Washburn University Professor Wins National Accounting Award

One of Washburn University’s School of Business faculty members has been recognized for excelling in her field. The American Accounting Association (AAA) has awarded Dr. Pamela Schmidt, associate professor of accounting and William Lyman Dibble Professor in Accounting, with the 2021 “Accounting Horizons” Best Paper Award. Schmidt and her coauthors earned this award by publishing the best paper in the “Accounting Horizons” journal, as voted on by the journal editors and members of the American Accounting Association.

Schmidt’s paper, “Investigating Accountants’ Resistance to Move Beyond Excel and Adopt New Data Analytics Technology,” examines why accounting professionals and organizations may resist incorporating data analytics technology into their work, instead using Microsoft Excel. Schmidt and her coauthors found that, unlike large companies, small and medium-sized organizations don’t always have the resources to invest in new technology. Schmidt coauthored the paper with two other professors – Dr. Jennifer Riley with the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Dr. Kimberly Swanson Church with Missouri State University.

“Accounting, like many other professions, has changed over the years as more technology and data becomes available,” said David Sollars, dean of Washburn’s School of Business. “It’s important that our students are prepared for the future of the accounting profession, and Dr. Schmidt’s interest in data analytics will undoubtedly help them in their careers.”