KENNETH (KEN) A. SMITH
Assistant Professor of Accounting
B.A., Anderson University
M.B.A., Ball State University
Ph.D., University of Missouri
Certified Public Accountant (CPA, California)

EML:  smithk@willamette.edu

“It takes skill and practice to identify when accounting issues are the center of a problem and when they are not. The Atkinson School curriculum gives students the knowledge and experience they need to know the difference.”

Read Professor Smith's Blog on the Association of Government Accountants Page

Read the recent article by Professor Smith in B2B Magazine

Accounting information provides insight for all managerial decisions, but is most useful when integrated with the other management tools. It takes skill and practice to identify when accounting issues are the center of a problem and when they are not. The Atkinson School curriculum gives students the knowledge and experience they need to know the difference.

It's important that professors understand real people and real money to bring relevancy to the classroom. My experience includes owning a small business, serving as Executive Director of a non-profit and auditing/consulting with large and small governmental and business organizations. I invest my time, experience, and education in our students. But then comes the return on investment; Atkinson grads do wonderful things.

Non-financial performance measures (aka balanced scorecard) and information systems in governmental entities

Certified Public Accountant (CPA), American Accounting Association – Government Non-Profit Section (Membership Chair), Government Finance Officers Association, Former Owner “Best Kept Secrets”, Former Executive Director of “Wheels For Humanity” – an international human services organization.

Executive Committee - Oregon Public Performance Measurement Association (OPPMA)

“Assessing Reforms of Government Accounting and Budgeting,” (with R. Cheng) Public Performance and Management Review, September 2006, 30(1): 10-30. “How does the Media Report on Government Performance?” (with Lee Schiffel) Journal of Government Financial Management, Fall 2006, 54(3): 19-23. "The Looming Crisis in Governmental Accounting Education." (with Lee Schiffel) Journal of Government Financial Management, Summer 2006, 55 (2): 26-32. “The Intersection of Accounting and Local Government Performance Measurement," Public Financial Management, 2006, edited by Howard Frank, Taylor and Francis, pp. 579-615. “Voluntarily Reporting Performance Measures to the Public: A Test of Accounting Reports from U.S. Cities”, International Public Management Journal, 2004. “Government Financial Reporting on the Internet: The Potential Revolutionary Effects of XBRL” (with M. Abdolmohammadi and J. Harris), Journal of Government Financial Management, 2002. “XML: A Technology Tool for Today's Public Manager?” (with M. Abdolmohammadi and J. Harris), Government Finance Review, 2001. "The New Governmental Reporting Model: Is it a Field of Dreams?” (with P. Copley et al), Accounting Horizons, 1997.