Dear Friends of the Department of Accounting:

As I write this letter, we have just finished one of the most unprecedented semesters in recent memory. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students, faculty and staff rapidly transitioned to online classes mid-semester. We all navigated a different way of learning, instructing and connecting.

The Department remained connected, albeit virtually, with the students outside of the classroom. We hosted weekly speakers and opened Zoom sessions to check-in with students and support their professional development. We created an online hub of information that will be a platform for future communications.

Most importantly, we celebrated the Class of 2020 virtually in May. We celebrated that unique Fox and Temple experience recognized students’ scholarship and academics achievements, and welcomed them to the ranks of Temple alumni. While we missed recognizing our students with the traditional graduation ceremony in May, Temple is looking for ways to celebrate in-person when we return to campus.  

Sadly, we had to postpone our Accounting Achievement Awards banquet. We missed getting together with you and honoring our accomplished alumni. We are planning to hold the awards banquet in the spring of 2021. 

Even before the unexpected impact of the COVID-19, the Department had been a center of activity. At the beginning of spring, we introduced our strategic plan. Through involving faculty and staff, surveying students, and conducting focus groups, our major stakeholders played a critical role in shaping the future of the Department of Accounting. Our vision is to transform students, develop leaders in the accounting profession and impact local and global accounting communities through excellence and innovation in accounting education and research. Our values of collaboration, diversity and inclusion, empowerment, ethics and integrity, and innovation align with the values of the Fox School and will guide our actions.

We are also excited to announce Jayanthi Krishnan, professor and Merves Research Fellow, has been appointed to a three-year term as the senior editor of Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory (AJPT). AJPT, a publication of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association, is recognized worldwide as the top academic journal in auditing. This recognition further confirms Temple’s research leadership. Congratulations, Professor Krishnan!

In this newsletter, you can read about the Department’s other activities including innovations in our undergraduate and graduate curriculums, the success of our young alumni and faculty expertise in the real world.

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for engaging with our students and student organizations, recruiting students for internships and full-time positions, serving on our Accounting Circle, contributing to the Department, and supporting us in so many other ways.

As members of the Temple family, I hope that you, your families, neighbors and community are staying safe and healthy.  Know that you will get full disclosure in footnotes from Fox. Go Owls!