Message from the department chair
To our alumni and friends,
The new academic year ushers in much change, challenge and excitement. As we say goodbye to some dear colleagues, friends and our graduating students, we also welcome new members to the Department of Accountancy at Weatherhead School of Management and new cohorts of undergraduate and graduate students. In this year’s newsletter, we celebrate our students, alumni and faculty—and there is so much to be proud of!
On a personal note, I want to thank Professor Tom King for leaving the department in such great shape as I move into the role of department chair. In this new capacity, I look forward to engaging with alumni and colleagues to continue the work that Tom and his predecessors started—helping our graduates find their passion and build lasting careers in this ever-evolving field.
As alumni and supporters of the Department of Accountancy, you are our family. Please reach out to share good news, make new connections or just to say hello.
Sincerely,
Tony Bucaro
Chair, Department of Accountancy
E. Mandell de Windt Endowed Professor in Leadership and Enterprise Development
Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University
In memoriam
Larry Parker taught accounting at Case Western Reserve University for 31 years (1985–2016), He positively influenced several generations of both graduate and undergraduate accounting students at CWRU, and his death in August saddens all who knew him. Parker served in key roles for the Weatherhead School over the years, including as department chair and chair of the Faculty Development Council, and his role as director of the accountancy master’s program for more than a decade will be especially remembered. Teaching accounting came after an incredible life that included service in the elite U.S. Army Rangers. Colleagues and students will remember Professor Parker as exceptionally generous in spirit and a kind soul who never failed to make others feel better.
If you were impacted by Professor Parker in your time at Weatherhead and you are so inclined, when you next give to the department, please consider making your donation in his memory.
New addition to the department
In July 2024, Heidi Bocan joined the department as our new associate director of accountancy. With 26 years of experience at CWRU, including the past 18 years in undergraduate and integrated studies at Weatherhead School of Management, Bocan brings a wealth of expertise and a strong passion for student success to her new role. She is excited about her new responsibilities, which include overseeing various operational duties and assisting with student programs. She is originally from Cleveland and lives on the west side with her family.
2024 Annual Meeting of the American Accounting Association
In August, several faculty members and PhD students attended the annual meeting of the American Accounting Association in Washington, D.C.
Timothy J. Fogarty was presented with the 2024 KPMG Mentoring Award during the week’s events and the nomination included quotes from many of Fogarty’s mentees over his career, who all cited their mentor’s generosity with his time and long-term support.
Piotr Skomra and John Keyser were presented with the Best Innovation in Teaching Award during the Ethics Symposium for their collaborative efforts writing a teaching case on quality control standards.
In a workshop during the Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting, Mary Sasmaz and her research colleagues presented on an open access software they developed to advance active learning, automate grading and reduce cheating in MS Excel assignments.
Faculty members Gary Previts and Heidi Blakeway-Phillips were also in attendance at the annual meeting, as well as our PhD students, Piotr Skomra and Sara Alqahtani, who benefited from their first-time attendance. The meeting was an opportunity for faculty members to renew acquaintances with many PhD graduates now teaching at other schools, including Evelyn McDowell (Rider University), Garen Markarian (Lausanne, Switzerland), Saad Alkazemi (Kuwait University), Dallin Smith (West Texas) and Ally Zimmerman (Florida State University). Fogarty has attended 38 of these meetings, a number well short of that accomplished by Previts.
Many of our faculty members will be attending the next American Accounting Association Annual Meeting in Chicago in August 2025, during which time we will host a gathering of our students and alumni in the Chicago area. Please contact Heid Bocan at hdd@case.edu or 216.368.4141 if you are interested in attending.
Awards, publications and presentations
Tony Bucaro and John Keyser published the case study “Classifying Internal Control Deficiencies: The Case of Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation” in Issues in Accounting Education, drawing on years of experience auditing internal controls and on a real-life case taken from the headlines.
Melissa Carlisle’s 2022 study, “The Effect of Small Audit Firms’ Failure to Remediate the PCAOB’s Quality Control Criticisms on Audit Market Segmentation,” co-authored with Wei Yu and Bryan Church, was cited in the PCAOB's QC1000 audit standard.
Carlisle also published “Shareholder Primacy or Stakeholder Pluralism? Environmental Shareholder Proposals and Board Responses,” co-authored with Melanie Millar and PhD alumna Jacqueline Wukich (GRS ’21, management), in the Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability Journal, Sept. 2023. And in February of this year, she published “Explaining Away Intentional Misstatements: When are Management Excuses Most Effective?” co-authored with Erin L. Hamilton and Jason Smith, in Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory.
John Keyser had a very busy year. In August 2023, he was awarded the Vangermeersch Manuscript Award for his manuscript, “James R. Doty, PCAOB Chairman 2011–2018,” published in the Accounting Historians Journal. More recently, he was awarded the 2023–2024 Weatherhead Graduate Teaching Excellence Award. Keyser also published the following insightful and relevant studies:
- “George Henry Diacont: August 21, 1941 – October 1, 2020” in the Accounting Historians Journal
- “The Regulatory Approach of James R. Doty: PCAOB Chairman 2011–2017” in Abacus
- “The Auditor’s Responsibility for NOCLAR: A Case of Unauthorized Account Activity at Wells Fargo”, with Jason Smith of UNLV, in Issues in Accounting Education
- “Assume or Divide Responsibility? An Experimental Examination of Investors’ Reactions to the Role and Disclosure of Component Auditors in a Financial Statement Audit”, with Jason Smith of UNLV, in Accounting Horizons
- “Examine the Available Evidence: Was the Duhnke PCAOB Captured?”, in Critical Perspectives on Accounting
Tom King published “Estimating the Cost of Equity of Private Companies” in Strategic Finance, a top field journal in financial management.
Mary Sasmaz presented on the basics of the U.S. Individual Income Tax system to attendees of the Cleveland Biomedical Trainee Alliance 2023 Professional Development Day held at CWRU in October of last year.
Department events
Immel Speaker Series
The Immel Speaker Series continued for its second year. Although open to all Weatherhead students, it is specifically geared to help first- and second-year undergraduates understand what drives successful careers and the various paths that can unfold post-graduation. The primary speakers hold undergraduate degrees in accounting, but all have gone on to carve out highly successful careers in diverse areas. In addition to a young alumni roundtable, this year’s topics included driving profitability, leading innovation, wealth management, valuation approaches in mergers and acquisitions, and managing mergers and acquisitions transactions.
The Immel Speaker Series introduced a new facet to the events in the spring, when two students’ names were pulled from a hat and they were invited to join the speakers for dinner at L’Albatros afterwards. Needless to say, this was well-received by students with the result that several students declared their accounting major shortly thereafter. If you have any suggestions for future speakers, please contact Heidi Blakeway-Phillips at hcb33@case.edu or 216.368.2051.
Meet the Firms
The annual Meet the Firms event was held in September 2023, and again in September 2024, at the Tinkham Veale University Center. Sponsored by Beta Alpha Psi, the event continued with its “speed networking” format. This allowed students to interact with representatives from multiple firms looking to hire for internships, practicums and entry-level positions. Keep an eye out for this event again in September 2025!
Braden Lecture
The accountancy department proudly held its 40th annual Andrew D. Braden Award presentation in October of last year, and was honored to welcome Barry Melancon, CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, as the 2023 Braden Award recipient. Melancon discussed various topics, including his insights on the future of public accounting.
The 2024 lecture is scheduled for Nov. 1 in the Dively Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Pavilion and will be delivered by Jacqueline Dalton, senior vice president and chief financial officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
Spring Banquet
The department hosted its annual spring banquet on campus in April to recognize the hard work and dedication of our students and alumni. We were thrilled to welcome Matt Hurley (CWR ’07, MGT ’07) back to campus to deliver the Dickerson Lecture as the Alum of the Year. Matt is a partner with Deloitte Advisory in the Nashville metropolitan area.
Guest appearance
PhD alumna Ally Zimmerman (GRS '16, management) returned to campus in August to share insights from her experience at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and more. Zimmerman served as the academic fellow in the Office of the Chief Accountant at the SEC from Aug. 2023 to July 2024. She is now associate professor of business administration at Florida State University’s College of Business. It was a pleasure to welcome her back to Weatherhead!
Student news
Kyan Howe (Class of 2026) was named a 2024–2025 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants Legacy Scholarship Recipient and received the association’s Scholarship for Minority Accounting Students.
In May 2024, 15 students took part in MGMT 315: International Management Institute in London. The title of the seven-day trip, led by Associate Professor Heidi Blakeway-Phillips, was “Corporate Responsibilities in a Global Context.” In advance of the trip, students had online sessions on global risk management; environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting frameworks; and cross-border acquisitions. Mark Carawan, the former chief compliance officer of Citigroup, video chatted for more than an hour to talk about executive and board responsibilities on corporate governance and risk management.
Once in London, the students met with the ESG team at T Rowe Price, had a personal tour of Lloyds of London, visited the headquarters of British Airways for a presentation in their boardroom, participated in a session at the IFRS and met with former COO of Dentsu International, an international media organization. In addition, the students visited the Bank of England and the Museum of London, attended a venture capital panel at London Business School, and visited with local Weatherhead alumni.
Morganthaler-Pavey Startup Competition
The Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition is named after venture capital leaders David Morgenthaler and Bob Pavey, whose valued input has been a key component of the success of the CWRU Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship. In April, more than 150 attendees gathered in the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] to celebrate the accomplishments of our 20 finalist teams, who pitched their ventures, ideas and research to a group of 20 judges. Two accounting undergraduate students, Ryan Hurley and Jadon Wyant, were among the 2024 winners. Congratulations to both!
Meet-ups—NYC and Washington, D.C.
Continuing a tradition started two years ago, Associate Professor Heidi Blakeway-Phillips invited students interning in New York City and Washington, D.C. to join her for (non-alcoholic) drinks and snacks during her stays in those cities this summer. Recent alumni also joined the event in NYC.
Giving
Gifts to the Department of Accountancy can be made via the Weatherhead School of Management Giving page. Just select “Department of Accountancy” as your designation.
For more information, please contact Heidi Bocan at hdd@case.edu or 216.368.4141.