Prior to the pandemic, the Accounting Department hosted two research conferences: the Accounting Leading Scholars Symposium series (sponsored by Crowe LLP) and the Hoosier Accounting Research Conference (HARC). With the Accounting Leading Scholars Symposium, the department would invite a prominent influential accounting scholar to address the faculty, work with Ph.D. students, and deliver presentations on what’s new in accounting research and practice. In contrast, HARC brought in four junior scholars from other universities for a two-day conference.
COVID paused all events and conferences for several years. Coming out of the pandemic, the Accounting Department opted to merge these two conferences and create the Kelley Accounting Research Symposium. In September 2022, Jeff Hales from the University of Texas-Austin served as the leading scholar. An expert on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and sustainability, he’s a member of the International Sustainability Standards Board which writes the new ESG reporting standards. The Department then invited in several junior scholars from around the country who conduct research on ESG and sustainability reporting.
“We continue to be extremely grateful to Crowe and IU alum Derek Bang, a partner in the healthcare group, for supporting this initiative,” says Joe Schroeder, Associate Chairperson of the Graduate Accounting Program.
The next Kelley Accounting Research Symposium will occur on November 10-11 and will include leading scholar Robert Knechel from the University of Florida.
“We’re looking forward to making this symposium better and better,” says Schroeder. “We want to find ways for our research initiatives to have a greater impact on the accounting profession and others’ scholarly work.”
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