20 Faculty Teams Awarded Smith Internal Research Grants
The Smith School has awarded 2025 Smith Internal Research Grants to 20 faculty-led teams to support high-impact research in areas including AI, entrepreneurship, labor markets, corporate communication, and online learning, fostering innovation across disciplines.
“Auditor Skill Demands and Audit Quality: Evidence from Job Postings,” forthcoming in Management Science
In the paper, we exploit a novel dataset of online job postings to examine the skills that accounting firms are demanding from their auditors, and whether these skills relate to audit quality. We document substantial variation in the demand for auditors’ cognitive and social skills both across and within accounting firms, suggesting that audit offices are not homogeneous in their demand for such skills. We find that the demand for auditors’ cognitive and social skills increased over our sample period of 2010-2019 and is positively associated with audit quality.
The Accountant Shortage Highlights How Critical Accounting Is to Capital Markets
NPR's Marketplace spotlighted an accountant shortage, leading Professor Rebecca Hann to study its impact. The study highlights how prolonged vacancies increase financial reporting errors, stressing the critical role of accountants in maintaining robust internal controls.
AI Research Briefs
Finance professor Agustin Hurtado’s AI research highlights racial disparities in mortgage lending, while Information Systems researchers study AI chatbots' impact on mental health counseling. Marketing professor Michel Wedel explores predicting decisions via eye-tracking, and accounting professor Rebecca Hann examines AI’s evolving role in the accounting industry.
Smith Launching Doctor of Business Administration Program
Applications are open for the new Doctor of Business Administration Program at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. The program is designed for working professionals to elevate their careers as leaders in business organizations and government agencies that utilize cutting-edge technologies and business analytics to drive growth and innovation.
Smith School Awards 14 Faculty Grants for Innovative Research
Fourteen faculty teams at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business have been awarded three-year grants from the school for research projects that address the world’s grand challenges and reimagine learning in support of the University of Maryland’s vision and the Smith School’s strategic plan.
Hann Recognized as a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher
Since arriving at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in 2008, Rebecca Hann has remained steadfast in her mission to positively impact her students and the world with her research. Those efforts recently earned her the University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher award.
Labor Market Competition Plays A Huge Role in Remote Work
With pandemic restrictions in the rearview mirror, in a few years working from home may follow suit. ZDNET reports it could soon be time to pack up your home office. 65 percent of CEOs at multinational companies say they want workers back in cubicles 9-to-5 by 2025.
Will Robots Replace Accounting Jobs?
With advances in technology and the rise of artificial intelligence, there’s the looming question of what jobs will be replaced by robots. Rest assured, the accounting profession isn’t going away, says Maryland Smith’s Rebecca Hann. But her new research finds that jobs are changing as firms’ needs shift.