ABOUT THE CENTER
Investors, regulators, and users of financial information are demanding better and more transparent information because of recent scandals, especially financial information. Therefore, the need for professional accountants is increasing due to these expanding expectations. Professional accountants are critical to foster strong corporate governance, to provide internal audits for organizations, the audit of financial statements, to provide information for decision-making, and to develop systems of internal control. Professional accountancy is composed of areas of expertise: financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing of financial statements and systems of internal control by external auditors and information systems auditors, internal auditing of financial information and operations by financial auditors and operations auditors, and tax compliance (including preparation, evaluation and auditing) by taxation professionals. The changes in business operations and the variety of new types of sales transactions and financial instruments have created the need for professional accountants who focus more on professional research and analysis rather than memorization of accounting principles. Professionals are looking to academics to assist in meeting the need for an understanding of accounting changes, specialized accounting topics, and research for solving accounting issues.
The Ohio Center for Professional Accountancy coordinates efforts between the Ohio University School of Accountancy and numerous accounting firms and corporations. The Center serves as a focus point for research and outreach activities of the School of Accountancy to expand our accounting faculty's knowledge by increasing interaction with practitioners and to provide services to the accounting profession. This interaction is also a requirement of the separate accounting accreditation of the accounting program by the AACSB. It also meets one of the items in the Vision Statement of the School of Accountancy:
"Create a professional accounting center for support of faculty research, practitioner research and analysis, innovations in accounting, and practitioner education. Distinguishing the undergraduate accounting program as a professional accounting program and the School of Accountancy as related to professional activities will assist both the School of Accountancy and the College of Business in attaining national prominence in addition to providing an avenue for raising support and scholarship funds."
For information on what the Ohio Center for Professional Accountancy can do for your organization, see SERVICES TO PRACTITIONERS.