Warrington accounting faculty member named UF Research Foundation Professor

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dr. W. Robert Knechel, Frederick E. Fisher Eminent Scholar and Director of the International Accounting and Auditing Center, is one of 33 faculty members at the University of Florida to be named a UF Research Foundation (UFRF) Professor for 2020.

The recognition goes to faculty who have a distinguished current record of research and a strong research agenda that is likely to lead to continuing distinction in their fields.

“Faculty chosen for UFRF Professorships have a proven record of research and scholarship and the potential for even more success in the future,” said David Norton, UF’s vice president for research. “UFRF Professors continue to earn significant grants; publish in the leading journals in their field; assume university leadership positions; and commercializing their discoveries.”

Knechel has been a faculty member at the University of Florida Fisher School of Accounting since 1981. He is also a Visiting Research Professor of Auditing at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and Research Professor in Auditing at the University of New South Wales in Australia. His primary areas of research include issues related to assurance, control, performance measurement and auditing. His research has been published in several top accounting and auditing journals including the Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, The International Journal of Auditing and Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. On June 1, he will begin a three-year term as Senior Editor of The Accounting Review.

Knechel received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Delaware.

UFRF Professors are recommended by their college deans based on nominations from their department chairs, a personal statement and an evaluation of their recent research accomplishments as evidenced by publication in scholarly journals, external funding, honors and awards, development of intellectual property and other measures appropriate to their field of expertise.

“It is this selection by their peers that makes the UFRF professorships so special,” Norton said. “The colleagues nominating them highlight the innovative nature of the nominee’s research and express high expectations about what they will achieve in the future.”

The three-year award includes a $5,000 annual salary supplement and a one-time $3,000 grant. The professorships are funded from the university’s share of royalty and licensing income on UF intellectual property, retained indirect costs from certain corporate contracts and grants and investment income.