On June 22-23, the Department hosted its inaugural accounting research conference at the Skelton Conference Center. Academics from around the country joined Pamplin faculty and PhD students in discussing leading research in accounting. In all we had 40 attendees who contributed to the exchange of knowledge during the conference. The conference concluded with a beautiful hike to Cascade Falls.

Invited presenters were Jonas Heese from Harvard University; Andy Imdieke from the University of Notre Dame; Ben Commerford from the University of Kentucky; Jim Naughton from Northwestern University; Dan Lynch from the University of Wisconsin; and Lauren Reid from Wake Forest University. Virginia Tech faculty discussed papers after the speakers’ presentations and led active question and answer sessions.

Matt Cobabe speaks at the Inaugural Accounting Research Conference
Presenter at Inaugural Accounting Research Conference
Participants discuss topic at the Inaugural Accounting Research Conference

The research presented was diverse, reflecting the broad range of interesting questions accountants investigate today and included analysis of: whether reduced travel time leads to better internal monitoring; the effectiveness of PCAOB regulatory actions; whether auditor scrutiny deters managerial opportunism; the effect of credit rating changes on voluntary disclosure; externalities stemming from the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017; and whether CFO leisure time influences financial reporting quality.

The conference was such a success that plans for the second research conference are already under way!