Kennesaw State Professor of Accounting Dr. Dana Hermanson was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award by the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association Friday, Jan. 17, according to KSU News.
Hermanson received the award for his “exemplary contributions in accounting research and teaching,” according to KSU News. An emphasis was made on his “publications, student guidance and excellence in the classroom.”
He said there were three main contributors to his successful career and awards.
“First, the KSU environment has allowed me to focus on research projects and teaching areas of interest to me,” Hermanson said. “This is really the ‘biggie’ as it recognizes a career-long effort to contribute to auditing research and education.”
He also said that KSU has been a wonderful place for his career and that he thoroughly enjoys spending time with KSU students — from undergraduates to doctoral students.
“Second, I have worked with great teams, including people at KSU and at other schools,” Hermanson said. “Finally, a lot of research success comes from simply staying after it and keeping projects moving ahead. I try to be very organized and keep all projects moving forward.”
This is not the first award Hermanson has won, having earned the KSU Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award, the Coles College Distinguished Scholarship Award, the Coles College Prize for Impact Publication Award and more, according to KSU News.
When asked about the source of his accounting passion, Hermanson said his passion came from issues surrounding humanity and those likely to commit fraud.
Hermanson specifically mentioned an instance that sparked this, where forensic accountant David Wolfe asked his class what the number one cause of fraud was. Hermanson said his students gave very reasonable answers such as greed, pressure, opportunity and weak controls.
“But David’s answer was more fundamental — people,” Hermanson said. “In any system involving people, you will have some level of fraud. You just have to have a sense of which people will be the problem.”
When it comes to the future, Hermanson is still very excited about the current projects he is working on. He said he is working with KSU doctoral graduates and pursuing a wide range of more creative projects.
“Recently, I have worked on papers examining capitalism in the accounting curriculum, teaching tips, doctoral education, and publishing in practitioner journals, in addition to my continuing work in fraud and corporate governance,” Hermanson said. “I am still having a great time in the classroom and with my research.”
Hermanson’s advice for students aspiring to go into the field of accounting or currently within the field of accounting is mastering teamwork.
“Beyond having the technical and organizational skills needed in accounting, I believe that it is critically important to focus on connecting with people and building great teams,” Hermanson said. “Success in business and accounting is not a solo activity. You have to be able to work with others and help them to be successful.”