PhD in Accounting

During the first two years of our program, you will explore both quantitative and qualitative methodology courses and take a series of core seminars in Financial Accounting, Auditing and Assurance, Managerial Control Systems, Judgment and Decision-Making. Students also take an Accounting Workshop which considers special topics in accounting research, and a specialized Independent Research Project course under the guidance of your faculty advisor. Upon completion of the coursework phase of the program and related comprehensive exams, students advance to the dissertation stage. Dissertation students enroll in a 9 credit Dissertation Course each semester until graduation. The PhD in Accounting can be completed in 4 or 5 years.

PhD in Accounting Curriculum - 42 Credits

PhD Courses:

• PhD 1640 -- Intro to Quant & Stats Workshop - 0 credits
• PACC 1604 -- Accounting Workshop Parts I-IV - 3 credits  
• PhD 1750 -- Independent Summer Research Project - 3 credits  
• PhD 1650 -- Teaching Workshop - 0 credits  

PhD Methods Courses:

• PhD 1502 -- Quantitative Analysis I - 3 credits    
• PhD 1504 -- Quantitative Analysis II - 3 credits  
• PhD 1506 -- Quantitative Research Methods I - 3 credits  
• PhD 1503 -- Qualitative Research Methods I - 3 credits  

Accounting PhD Courses:

• PACC 1607 -- Intro to Accounting Research - 3 credits
• PACC 1602 -- Auditing and Assurance - 3 credits    
• PACC 1605 -- Judgement and Decision-Making - 3 credits  
• PACC 1603 -- Managerial Control Systems - 3 credits  
• PACC 1601 -- Financial Accounting - 3 credits  

Elective Courses: 

• Two Methods Electives - 6 credits    
• Open Elective - 3 credits

Research topics for the PhD in Accounting include, but are not limited to, audit quality, management control, investor decision-making, accounting information systems, information technology controls, tax, and corporate governance.

Scholarship in the Department of Accounting has several areas of focus. Archival and database research, for example, uses existing corporate accounting information and/or stock market information to analyze corporate governance behavior or firm reaction to changes in the accounting environment or accounting rules. Behavioral research employs experiments and surveys to gather behavior data. A strong relationship between the department and the accounting profession has facilitated access to accounting professional research subjects not available to other institutions. Finally, faculty undertake Accounting pedagogical research that produces widely uses accounting cases and textbooks as well as articles reporting on curricular innovations at Bentley.

The Department of Accounting is nationally ranked in audit research and accounting education research as measured by the most recent Brigham Young University Accounting Research Ranking study. Department members publish in a variety of journals, including Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Review of Financial Studies, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, Accounting Horizons, Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research, Issues in Accounting Education, Current Issues in Auditing, Journal of Investigative and Forensic Accounting, and the Managerial Auditing Journal. 

Collaborative Research Publications

A selection of published collaborative research between Bentley Accounting Faculty and PhD Students and Alumni:

Alberti, C.T., Bedard, J.C., Bik, O. and Vanstraelen, A. (2020). Audit Firm Culture: Recent Developments and Trends in the Literature. European Accounting Review, 1-51.

Andiola, L.M., Bedard, J.C. and Westermann, K.D. (2019). It’s not my fault! Insights into subordinate auditors’ attributions and emotions following audit review. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 38(1): 1-27.

Burke, J., Hoitash, R., Hoitash, U. and Xiao, S. (2021). The costs and benefits of retirement policies at U.S. audit firms, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy. 40 (4):1-21.

Burke, J.J., Hoitash, R. Hoitash, U. and Xiao, S. (2023). The disclosure and consequences of US critical audit matters. The Accounting Review, 98(2), 59-95.

Cannon, N.H., Bedard, J.C. and Schnader, A. (2019). Auditor Reporting and Regulatory Sanctions in the Broker-Dealer Industry: From Self-Regulation to PCAOB Oversight. Contemporary Accounting Research, 36(4), 2554–2587.

Downey, D.H. and Bedard, J.C. (2019). Coordination and communication challenges in global group audits. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 38(1): 123-147.

Durkin, M., Rose, J. and Thibodeau, J. (2020). Can Simple Metaphors Be Used as Decision Aids to Promote Professional Skepticism?, Journal of Information Systems, 34(1), 47-60.

Garrett, J.B., Hoitash, R. and Prawitt, D.F. (2022). Perceptions of Tone at the Top from the Inside: Insights into Audit Pricing. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 41(1): 115-141.

Garrett, J.B., Livingston, J.A., Tayler, W.B., Cade, N.L. and McVay, S.E. (2019). Controls and cooperation in interactive and non‐interactive settings. Contemporary Accounting Research, 36(4), 2494-2520.

Hunter, K.E., Alberti, C.T., Boss, S.R. and Thibodeau, J.C. (2020). Intelliclean: A Teaching Case Designed to Integrate Data Cleaning and Spreadsheet Skills into the Audit Curriculum. Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, 17 (2), 1-7.

Hunter, K.E., Rose, J.M., Tariquzzaman, A. and Thibodeau, J.C. (2023). Standard precision and aggressive financial reporting: the influence of incentive horizon. Accounting and Business Research, 53(1), 108-126.

Potsaid, T. and Venkataraman, S. (2022). Trading restrictions and investor reaction to non-gains, non-losses, and the fear of missing out: Experimental evidence. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 33: 100597: 1-9.

Potsaid, T., Venkataraman, S. and Zhou, H.F. (2022). Payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs): How characteristics of requests for PILOTs impact nonprofits’ fairness perceptions and likelihood of compliance. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 106978.

Thibodeau, J.C., Williams, T. and Witte, A.L. (2019). Point and Click Data: An Assessment of Editorial Perceptions and Recommendations for the Peer-Review Process in the New Data Frontier. Journal of Information Systems, 33(1): 129-144.

Witte, A.L., Earley, C.E. and Thibodeau, J.C. (2022). Big Fish, Small Pond: How In-Charge Auditors Engage with Technology-Based Audit Tools to Influence the Audit in Non-Global Network Firms. Journal of Information Systems, 36(2), 141-16

Hoitash, R., Hoitash, U. and Morris, L. (2021). eXtensible Business Reporting Language: A review and directions for future research. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. 40 (2): 107–132.

Babson College
Bentley University
Boise State University
Bryant University
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
California State University, Bakersfield
Clark University
Clemson University
College of the Holy Cross
Fairfield University
Florida International University
Northeastern University
Northern Arizona University
Northern Illinois University
Soochow University
Suffolk University
Texas State University
University of Colorado, Denver
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
University of New Hampshire
University of San Diego
Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
West Virginia University

Cristina Alberti, Assistant Professor, Accounting, Babson College
“Audit Firm Culture: An Evolution of the Audit Profession in Response to External Forces”

Lindsay Andiola, Associate Professor, Accounting, Virginia Commonwealth University
"Performance Feedback in the Audit Environment"

Kwadwo Asare, Professor, Accounting, Bryant University
"Essays on the Influence of Corporate Governance on Financial Analysts' Forecast-related Judgments"

Jenna Burke, Assistant Professor, Accounting, University of Colorado, Denver
"Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk and Performance: Implications for Audit and Corporate Governance Research"

Nate Cannon, Associate Professor, Accounting, Texas State University
"Fair Value Measurements"

Jooanne Choi, Assistant Professor, Accounting, California State University, Bakersfield
“Usefulness of Audit-firm Transparency Disclosures”

Steven DeSimone, Associate Professor, Economics and Accounting, Holy Cross
“Three Empirical Studies of Internal Audit Quality”.

Denise Hanes Downey, KPMG Endowed Professor in Accounting, Associate Professor, Accounting & Information Systems, Villanova University
"Changes in Auditing: A Three Part Investigation"

Mary Durkin, Assistant Professor, Accountancy, University of San Diego
“Promoting Professional Skepticism in the Audit Environment”

Sonia Gantman, Senior Lecturer, Accounting, Bentley University
“Three interdisciplinary studies on IT Outsourcing”

Jace Garrett, Associate Professor, Accounting, Clemson University
“The Relationship between Accounting Processes and Interpersonal Trust within Organizations”

Joy Gray, Senior Lecturer, Accounting, Bentley University
“Information Technology Audits by Internal Auditors: Exploring the Evolution of Integrated IT Audits”

Allen Hartt, Assistant Professor, Accounting, Boise State University
“The Impact of Collective Intelligence and Honest Signaling on Fraud Brainstorming Effectiveness: A Sociometric Investigation Using Wearable Sensor Technology”

Kip Holderness, Associate Professor, Accounting, West Virginia University
“Detecting Deception in Client Inquiries”

Tien-Shih Hsieh, Associate Professor, Accounting and Finance, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth
“The Impact of Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) on Corporate Accounting Practice”

Kara Hunter, Assistant Professor, Accounting, Fairfield University
“The Influence of Cognitive Factors on the Relationship between Accounting Standard Precision and Aggressive Financial Reporting”

Candice Hux, Assistant Professor, Accounting, Northern Illinois University
“Auditors’ Use of Specialists in Audit Engagements: Implications for Audit Quality”

Zeng Liu, Lecturer, Accounting, Dongwu Business School, Soochow University
“Three papers on sell-side financial analysts”

Landi Morris, Assistant Professor, Accounting, Northern Arizona University
"Health and Healthcare in the Financial Reporting and Audit Environments"

Christine Nolder, Associate Professor, Accounting, Suffolk University
“The Role of Professional Skepticism, Attitudes, and Emotions on Auditors’ Judgments and Decisions”

Melissa Renschler, Assistant Professor, Accounting, Suffolk University
"The Influence of Internal Audit Competency on Financial Reporting Quality and Enterprise Risk Management"

Mike Ruff, Associate Teaching Professor, Accounting, Northeastern University
"Correlates of Ethical Sensitivity and Reasoning and their Potential Influence on Accounting Education”

Andrew Stuart, Assistant Professor, Accounting, Suffolk University
"The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on Stakeholder Decision-Making"

Zhihong (Rita) Wang, Associate Professor, Accounting, Clark University
“The Impact of Cultural Time Orientation on Managerial and Financial Accounting Practices”

Kim Westermann, Professor, Accounting, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
"Learning the 'Craft of Auditing': Applications of the Cognitive Apprenticeship Framework"

Annie Witte, Assistant Teaching Professor, Accounting, Northeastern University
"Technology Based Audit Tools: Implications for Audit Quality"