Dr. Jennifer Riley Awarded Best Paper from The American Accounting Association

The UNO College of Business Administration is proud to announce that Dr. Jennifer Riley, Professor in the School of Accounting and Director of the Master of Accounting program, has won the prestigious Best Paper Award from The American Accounting Association (AAA).

Dr. Riley’s paper, “Investigating Accountants’ Resistance to Move Beyond Excel and Adopt New Data Analytics Technology,” was nominated by the editor of AAA’s journal, Accounting Horizons. After nomination, AAA’s global membership of 6,500 professionals voted for Dr. Riley’s paper as most valuable to the profession.

“Accounting Horizons has a general, not specialized, focus covering all subjects of accounting, and all research methods. Both of these factors indicate that the paper holds impact for more accounting researchers and for the broad accounting literature,” said Riley. “The support I have received from the School of Accounting and CBA was instrumental, and demonstrates that relevant and impactful research is valued and fostered. This Award recognizes this fact.”

Dr. Riley’s real-world research emphasis made her paper a particularly strong contender for the award. In her study, Dr. Riley and co-authors Pamela J. Schmidt and Kimberly Swanson Church discuss why accountants strongly favor using Excel despite pressure to switch to more “sophisticated” software. They investigate this preference using a theoretical framework called Status Quo Bias Theory. Ultimately, the research suggests that accountants shouldn’t eliminate the use of Excel, but instead pursue an analytics mindset that focuses on objectives and the optimal applications for their goals.

“Rather than pushing one specific technology, we are continuing our research into the psychological factors that keep us attached to one, preventing us from developing the dynamic mindset required of today’s challenges,” said Dr. Riley.

The accomplishment of this paper and its wide applicability signal further success ahead for Dr. Riley, the School of Accounting, and the College of Business Administration.

“Jennifer is a scholar in the area of Data Analytics and Accounting Information Systems (AIS). With her extensive knowledge and expertise in AIS and data analytics, she makes significant contributions to this research project, and any project she is a part of. She has developed and maintained relevant and rigorous data analytics and AIS representation in the accounting curricula at the undergraduate and graduate level at UNO,” said Dr. Roopa Venkatesh, Director, School of Accounting. “Despite her significant accomplishments, she wears her learning lightly. I am honored that Dr. Riley, a true scholar, who is making a significant impact on the accounting profession and accounting education, is a part of our UNO School of Accounting and CBA faculty.”

Congratulations on this well-earned honor, Dr. Riley!