KPMG’s Professors-In-Residence to Research Audit Innovation Opportunities and Implications for the Future

Two accounting professors are working with U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP as the first-ever KPMG James Marwick professors-in-residence, a new program focused on evolving innovation opportunities and understanding challenges in the audit profession.

Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business Assistant Professor of Accounting Eldar Maksymov, Ph.D., and Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts-Amherst Assistant Professor G. Bradley Bennett, Ph.D., are working with KPMG to better understand innovation in the audit profession and identify how university accounting curriculums can change to keep pace with the rapidly evolving profession.

Each is working in KPMG’s Audit Innovation Group and collaborating with the firm’s Audit Quality and Professional Practice group. The professors are concentrating on the intersection of KPMG’s Audit practice technology investments and standards, including emerging topics and new technologies, such as cognitive and blockchain technologies, and data and analytics.

“The KPMG James Marwick Professor-in-Residence program adds to our Culture of Learning initiatives as we expand our efforts to help university professors enhance their technical skills, gain industry experience and advance their workplace understanding to better prepare future leaders,” said Jackie Daylor, KPMG’s National Managing Partner, Audit Quality and Professional Practice.

The professorship was named in honor of James Marwick, the “M” in KPMG, an accounting pioneer committed to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. KPMG is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, and the professorship is a concrete example of how the firm encourages a culture of continuous learning and creates opportunities to strengthen relationships with prestigious U.S. colleges and universities. In addition to the Professor-in-Residence program, KPMG learning opportunities include KPMG faculty instructors, a Master of Accounting with Data and Analytics program, and other academic initiatives that support the firm’s award-winning digital and classroom training programs.

“The KPMG James Marwick residency program provides professors with an insider’s view of the skills and capabilities KPMG will need in graduating students, and helps them understand the innovation process, one of our strategic priorities,” said KPMG Audit Partner and National Audit Innovation Leader Shaun Budnik.

Maksymov, a recipient of the Center for Audit Quality’s Research Award and the AICPA Accounting Doctoral Scholar Award, previously worked as an auditor with a Big Four firm and brings a wealth of research experience to KPMG. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University and master’s and doctorate degrees from Cornell University.

Bennett is a former KPMG audit manager and Audit practice national trainer. He received a KPMG research grant on auditing topics and is the 2015 AAA/Deloitte Wildman Medal recipient for his paper with Rick Hatfield on “The Effect of the Social Mismatch Between Staff Auditors and Client Management on the Collection of Audit Evidence.” A recipient of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Lilly Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, Bennett holds a doctorate degree from the University of Alabama and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Millsaps College.