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URI Accounting Professor Named Academic Fellow at the SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant in Washington, D.C.
[July 17, 2014]

URI Accounting Professor Named Academic Fellow at the SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant in Washington, D.C.


(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) KINGSTON, R.I., July 16 -- The University of Rhode Island issued the following news release: Judy Beckman, a professor of accounting at the University of Rhode Island's College of Business Administration, has been named the Academic Fellow in the Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Chief Accountant in Washington, D.C.



The only accounting professor nationwide to be selected for this annual fellowship, Beckman will serve in the Office of the Chief Accountant's Professional Practice Group under Deputy Chief Accountant Brian Croteau. The Jamestown resident will leave for the one-year fellowship position in August and return next summer.

"This is a very prestigious appointment. As an academic fellow, Professor Beckman will advise and conduct accounting research in the area of accounting and international reporting -- her areas of expertise," said College of Business Dean Mark Higgins. "She'll return to URI able to share her experiences, knowledge, and perspective after having spent a year working with a variety of staff members from the SEC and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on a range of topics, thereby further honing her understanding of how their work impacts the global financial markets. Her colleagues and students will all benefit from this extraordinary experience." "Ever since I saw my dissertation chairman serve in this fellowship in 2002-2003, I've hoped to earn the opportunity to hold this position," said Beckman who has been excited since she received the appointment in May. "This fellowship really calls for me to use my technical expertise at the top policy setting level in the nation." Beckman, who joined the University in 1992, is an expert in accounting and finance related domestic and international financial reporting and capital markets.


As an Academic Accounting Fellow, Beckman will be a resource for SEC staff working to interpret and communicate research related to the agency. Fellows are assigned to projects in the Chief Accountant's office including rulemaking, serving as a liaison with the professional accounting and auditing standards-setting bodies, and consulting with registrants on accounting, auditing, independence and reporting matters.

"Rather than merely offering my opinions, I believe the SEC's Academic Fellow is asked to maintain an unbiased viewpoint in considering the results of high quality academic research on topics of interest in proposed regulations," Beckman said.

Beckman has done extensive research related to the reporting requirements outlined by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board and by the International Accounting Standards Board.

Her research has been published in the Pacific Basin Finance Journal, Issues in Accounting Education, Advances in International Accounting, The Journal of Accounting Literature, and others. She also writes a weekly electronic supplement published by Dow Jones & Co. for use in accounting classes with The Wall Street Journal.

She teaches financial reporting courses in the undergraduate and graduate Accounting programs as well as MBA programs in the College of Business Administration. Currently serving as the Chair of the Teaching and Curriculum Committee of the International Section of the American Accounting Association, Beckman has presented research at numerous academic conferences and has given invited lectures to worldwide universities and professional accounting organizations.

Beckman earned her Ph.D. from Texas Tech University and her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Bentley University. After working for Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Boston and KPMG Main Hurdman (now KPMG) in Lubbock, Texas, she entered the doctoral program directly without earning a master's degree first. That was when her now 28-year old son was just 10 months old.

Beckman says her current and future students will all benefit from her Fellowship experience. "Having the perspective of what I will observe in this role will bring benefits back to the classroom in the courses I teach. This will be particularly important for my Master of Accounting students as they research current professional issues for their lengthy term projects," she said.

But before leaving for Washington, the avid swimmer says she looks forward to making a splash in her 19th annual Save the Bay swim on July 19th.

TNS 30TagarumaMar-140717-4800367 30TagarumaMar (c) 2014 Targeted News Service

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