In the books

From left to right, Xiao Song, Leah Hall, Jacob Lennard and Davidson Gillette

Out-of-state accounting doctoral candidates recently discussed their research with COB accounting faculty and students. From left to right, Xiao Song, Leah Hall, Jacob Lennard and Davidson Gillette

The College of Business‘ Department of Accounting recently hosted its third annual Accounting Research Roundtable Gathering (ARRG!) on ECU’s campus.

Four accounting doctoral students traveled to Greenville to visit with the ECU faculty and to present an early-stage research idea in a conference-style format. These students represented the University of Central Florida, the University of Alabama, the University of Nebraska, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Each student was allotted 45 minutes to present their research proposal and to field questions and suggestions from the accounting department’s faculty, as well as the accounting students.

Jacob Lennard

Jacob Lennard presents his research to COB accounting faculty and students.

Leah Hall, Virginia Commonwealth University, said of the event, “The interaction and thoughtful additions to the proposals were really a great way to get feedback.”

“I think this conference is really beneficial as a Ph.D. student,” said Jacob Lennard from the University of Central Florida. “I’ve told some of the other students here to look for the invitation next year. Any opportunity to present research in front of such a collegial audience is very helpful.”

Xiao Song is from the University of Nebraska. He saw the ARRG event as a good opportunity to present his research and to learn more about ECU’s accounting faculty. “I have been interested in ECU and searching for information on Greenville. So, attending the ARRG allowed me to actually see (what) the town and school look like.”

“The annual ARRG event allows us to bring in scholars in training and to highlight our accounting department as a possible destination of choice for future faculty,” said Dennis O’Reilly, College of Business accounting professor.

The annual AARG event is designed to introduce COB accounting department to possible faculty of the future.