernst & Young Foundation Innovation in Accounting Education Award.
- Accountancy Department Chair Anne Farrell was named the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Accountancy Alumnus of the Year.
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Matt Wieland's research study (coauthored with Stewart Jones, University of Sydney), "Valuation of intangible expenditures: Revisiting Bublitz and Ettredge (1989)," has been accepted for publication in Abacus.
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Brian Ballou and Jon Pyzoha's publication, "Does the type of ESG assurance provider and disclosure of subject matter experts influence investor judgments?,” coauthored with Owen Brown (Baylor University) and Greg Jenkins (Auburn University), has been accepted for publication in Behavioral Research in Accounting.
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A paper by Po-Chang Chen and Matt Wieland (along with coauthors Theodore Sougiannis from the University of Illinois and Zach Wang from Uber Technologies), "The Incremental Informativeness of Firm-Disclosed Web Traffic Metrics Beyond Third-Party Estimates," has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy.
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