Barry Franklin
Ever considered pursuing a career in forensics? Do you enjoy solving mathematical problems? If you’ve answered yes to the questions above, a career in forensic accounting just may be the right career choice for you! Forensic Accountants, also known as forensic auditors, help police and government accounting departments investigate a variety of claims to help gather evidence for trial. Whether in a proactive role helping agencies design audit procedures and participate in audit committees, or assist in the pre-trial litigation period gathering evidence and conducting research, forensic accountants are vital in helping the court determine anomalies and fraud.
Below is a list of top forensic accounting professors who have not only become experts in the field of financial forensics, but continue to advance the field with their inspiring work.
As the Forensic Accountant Distinguished Professor at North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Bushman is an award-winning teacher leading classes in corporate governance, deal structuring, and financial accounting. He has also worked with executives outside of the classroom through companies like Andersen Consulting and GlaxoSmithKline. He’s been published in a number of academic journals, given keynote speeches, and has professional affiliations with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Accounting Association.
Davila has been trained in corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and accounting and reporting, but has also functioned as an expert in a number of litigation proceedings. Some of his expert witness experience related to matters such as business valuation, embezzlement and fraudulent financial reporting. He has previously served on the California Board of Accountancy and was once an auditor for Deloitte.
In addition to teaching financial accounting and financial statement analysis in the EMBA program at this New Jersey school, Dr. Govindaraj has gained experience teaching at other schools including Colombia University, New York University and Northwestern University. As well, he reviews a number of academic journals, does speaking engagements, submits business articles for publication and has been a two-time winner of the school’s Paul Nadler award for excellence in teaching.
Dr. Waldrup’s extensive background in forensic accounting and fraud investigation made him a top choice for new chair of this Maryland school’s department of accounting. Previously employed at the University of North Florida, he taught coursework in auditing theory, and managerial, cost, and forensic accounting. His travels took him to teaching experiences in places like Beijing, Florence and Rome. He has published an extensive number of papers, more than 30, and is a member of the ACFE as well as the American Accounting Association, and the Accounting Historians Society.
Kresse is an associate professor at this Chicago School, and also director of the school’s Center for the Study of Fraud and Corruption. He’s appeared locally in Chicago on TV news talking about holiday fraud scams, safe use of credit cards, and making purchases online. “Fraud never sleeps” may very well be a catch-phrase of his. He has also been named Educator of the Year by the ACFE.
Nellen teaches a variety of coursework at SJSU including in e-commerce, property transactions and tax research, and is also director of the Master’s of Science in Tax. She is author of a book called “Tax Aspects of Business Transactions - A First Course,” and, in addition to doing speaking engagements about tax issues and policy, stays active in professional organizations. She keeps track of news and commentary about tax system weaknesses, needed tax reform, and ideas for change in her blog, “21st Century Taxation.“
Evans is a new professor at this Washington D.C. school after gaining extensive experience working on the Bernie Madoff case. In fact, she spent six months at the Madoff office in New York looking for evidence of financial crimes, according to the school website. Students at AU may also gain from her past experience as an auditor for two different firms and her expertise in providing litigation support and acting as an expert witness. She is an AU graduate herself. As an executive-in-residence at AU, she teaches, among other courses, accounting ethics, advanced financial reporting and forensic accounting.
Kranacher puts her skills to work teaching students at this New York school about accounting and finance. In addition to being the ACFE Endowed Professor of Fraud Examination, she is also former editor-in-chief of The CPA Journal (from January 2006 to June 2013), and writes and speaks on a number of meaningful topics such as forensic accounting, fraud detection and deterrence, and professional ethics. She co-authored Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination , published by Wiley & sons.
When compiling our list of top forensic accounting professors, we took a number of guidelines into consideration. Admittedly, not all professors on this list meet every guideline, but otherwise assuredly meet a mix of several of these criteria. These guidelines include:
Each of the forensic accounting professors on this list is actively engaged in teaching, often specifically through coursework involving forensic accounting or fraud.
Nearly all of these professors are actively engaged in social networking, most often through a profile on LinkedIn, or perhaps through a Facebook page or personal blog.
Most of these professors are members of at least one or a number of accounting organizations, some specifically related to ASFE membership. Others may serve on boards, as chairs, or in other capacities.
Many of these professors have extensive training in real-world contexts, working as auditors and controllers, actively investigation fraud, or appearing for court proceeding as financial experts.
A majority of our selected professors are actively involved in publication, producing articles for academic journals or publishing full-fledged books on accounting and related topics. Some have co-authored or contributed to articles.
Barry Franklin
Before co-founding Sechel Ventures Partners LLC, Barry Franklin was a VP at a Silicon Valley software company. He is an investor and advisor for DataSimply and Impellia. Barry believes that education and lifelong learning are paramount. Barry met his wife at Carnegie Mellon University and they have two beautiful daughters. He also volunteers for various committees at his kids’ high school.