Walton College Appoints New Chair

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas has announced the appointment of Vernon J. Richardson as chair of the department of accounting, effective July 1.

Richardson was also appointed to the S. Robson Walton Chair in Accounting, a position made possible by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.

Richardson replaces Karen Pincus, who led the department from 1995 to 2007 and will continue teaching and conducting research in the Walton College.

Dean Dan Worrell said, “We are very pleased to have Dr. Richardson lead the department of accounting. He is an outstanding teacher and is well known as a top researcher in the accounting information systems field.

“In addition, we are deeply appreciative of the contributions made by Dr. Pincus during her tenure. She led curriculum changes on both the undergraduate and graduate levels to reflect the changing business environment of accounting and accounting regulations driven by events such as Sarbanes Oxley.”

Richardson joined the Walton College in 2005. He was previously holder of the Ralph L. McQueen Chair in Accounting. He holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting; a Masters of Accountancy in accounting information systems and a Master of Business Administration from Brigham Young University; and a doctoral degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was previously an associate professor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

His research is at the intersection of financial accounting and information systems, and his interests include examining the business value of information technology investments, the value relevance of accounting restatements and accounting errors, and the costs of the agency relationship between managers and owners. Richardson has published articles in Journal of Accounting and Economics, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Journal of Management Information Systems, Information and Management, Communications of the ACM, Journal of Marketing, Financial Analysts Journal and American Business Law Journal. He has served as associate editor of the Journal of Information Systems and is currently an associate editor at MIS Quarterly.

This summer, Pincus, who previously held the S. Robson Walton Chair in Accounting, was appointed to the Doyle Z. and Maynette Derr Williams Chair in Professional Accounting. In 2006, Pincus was the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. That same year she was named by Accounting Today magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.

Pincus said, “It has been a real pleasure to lead the department of accounting for the past dozen years. As I look back at those 12 years, I’m amazed by how much has changed. I’ve had the great privilege of working with a fantastic group of alumni, employers, donors, students, faculty and staff.  I know they will continue to offer their support to our new department chair, as I will.”