Professor honored after working two years in SEC Office of the Chief Accountant, returns to the classroom this fall.

URI CBA Accounting Professor Judy Beckman has earned the respect of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, during her two-year fellowship with the Office of the Chief Accountant.

At the 61st Annual SEC Awards ceremony on June 14th, Beckman received the prestigious Andrew Barr Award. This award is presented annually to the accountant or group of accountants who display outstanding accounting and analytical abilities, critical judgment, creativity in addressing complex challenges, a dedication to public service and to the Commission, and an adherence to the highest standards of personal and professional integrity. The award is named for Andrew Barr, who was chief accountant for 16 years, and whose service to the Commission spanned four decades.

Two-Year Fellowship at SEC
Beckman was a member of a 13-person team handling the implementation of new financial reporting requirements related to revenue for the SEC Office of the Chief Accountant. She spent one year in the Professional Practice Group and one year in the Accounting Group during her fellowship.  When asked about the challenges of this experience, she said:

“One of the things that is so clear from my time at the SEC is the professional ethics with which this staff conducts its work.  That being said, there is professional disagreement about appropriate answers to every accounting question addressed by this office. Once all positions are considered and a decision has been made, we must then speak as one voice.  I am proudest of the fact that on one issue I worked on, a professional staff member and I were “on an island’ with our viewpoint — but the Deputy Chief came towards our line of thinking!”

On Returning to URI This Fall
Reflecting on the experiences she would be bringing back to the classroom, Beckman said: “The chief accountant is the principal advisor to the Securities and Exchange Commission on all accounting and auditing matters related to publicly registered firms in the U.S.  The value that the OCA Academic Fellow brings to the SEC is to connect academic research to those accounting and auditing policy and practice issues addressed by this office. In return, the value of working on practice issues in this office is simply incalculable for its impact on both my future teaching and research activities. One practice fellow here said she wished she had had a professor in her accounting program who had spent two years in this office!”

When she returns to URI, Beckman looks forward to teaching graduate accounting students to research the professional accounting literature in her class entitled, “Current Accounting Theory.” Beckman has taught undergraduate accounting courses in introductory managerial accounting and financial accounting and reporting.

“This fellowship experience allows me to bring a rich variety of current practice knowledge and other resources back to URI to benefit our students and our programs,” she explained.

Respected Career
Beckman earned her Ph.D. from Texas Tech University in 1991 and joined the University of Rhode Island in 1992, earning the academic rank of full professor in 2006. In addition to her published research in the areas of earning forecasts and financial reporting standards, she writes a weekly electronic newsletter for Dow Jones & Co. and The Wall Street Journal Accounting Weekly Review. Beckman has made many presentations at academic conferences and has given invited lectures to universities and professional accounting organizations worldwide.

Read more about her research and industry involvement:
https://web.uri.edu/business/meet/judy-beckman/