Vernon Richardson, distinguished professor of accounting and the W. Glezen Chair in
the Sam M. Walton College of Business, has been selected to serve in the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Technology Innovation Alliance Working Group.
“The PCAOB is one of the most influential regulatory groups in accounting, both domestically
and internationally,” said Gary F. Peters, chair of the William Dillard Department
of Accounting and holder of the S. Robson Walton Endowed Professorship of Accounting.
“Vern’s appointment reflects his exceptional reputation in the field and our continued
contributions to the area of accounting analytics.”
The PCAOB is a nonprofit established by Congress to “oversee the audits of public companies
… to protect investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative,
accurate, and independent audit reports. It also oversees the audits of brokers and
dealers registered with the SEC, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal
securities laws.”
As an advisory committee to the PCAOB, the Technology Innovation Alliance Working
Group is an oversight group comprised of external professionals. It will examine emerging
technologies including those used by financial statement preparers and auditors. The
group will:
1. Advise the PCAOB board on emerging technologies used by auditors and preparers,
and
2. Make recommendations to the board regarding oversight programs addressing these
technologies.
In short, the group will examine the technology that public companies use and, in
doing so, help to protect stockholders and the integrity of audits.
Richardson’s teaching focuses on data analytics, financial accounting and financial
statement analysis. He has co-authored four McGraw Hill textbooks, including Accounting Information Systems, Data Analytics for Accounting, Introduction to Data Analytics for Accounting and Introduction to Business Analytics. He has held positions as editor or associate editor at Accounting Review, Accounting Horizons, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Information Systems and the International Journal of Accounting Information Systems.
Richardson received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting and an M.B.A.
from Brigham Young University. He earned a Ph.D. in accounting from the University
of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
