UNDERGRADUATE PREPARATION AND DISSERTATION METHODOLOGIES OF ACCOUNTING PHDS OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS

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1 Globl Perspectives on Accounting Eduction Volume 7, 2010, UNDERGRADUATE PREPARATION AND DISSERTATION METHODOLOGIES OF ACCOUNTING PHDS OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS Mrvin Bouillon College of Business Centrl Wshingn University Ellensburg, Wshingn USA Sue Rvenscroft College of Business Iow Stte University Ames, Iow USA ABSTRACT There is shortge of ccounting fculty nd this shortge is predicted worsen in the future. The number of new PhDs in ccounting hs declined from pproximtely 200 per yer in the lte 1980 s nd erly 1990 s just over 100 per yer in recent yers. Currently, we expect pproximtely new ccounting fculty positions open up nnully over the next five ten yers. We believe tht there hs been nrrowing of the number of PhD cndidtes coming from fields other thn ccounting nd other business relted fields. If this is true, we believe tht the number of ccounting PhDs could be incresed nd the shortge could be reduced by incresing the number of nonccounting/nonbusiness bchelor degree holders in ccounting PhD progrms. In this study, we exmined ptterns in the undergrdute mjors of ccounting docrtes over forty-yer time period determine whether there ws such nrrowing nd how it relted the tl number of ccounting docrtes issued. We find tht the percentge of non-ccounting undergrdutes ws highest when the number of ccounting PhDs grnted nnully ws the highest. We lso nlyze the frequency of pics nd reserch methods used in ccounting disserttions determine whether shifts in pics nd reserch methods re relted chnges in the tl number of ccounting docrtes. Results indicte tht pics ddressed nd methodologies used in disserttions hve become less diverse. Thus, we could 19

2 20 Bouillon nd Rvenscroft perhps increse the supply of ccounting PhDs by expnding the pplicnt pool include undergrdutes with nonccounting/business degrees. INTRODUCTION The Assocition Advnce Collegite Schools of Business (AACSB) hs documented n existing shortge of PhDs in business disciplines nd projected tht future shortges will continue (AACSB 2003). In its report, the AACSB notes tht the shortge is prticulrly cute in ccounting. Similrly, in report commissioned by the Americn Accounting Assocition, Kchelmeier et l. (2005) provide the results of tringulted study nd reffirm the AACSB s 1 concerns relted ccounting PhDs. Kchelmeier et l (2005) focused on current PhD students in their study. As the bby boom genertion of ccounting professors pproches retirement ge, the shortfll is projected become more criticl nd pronounced. Shrmn (2007) stted, there re 50% fewer ccounting PhD students in the United Sttes dy thn there were just 10 yers go, nd the number will likely be hlved in nother decde. 2 While the profession of public ccounting is fcing incresed demnd for new stff professionls, in prt due Srbnes Oxley, the number of people qulified tech in ccredited institutions nd educte those new professionls is declining. In ddition, business school dens fce pressure for incresed MBA rnkings, which diverts resources from PhD progrms. In fct, during periods of tight economic conditions, business school dens find it difficult justify the high costs nd low enrollments of PhD progrms. The number of replcements for soon--be-retiring fculty in the form of newly grduted docrl cndidtes will not suffice mintin existing fculty numbers. Shrmn (2007) views this s the The Vicious Cycle. During her term s President of the AAA, Judy Ryburn hypothesized tht docrl progrms re drwing from nrrower group of undergrdutes thn they did formerly (Ryburn, 2006). The purpose of this pper is empiriclly test Ryburn s hypothesis nd ugment Kchelmeier et l. (2005) by studying the undergrdute preprtion of ccounting PhDs for mjor chnges over fortyyer time period. Additionlly, we exmine trends over time in the reserch methodology used by ccounting PhDs in their disserttions. We do so becuse s the supply of ccounting docrtes comes from nrrower group, reserchers rgue tht there hs been simultneous nrrowing scope of mny of the p ccounting journls. Willims et l. (2006) focus on the behviorl strem of experimentl nd survey-bsed reserch nd find tht it ppers significntly less frequently in U. S. p-tier journls nd hs, gret extent, shifted Accounting, Orgniztions nd Society, journl bsed in the United Kingdom. The Journl of Accounting Reserch, Accounting Review nd Journl of Accounting nd Economics publish primrily finncil/economic-bsed reserch (Bonner et l. 2006). If the p-tier journls re focused on reltively nrrow scope of reserch, fculty t PhD 1 A shortened version of the full report is vilble t Plumlee et l. (2006). During this time, strting slries for new PhDs hve become very competitive. Plumlee et l. (2006) found 2 tht more thn two-thirds of docrl grnting universities expected py t lest $135,000 bse slry for new ssistnt professors. Menwhile, Gry et l. (2009) found tht n ccounting PhD could ern positive return on their investment over n cdemic creer. Their nlysis included n opportunity cost ssocited with four six yer term s PhD student.

3 Acdemic Bckground of PhDs 21 3,4 grnting institutions re more likely do reserch on pics of interest these journls. This would put downwrd pressure on committees dmitting new PhD students ccept pplicnts who hve strong business preprtion nd strong quntittive bckground. In the next section we provide bckground informtion nd develop the reserch questions. We follow tht with the methodology used study these issues. The results re then presented, followed by discussion of the limittions, nd our conclusions. BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS Kchelmeier et l. (2005) surveyed deprtment heds, docrl progrm dministrrs nd docrl students. They provide demogrphics of the 231 docrl cndidte respondents, describing the modl ccounting PhD student s 30-yer-old mle born in the United Sttes, with n ccounting degree, one five yers of public ccounting experience, certifiction s CPA, nd n bility self-finnce the PhD progrm without incurring debt, (2005, 21). Thus we hve recent benchmrk nd cn look retrospectively t whether chnges in undergrdute trining hve occurred. Over 80 percent of the docrl students Kchelmeier et l. surveyed hd erned n ccounting degree t the undergrdute or grdute level. At the undergrdute level, the 231 respondents hd erned 226 ccounting or other business degrees nd 35 non-business degrees. The number of degrees is greter thn the number of respondents becuse some hd erned double mjors. At the grdute level, 165 respondents hd erned either Msters in Accounting or n MBA. We extend Kchelmeier et l (2005) by exmining undergrdute preprtion for ccounting PhDs over 40 yer period. This longitudinl study illustrtes tht the undergrdute preprtion of ccounting PhDs ws more diverse in the pst. In study of docrte credentils, Mrshll, et l. (2006) surveyed 144 ccounting fculty members, 96 of whom hd ccounting PhDs nd 48 of whom hd PhDs in fields other thn ccounting. Both groups were sked rte their bilities in 20 brod res. As the uthors expected, nonccounting PhDs rted tht their PhD progrm nd undergrdute progrm better prepred them integrte nonccounting pics in their teching. Bsed on this study, it could be rgued tht one wy of incresing the number of ccounting fculty members would be bring more nonccounting PhDs in the profession, vi reltively short-term trining progrm often clled bridge progrm. Trends in cdemic ccounting reserch my lso ffect ptterns in entry the cdemic profession. Once pplicnts hve entered docrl progrms nd completed substntil coursework, the most significnt chllenge is the disserttion. The US ccounting cdemic community hs been nrrowing the rnge of methods nd pics of reserch ppering in the p journls. Bonner et l. (2006) provide evidence tht the rticles ppering in the p three journls do not reflect the composition of fculty nd their expressed reserch nd teching interests listed in the nnul 3 The dwindling resources for ccounting PhD progrms nd the focus by current fculty on finncil/economics bsed reserch would suggest tht new pplicnts would need better grounding in quntittive skills such s sttistics, clculus, econometrics, etc. This ppers fvor interntionl pplicnts for PhD progrms nd reduces the opportunities for domestic students from psychology, English, hisry, sociology, etc. In recent discussion with den who served on n AACSB visittion tem, he stted tht his school only 4 looked t three or four journls when n individul ws being promoted.

4 22 Bouillon nd Rvenscroft Hsselbck fculty direcries. Willims et l. (2006) find tht behviorl experimentl nd surveybsed reserch ppers significntly less frequently in U. S. p-tier journls nd hs, gret extent, shifted Accounting, Orgniztions nd Society, journl bsed in the United Kingdom. If pplicnts docrl progrms consider their disserttion experience s they pply progrms, nrrowing or winnowing of the cceptble pics nd pproches could be deterrent people whose interests lie beyond those confines. Agin, the purpose of this pper is extend Kchelmeier et l. (2005) by studying the undergrdute preprtion of ccounting PhDs over forty-yer time period. We hypothesize tht there would be greter concentrtion of ccounting/finnce or other business bckgrounds over time. We lso hypothesize tht the reserch methodology of ccounting disserttions hs become more finncil/economics bsed in recent yers. We study this issue by exmining the reserch methodology used by ccounting PhDs in their disserttions. METHODOLOGY We used n electronic survey sk ccounting fculty nd dministrrs bout their degrees erned from undergrdute through docrl level, the yers those degrees were erned nd mjor fields of study. We lso sked for disserttion titles nd reserch methodology used in their disserttion. We tringulted the nlysis of possible trends in disserttion reserch by use of Spicelnd (1986) nd Spicelnd nd Zekny (1996). Hsselbck (2006) ws used s the strting point for our smple selection. From the more thn 7,000 nmes listed we deleted 2,931 nmes if the person hd no degree designted, did not hve PhD, did not hve n emil ddress, or n emil ws returned s nondeliverble. In tl, we sent 4,190 e-mil surveys fculty who met the criteri nd hd current vlid e-mil ddresses. The overll response rte ws 43.0 percent or 1,803 good responses returned. Undergrdute mjors were clssified s ccounting if respondents listed ccounting s one 5 of their mjors when they received their first undergrdute degree. The next degree ctegory we list seprtely is finnce, which we listed if respondents hd finnce s one of their mjors nd did 6 not hve n ccounting degree. If respondents listed neither ccounting nor finnce s mjor, but hd business degree, then they were clssified s other business mjors. The respondents who hd degrees outside of business were clssified in the broder ctegory of nonbusiness mjors. This grouping included mjors in economics, biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, socil sciences, humnities, eduction, mthemtics nd sttistics, mong others. To explore possible trends in ccounting disserttion pics nd methods, we relied on Spicelnd (1986) nd Spicelnd nd Zekny (1996) for informtion pertining docrl disserttions written from Spicelnd (1986) provides uthor, title, school, dte, pges, methodology nd pic of the disserttion on 1,752 disserttions from Spicelnd nd Zekny (1996) provide similr dt on 2,091 disserttions from We deleted the fortyseven disserttions from 1985 tht were included in both books, leving 1,705 useble disserttions 5 We looked only t the first undergrdute degree becuse we felt tht this would be the respondents true re of interest. In other words, person who erns n undergrdute degree in ccounting five yers fter erning their undergrdute degree in chemistry would be clssified s nonbusiness mjor. 6 This process ws needed if respondents hd more thn one mjor within their first undergrdute degree.

5 Acdemic Bckground of PhDs 23 from Spicelnd (1986). We hd 1,982 useble observtions from the lter direcry (Spicelnd nd Zekny, 1996) fter deleting 109 disserttions tht showed no methodology. Another 427 observtions for individuls receiving their ccounting PhD fter 1994 were obtined through short electronic survey. In tl, we hd 4,114 useble observtions. Spicelnd (1986) ctegorized disserttions s (1) rchivl, (2) experimentl, (3) field study, (4) finncil sttement dt-bsed, (5) mrket-bsed, nd (6) model-bsed. Spicelnd nd Zekny (1996) used five similr ctegories of (1) rchivl primry, (2) rchivl secondry, (3) experimentl/simultion, (4) internl logic, nd (5) surveys/cses in this study. We creted one list by re-ctegorizing the originl six ctegories (Spicelnd 1986) in the five ctegories from Spicelnd nd Zekny (1996): Field studies s Surveys/Cses Finncil sttement dt-bsed nd mrket-bsed studies s Archivl - Primry Archivl studies s Archivl - Secondry Model-bsed studies s Internl Logic Experimentl s Experimentl/Simultion The distribution of disserttion methodology is presented in five-yer or hlf decde periods (from 1976 through 2006), ccording when the ccounting PhD ws erned. RESULTS Tble 1 provides the number of ccounting PhD degrees erned from 1960 through 2008, prtitioned in five-yer time periods. All degrees erned before 1960 were grouped gether becuse no respondents our survey grduted before The verge number of ccounting PhD degrees erned per yer ws lso provided for ech five-yer time period. 7 Tble 1 illustrtes tht the ccounting PhD degree is firly new. There were only 286 ccounting PhD degrees wrded before The pek time periods for ccounting PhD degrees erned were the hlf-decdes of nd when 196 nd 195 ccounting PhD degrees were erned on verge per yer, respectively. Menwhile, the second hlf of the 1990s nd the 2000s verged only 155 nd 128 ccounting PhD degrees erned per yer, respectively. After 1998, the numbers of ccounting PhD degrees erned nnully rnged from Tble 2 presents distribution of the first undergrdute mjor bsed on the time period when 8 the ccounting PhD degree ws erned. We use four groups cpture the different mjors such s ccounting, finnce, other business, nd nonbusiness. Agin, we use five-yer or hlf decde time 9 periods, except for the 1960s nd the 2000s. We provide percentges of tl mjors for four groups. This tble demonstrtes the vrition in undergrdute preprtion of ccounting PhD students over 46-yer period. 7 Dt for Tble 1 were generously provided the uthors by Jim Hsselbck. 8 Dt for Tble 2 cme from survey. Therefore, the smple is subset of Tble 1. If n ccounting PhD erned his/her PhD in 1998 nd erned n undergrdute degree in chemistry in , we would hve clssified this person s nonbusiness/economic mjor in the group

6 24 Bouillon nd Rvenscroft TABLE 1 Summry of Accounting PhD Degrees Erned by Hlf Decde Before * 2008 Totl Totl # of PhD Degrees Erned Averge # of PhD Degrees Erned per Yer , * Dt re for four yer period ( ) TABLE 2 st Distribution of 1 Undergrdute Mjor Bsed on When the Accounting PhD Ws Erned Undergrdute Mjor * ** Accounting (A) Finnce (F) Other Business (O) Nonbusiness Totl A (%) 60.0% 66.3% 46.7% 55.6% 48.2% 59.5% 59.0% 66.2% A & F (%) 60.0% 69.5% 48.2% 56.6% 50.5% 61.3% 63.1% 69.1% A, F, & O (%) 70.0% 78.9% 62.0% 65.3% 57.8% 68.9% 71.0% 75.5% * ** Significnt t.0001 level Dt is for 10-yer period ( ). Dt is for seven-yer period ( ). Tble 2 shows tht the percentges of ccounting fculty from our survey with ccounting undergrdute mjors were t 60 percent or bove from 1960 through 1974 nd during the 2000s. The lowest percentges occurred from 1975 through The 1990s were slightly higher thn the period of time from 1975 through When we look t business undergrdute mjors

7 Acdemic Bckground of PhDs 25 (ccounting, finnce nd other business), the lowest percentges occurred from 1975 through 1989 gin. The time period ws just under 70 percent. All other time groups were t 70 percent or greter. From lte , when the percentge of non-ccounting undergrdutes ws highest (Tble 2), the bsolute numbers of ccounting PhDs grnted nnully were lso the highest (Tble 1). The growth in ccounting docrtes issued from 1975 through 1994 cme primrily from the influx of more students with non-business bckgrounds. For exmple, nonbusiness bckgrounds ccounted for 38.0%, 34.7%, 42.2% nd 31.1% respectively for the time periods , , , nd No other time period ws bove 30 percent. A simple Chi-Squre test for differences in distributions ws performed test for significnt difference cross the time period nd ws found be significnt. We looked t three business-relted groupings, formed by beginning with only ccounting nd dding one more business mjor ech preceding group; we dded mjors in the following order: finnce nd other business. Ech of these tests indicted tht there ws significnt difference in distributions t the.0001 level. Spicelnd nd Zekny s (1996) descriptions for the disserttion methodology ctegories re given in Tble 3. These ctegories were used clssify 4,114 ccounting disserttions from the erly 1970 s through Tble 4 summrizes ll ccounting disserttions by brod reserch ctegory (which subsumes the reserch pproch s well). The results show tht during the decde of the 1970's nd the first hlf of the 1980s, the survey method nd cse studies were the modl pproch disserttion work. However, the percentge of disserttions bsed on survey nd cses declined from 43.6 percent TABLE 3 Description of Disserttion Methodology Ctegories Archivl - Primry Archivl - Secondry Experimentl/Simultion Internl Logic Uses lrge mchine redble dtbses (e.g., COMPUSTAT, CRSP) s well s dt compiled by others in non-mgnetic form (e.g., 10-K reports) Consists primrily of literture reviews nd reviews of legl decisions. It looks t issues generlly compring other studies. Experimentl involves vrible mnipultion (lso includes questionnires contining hypotheticl cse(s)). Simultion involves computer-bsed simultion ppers nd rndom numbers. Includes nlyticl ppers s well s individul opinion type priori ppers. Survey/Cses Survey uses questionnire nd/or interview pproch sking for fcts or opinions bout certin issues. Cses exmine prticulr issue by crefully observing field sitution but not interfering with it. Spicelnd nd Zekny (1996)

8 26 Bouillon nd Rvenscroft Disserttion Methodologies TABLE 4 Distribution of Disserttion Methodologies Bsed on When the Accounting PhD Degree Ws Erned * 2006 Totl Archivl - Primry , % 31.3% 30.7% 43.5% 49.1% 57.1% 53.9% 69.8% Archivl - Secondry % 7.3% 7.0% 3.7% 0.5% 2.4% 1.1% 0.5% Experimentl/Simultion % 19.5% 20.3% 21.3% 21.1% 23.9% 22.8% 13.4% Internl Logic % 10.3% 9.2% 6.6% 8.1% 2.4% 3.9% 4.1% Survey/Cses % 31.6% 32.9% 24.8% 21.2% 14.2% 18.3% 12.1% Totl , ,392 Significnt t.0001 level * Dt is for seven yer period ( ). Dt for ws bsed on Spicelnd (1986) nd Spicelnd nd Zekny (1996). Dt for ws bsed on five question survey provided persons who received PhD. during the first hlf of the 1970's low of 14.2 percent during the ltter hlf of the 1990s, with slight increse 18.3 percent since Inversely, the rchivl-primry method (the clssifiction for mrket-bsed empiricl studies) rose from 21.3 percent during the first hlf of the 1970s 53.9 percent during the yers since Agin, simple Chi-Squre test illustrtes tht the probbilities of the different disserttion pics over seven different time periods hve chnged significntly t the.0001 level. LIMITATIONS The dt we relied upon do not llow us determine whether the composition of the pplicnt pool ccounting docrl progrms hs remined constnt while cceptnce or dmission ptterns hve chnged, or whether the composition of the pplicnt pool hs shifted over time, leving dmission committees fewer options. Although we cnnot estblish cuslity, we believe tht trends found in the dt provide evidence tht brodening the criteri for cceptnce in docrl progrms could generte more pplicnts. Alterntively, if pplicnts with non-ccounting bckgrounds re not being denied entrnce, but rther re not pplying docrl progrms, then

9 Acdemic Bckground of PhDs 27 n lterntive course of ction would be indicted do more recruiting mong non-ccounting undergrdutes. To ugment the dt from the two published disserttion direcries, whose coverge ends t 1996, we electroniclly surveyed docrtes who grduted since tht time, sking for their undergrdute mjor nd yer, their PhD disserttion pic nd method nd yer docrte ws obtined. We reviewed 54 rndomly selected bstrcts vlidte greement with the respondents' clssifictions. Results in Tble 4 pper be consistent with recent reserch findings by Bonner et l. (2006) nd Willims et l. (2006). 10 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The number of ccounting PhDs erned ws lrgest during the time period. On verge, 195 new ccounting PhDs were grnted per yer during tht time. Additionlly, the percentge of nonbusiness undergrdute mjors ( percent) ws highest for our smple from 1975 through The lrgest percentge of nonbusiness undergrdute mjors occurred from (42.2 percent). There ws lso broder cceptnce of reserch methodologies such s surveys nd cses before The increse in dtbses nd sttisticl pckges, such s Compustt, hs mde it esier for PhD student do n rchivl primry type disserttion. Unsurprisingly, the percentge of disserttions using n rchivl primry reserch methodology hs incresed over the period studied. In fct, bout 53.9 percent of disserttions of ccounting PhDs erned in our study from used the rchivl primry reserch methodology. As new dtbses becme more redily vilble for fculty teching undergrdutes, students with ccounting, finnce or business bckgrounds would become more likely hve hd prior experience with the dtbses. We believe tht the current shortge in PhDs is probbly ffecting different types of business schools differently. For exmple, reserch intensive institution such s Michign Stte University will probbly be less ffected thn comprehensive university, such s Estern Michign University, becuse students coming out of PhD progrm will more likely pursue their first job t nother reserch institution. Therefore, qulity PhD progrms will probbly focus on nd hire individuls from nrrower undergrdute preprtion with nrrower reserch focus thn they did during 1985 through There is currently some discussion of providing n bbrevited cdemic trining retiring professionl ccountnts s wy expnd eligible fculty rnks. Two other innovtive pproches developing more ccounting fculty re currently being explored. Mrshll et l. (2006) provide sttisticl support for the bridge progrm, which would ccept docrtes in fields other thn ccounting, nd provide them with n ccelerted, concentrted two yers of ccounting trining. 11 A second is the Accounting Docrl Scholrs (ADS) progrm, funded by the Big Four, nd focused on recruiting experienced tx nd udit professionls in docrl progrms nd providing generous 10 At the 2007 Annul AAA meeting, in converstion Professor Steve Kchelmeier mentioned tht 63% of the ttendees of the recent New Fculty Consortium expressed n interest in finncil ccounting reserch, providing further evidence of nrrowing of the reserch strem in the current pipeline. AccountingWeb.com (2008) sttes tht the AACSB Bridge Progrm will not dd substntilly the 11 number of PhDs needed educte future ccountnts. They stte tht AACSB s dtbse lists only 78 cndidtes.

10 28 Bouillon nd Rvenscroft 12 stipends for four yers of docrl study. Both of these progrms could increse the number of new ccounting fculty. The former would help ddress the nrrowness in erlier cdemic bckground tht we hve discussed erlier in the pper. In summry, we provide dt showing tht in recent decdes the number of ccounting docrtes incresed when the number of people with non-business bckgrounds entered the docrl progrms in greter numbers. The high productive er of ccounting is not explined by higher percentges of ccounting undergrdutes entering docrl progrms. In closing, we suggest some courses of ction tht might broden the pool from which we select potentil ccounting PhDs. REFERENCES AccountingWeb.com ( Assocition Advnce Collegite Schools of Business Interntionl (AACSB) Sustining Scholrship in Business Schools. (St. Louis, MO: AACSB Interntionl). Bonner, S. E., J. W. Hesford, W. A. VnDerStede, nd S. M. Young The Most Influentil Journls in Acdemic Accounting. Accounting, Orgniztions nd Society (Vol. 31, No. 7) Gry, R. F., C. A. Denison, nd M. L. Bouillon Is There Finncil Return for n Accounting Ph.D. Degree? Working pper. Hsselbck, J Accounting Fculty Direcry (Upper Sddle River, NJ: Prentice- Hll). Kchelmeier, S. J., S. A. Mdeo, D. Plumlee, J. H. Prtt, nd G. Krull Supply nd Demnd for Accounting Ph.D.s. Americn Accounting Assocition. Srsot, FL. Avilble on Mrshll, P. D., R. F. Dombrowski, nd R. M. Grner. September/Ocber An Exmintion of Alterntive Sources of Docrl Accounting Fculty. Journl of Eduction for Business (Vol. 82, No. 1) Plumlee, R. D., S. J. Kchelmeier, S. A. Mdeo, J. H. Prtt, nd G. Krull Assessing the Shortge of Accounting Fculty. Issues in Accounting Eduction (Vol. 21, No. 2) Ryburn, J President s Messge. Accounting Eduction News (Vol. 33, No. 4) 1-4. Ruff, M., J. C. Thibodeu, nd J. C. Bedrd A Profession s Response Looming Shortge: Closing the Gp in the Supply of Accounting Fculty. Journl of Accountncy (Vol. 207, No. 3) Scott, K Addressing the Shortge of Accounting PhD Fculty: Foundtion Supports PhD Cndidte, Lunches New Giving Progrm. Shrmn, P. A The Ph.D. Shortge. Strtegic Finnce (Vol. 88, No. 10) 8, 55. Spicelnd, J. D Direcry of Disserttions in Accounting. (New York, NY: Mrkus Wiener Publishers). Ruff et l. (2009) stte tht 66 of the lrgest CPA firms, 36 of the stte societies nd the AICPA 12 Foundtion begn the ADS progrm encourge prcticing udit nd tx professionls consider n cdemic creer in ccounting. A quick look t severl stte society websites will show their connections ADS. Scott (2009) discusses how the Wshingn Society of Certified Public Accountnts is pproching ADS.

11 Acdemic Bckground of PhDs 29, nd K. E. Zekny Direcry of Disserttions in Accounting. (Princen, NJ: Mrkus Wiener Publishers). Willims, P. F., J. G. Jenkins, nd L. Ingrhm The Winnowing Awy of Behviorl Accounting Reserch in the US: The Process for Anointing Acdemic Elites. Accounting, Orgniztions nd Society (Vol. 31, No. 8)