Headshot of Ashley Austin

Ashley Austin

Associate Professor of Accounting
  • Profile
    Ashley Austin is an Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Richmond's Robins School of Business. She received a Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Georgia in 2016 after first becoming a licensed CPA and working for KPMG as an audit senior associate. Ashley's research interests involve using behavioral methods to understand and improve auditors' judgments and decision-making. Her current research projects focus on how to help auditors exercise professional skepticism and be alert for fraud throughout the audit, especially in light of the new opportunities and challenges associated with the growing use of emerging technologies in accounting and auditing. Ashley's research has been published in Contemporary Accounting Research, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, and Journal of Accounting and Public Policy. Her research projects have received prestigious grants and awards from the American Accounting Association (AAA), American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), Institute for Fraud Prevention (IFP), and KPMG Foundation.
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    • Grants and Fellowships

      2022 KPMG Foundation Grant

      2020 Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) RAB Grant

      2019 Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) and AAA Auditing Section Access to Audit Personnel Grant

      2019 AICPA Academic Research Advisory Group Grant

      2017 Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) RAB Grant

      2016 Institute for Fraud Prevention (IFP) Grant

      2015 Institute for Fraud Prevention (IFP) Grant

      2014 KPMG Foundation Grant

      2013 Institute for Fraud Prevention (IFP) Grant

      2013 Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) and AAA Auditing Section Access to Audit Personnel Grant

    • Awards

      2022 Robins School of Business Scholarly Activity Award

      2021 Robins School of Business Outstanding Teaching Award

      2021 Robins School of Business Outstanding Research Publication Award

      2019 Robins School of Business Best Research Paper Award

      2018 AAA Forensic Accounting Section's Best Dissertation Paper Award

    • Professional Experience

      Audit Associate and Senior Audit Associate, KPMG (2008-2011)

    • Certifications

      Certified Public Accountant

  • Publications
    Journal Articles

    Austin, A. A., and T. D. Carpenter. 2022. Game Changer: Can Modifications to Audit Firm Communication Improve Auditors' Actions in Response to Heightened Fraud Risk? Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (forthcoming). https://doi.org/10.2308/AJPT-2020-089

    Austin, A. A., T. D. Carpenter, M. H. Christ, and C. Nielson. 2021. The Data Analytics Journey: Interactions among Auditors, Managers, Regulation, and Technology. Contemporary Accounting Research 38 (3): 1888-1924. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12680

    Austin, A. A., and L. T. Williams. 2021. Evaluating Company Adoptions of Blockchain Technology: How Do Management and Auditor Communications Affect Nonprofessional Investor Judgments? Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 40 (5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2021.106882

    Austin, A. A., J. S. Hammersley, and M. A. Ricci. 2020. Improving auditors' consideration of evidence contradicting management's estimate assumptions. Contemporary Accounting Research 37 (2): 696-716. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12540

    Book Chapters

    "Fraud and Auditors' Responsibility" with Tina D. Carpenter, 2014. Routledge Companion to Auditing. Edited by: David Hay, W. Robert Knechel, and Marleen Willekens. New York, New York. Routledge Publishers.