The Purdue Global Accounting team is honored to contribute to our student monthly newsletter. The accounting team has been working diligently on exciting changes in accounting education including the recent upgrade to ten-week courses in our graduate program. Our own recently appointed Chair, Tonjua McCullough is leading the process to enrich our program to better meet industry changes and CPA requirements over all fifty states. Three recent changes to our graduate program include new course material in data analytics, auditing electronic data, and upgrades to tax accounting.

The accounting department is also growing with new full-time and adjunct instructors. Our full-time faculty team includes:

Kristopher Blanchard, Ph.D.

Broderick Martinez, DBA

Alfred Greenfield, Ph.D.

Rachel Byers, Ph.D., CPA

Syl DeAngelo, Ph.D.

Cynthia Waddell, PhD, CPA, CFE

Kristen Swisher, Ph.D.

Monica Hubler, DBA

Sharon Brown, Ph.D.

Jaclyn Felder-Strauss, CPA, MS

Stanley Self, DBA, CFE

John Kuhn, Ph.D.

William Hahn, DBA

You can meet the accounting faculty at: Business Faculty.

As part of our ongoing initiative to keep our accounting program robust, our team is currently discussing what makes a good accountant. A few opinions from some of our accounting faculty include:

“A good accountant is someone who is knowledgeable about accounting rules and regulations and carries out their duties with ethical fortitude.” Dr. Kristen Swisher, Ph.D.

“It depends…if someone needs general accounting help, they may just need to go to a good bookkeeper but if someone needs extensive help with an IRS audit, they may need a CPA or an Enrolled Agent. Therefore, a really good accountant will be able to listen carefully to the client to help them determine exactly what they need.” Stanley Self, DBA.

“Strong analytical and critical thinking skills are what make a good accountant. I will never forget when an FBI Agent came to speak to one of the upper-level accounting courses I was in during college. I assumed he was recruiting accountants to do forensic accounting, but that wasn't the case. The FBI actually recruits those with accounting backgrounds to be field agents because of their analytical skills.” Dr. Rachel Byers, PhD, CPA.

“What makes a good accountant is a virtuous person who can discern the accounting rules and act with integrity despite the situation or surrounding circumstances. Moral and competent people are counted upon to do the right thing and lead the future of the accounting profession. During my dissertation study, results indicated that ethics in education is a compulsory quality in the accounting profession.” Dr. Sylvia DeAngelo, Ph.D.

According to our faculty team, good people make good accountants! PG students should strive to build competent analytical skills, listen to your client, be devoted to your accounting profession, commit to moral values, and excel in the accounting field! The accounting team at PG is committed to leading students in a successful journey in development of these aptitudes and proficiencies through role modeling our own expertise, quality, experiences, and ethical competencies in the classroom. Our future accounting topics on the table include changes in accounting certification, uncovering misconceptions about accountants, accounting technology, the future of AI accounting, and more.

Sylvia DeAngelo, Ph.D.

sdeangelo@purdueglobal.edu