Professor Vasarhelyi is reappointed and celebrated as KPMG's distinguished professor of accounting

Professor Miklos Vasarhelyi, whose research and teaching have brought national prominence to Rutgers Business School’s accounting programs, was reappointed on Dec. 16 as the KPMG Distinguished Professor of Accounting.

Representatives of KPMG and Rutgers Business School administrators highlighted Vasarhelyi’s accomplishments as a scholar, researcher and teacher during a luncheon celebrating the formal reappointment.

Robert Elliot, a retired partner at KPMG and past chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, praised Vasarhelyi for his ability to integrate knowledge across multiple domains and for the pioneering nature of his research.

"With Miklos’s formal education comprehending economics, electrical engineering, finance, management and accounting information systems, he has the scholarly breadth to synthesize diverse knowledge domains," Elliot said.

"In addition," Elliot said, "he has an unusually fertile mind and the ability to understand the implications of emergent technologies well before most people do."

Vasarhelyi, who came to Rutgers in 1989 from AT&T Bell Laboratories, is credited with bringing a state-of-the-art focus to the professional accounting curriculum at Rutgers, leading the Rutgers Accounting Research Center’s CAR Lab and building the nation’s top academic program in accounting information systems.

"He has built a unique research doctoral program in accounting systems,” Rutgers Business School Dean Glenn Shafer said of Vasarhelyi. "It is not only the top program in the nation. It is the top program in the world."

Dean-elect Lei Lei, who will start in her role as dean next month, described Vasarhelyi’s reappointment as a "well-deserved honor."

Bernard Milano, president of the KPMG Foundation, described the company’s efforts to enhance accounting education – efforts which begin with pre-kindergarten children and include scholarships, matching gifts to universities and sponsorships.

Milano said the distinguished professorship at Rutgers is the "pinnacle" of KPMG’s work to strengthen and support accounting education. "Having our name associated with (Professor Vasarhelyi is an honor," Milano said.

Vasarhelyi, whose family, colleagues and PhD students attended the luncheon, thanked KPMG and Rutgers for reappointing him.

In a brief slide show, he also highlighted some of the work he has done since coming to Rutgers Business School in 1989. As he showed some of the slides of his early efforts, he turned to the guests and said: "In retrospect, this was real fun.”

PROFESSOR VASARHELYI ENJOYS A MOMENT WITH HIS GRANDDAUGHTER DURING THE REAPPOINTMENT LUNCHEON.

Other stories about Professor Vasarhelyi's work and honors:

Professors Vasarhelyi and Alles win Bright Idea Award for research that applies process mining to auditing

American Accounting Association recognizes professor's work in growing field of accounting information systems

Rutgers Accounting Center receives $250,000 from CaseWare Analytics