Leading academic Jere Francis accepts FAR Chair in Auditing Research

Breukelen – Maastricht, 19 October 2018 – Leading American researcher and professor Jere Francis has accepted the Foundation for Auditing Research (FAR) Chair in Auditing Research at Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics for a period of four years. As part of this chair position, Professor Francis will conduct scientific research on the quality of audits. He will also boost auditing education in the Netherlands with the help of several PhD students.

Knowledge dissemination

The Foundation for Auditing Research (FAR) created the chair position to further expand on fundamental scientific research in the field of auditing. FAR has made several PhD positions available to Dutch students as part of this chair position. In addition to conducting fundamental research, the objective is to encourage the dissemination of knowledge within both the scientific and practical communities. The chair has two sponsors: FAR and the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics.

Leading

Professor Jere Francis is ranked among the top ten academics to publish in leading scientific journals in the field of accountancy research. He won two awards from the American Accounting Association (AAA) for his substantial contribution to auditing research. He was also named Outstanding Audit Educator in 2013 by the AAA. Professor Francis served on the editorial boards of several leading scientific journals, including Accounting Organizations & Society, Journal of Accounting Research, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting & Economics, Review of Accounting Studies, and The Accounting Review. In addition to being of scientific importance, his research has been of practical significance to accountants and regulatory authorities and he has presented his research to leading international accountancy firms, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the World Bank and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the United States.

Chair

Professor Jere Francis on the chair position: “My research focuses on the organizational factors that influence the quality of audits. The FAR chair gives access to data from leading accountancy firms that were not available before. This provides better insight in those determinant factors. I am delighted to take on this unique and challenging opportunity.”

Professor Olof Bik, managing director of the Foundation for Auditing Research, says of the appointment: “We are honored with the arrival of Professor Francis in the Netherlands. He is an undisputed authority in the academic auditing world. We are delighted that he will be joining us for the next four years. This will further deepen knowledge development in the auditing field and benefit the practical auditing community in the Netherlands.”

Professor Ann Vanstraelen, chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Management (AIM) at the Maastricht School of Business and Economics says of the appointment: “As department chair and auditing researcher, I’m extremely proud that Professor Francis chose Maastricht University. In the 1990s, the AIM department became a pioneer in the development of scientific auditing research and education in the Netherlands. The department’s research institute, MARC, is known for conducting research on behalf of major international organizations such as EC and IFAC, and for founding the international audit consortium ISAR. In Professor Francis, we have acquired a leading academic who will further stimulate auditing research and education among PhD students in the Netherlands.”

About the Foundation for Auditing Research

The Foundation for Auditing Research (FAR) was founded in 2015 with the knowledge that the auditing field is subject to dramatically changing expectations and requirements. FAR is committed to further developing knowledge about auditing and quality assurance and improving audit practices sustainably by conducting academic research on the drivers of audit quality, by collaborating with other research institutes internationally, and by sharing its findings through research conferences and master classes. FAR connects science and practice through collaboration, thereby strengthening the learning curve of the audit industry and its stakeholders, feeding accountancy education and sustainably bolstering the accountancy research community in the Netherlands and abroad.

Professor Francis will start this chair position in the spring of 2019