Coinciding with the introduction of the new Accounting Workshop courses in 2021–22, Department Chair Sonja Rego has initiated a reorganization of the Accounting Advisory Group (AAG). At the most recent AAG meeting in April 2021, Rego explained that the objectives of the group will remain the same: to enhance the effectiveness of the department in its teaching, research, and service missions. However, to increase the AAG’s impact on the accounting programs and students, she is forming a new AAG Executive Board, linking the new Accounting Workshop Advisory Boards to the AAG, and converting the AAG’s “Recognition Committee” to the “Kelley Accounting Alumni Committee.” Overall, these changes are intended to shift the governance burden back to the department and increase AAG member engagement with the accounting department, programs, and students.

The Executive Board will be comprised of 10 to 14 individuals from a broad cross-section of the accounting profession.

The Department Chair will chair the Executive Board, while the Chair of Graduate Accounting Programs and a new “Director of Faculty Outreach” will be standing members of the board. Executive Board members are expected to be highly engaged with the department, programs, and fundraising activities, and encourage others in those efforts. In return, board members will have greater opportunities to interact with students via the Accounting Workshops, case competitions, student organizations, and the core accounting courses.

The new Kelley Accounting Alumni Committee will be chaired by the Faculty Director of Outreach. This committee will be responsible for organizing annual events, recognizing outstanding alumni, and maintaining our network of Kelley Accounting Alumni. Professor Joe Schroeder will serve as the first Faculty Director of Outreach. When asked to comment on this new role, Schroeder said, “We have such a rich tradition at Kelley, and I have been so proud of how our alumni continue to pay it forward for the next generation of Kelley accounting students. I look forward to continuing to foster our network and providing opportunities for everyone to engage with Kelley going forward.”

The AAG will have two special taskforces, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Taskforce and the Data Analytics Taskforce, each of which will be chaired by an accounting faculty (as yet to be named). The DEI Taskforce’s objective is to increase the diversity of accounting students, faculty, and AAG membership and increase participation in DEI-related activities. The objective of the Data Analytics Taskforce is to advise and assist the department in its ongoing efforts to integrate data analytics into the undergraduate and graduate accounting curriculum.

Each of the four new Accounting Workshops—Assurance, Controls, & Information Systems, Tax Advisory Services, Corporate Accounting, and Financial & Transactional Consulting—will have its own Advisory Boards, comprised of four to six accounting professionals that will be involved in workshop activities. These Advisory Board members will be asked to become AAG members if they are not already. The at-large AAG members will be invited to attend the Annual Alumni Event planned by the Kelley Accounting Alumni Committee, two AAG meetings each year, and continue to have opportunities to engage with our accounting programs and students.

Rego hopes the AAG reorganization will increase member engagement starting in the fall of 2021. She values AAG member input on several prominent ongoing curriculum initiatives, including the development and introduction of the Accounting Workshops, the implementation of “Winter Internships,” and the integration of data analytics throughout the accounting curriculum. Accounting alumni and friends who would like to join the AAG should contact Rego at sorego@iu.edu.