About our authors
Al Arens (Nov. 24, 1935 to Dec. 6, 2010), founding author of this textbook, was the PricewaterhouseCoopers Professor of Accounting Emeritus at Michigan State University. In addition to writing books on auditing, he was a coauthor of computerized accounting supplements and he was actively involved in the continuing education of practitioners with local and regional CPA firms. Al was a past president of the American Accounting Association and a former member of the AICPA Auditing Standards Board. He practiced public accounting with both a local CPA firm and the predecessor firm to Ernst & Young. He received many awards including the AAA Auditing Section Outstanding Educator award, the AICPA Outstanding Educator award, the national Beta Alpha Psi Professor of the Year award, and many teaching and other awards at Michigan State.
Randy Elder, who has served as a coauthor of this textbook since the 8th edition, is FORVIS Professor and Department Head of Accounting and Finance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He teaches undergraduate auditing and graduate auditing and fraud examination courses, and has received several teaching awards. His research focuses on audit quality and current audit firm practices and he served as the team leader for the American Accounting Association Auditing Section PCAOB research synthesis teams on audit confirmations and audit sampling. He has extensive public accounting experience with a large regional CPA firm, has frequently taught continuing education for a large international CPA firm, and is a member of the AICPA.
Mark Beasley, who has also served as a coauthor of this textbook since the 8th edition, is the KPMG Professor of Accounting and Director of the Enterprise Risk Management Initiative at North Carolina State University. He has taught undergraduate and graduate auditing courses, and has received several teaching awards including membership in NC State's Academy of Outstanding Teachers and AAA Auditing Section Outstanding Educator award. He has extensive professional audit experience with the predecessor firm to Ernst & Young and has extensive standards-setting experience working with the Auditing Standards Board as a Technical Manager in the Audit and Assurance Division of the AICPA. He served on the ASB Fraud Standard Task Force responsible for developing SAS 99 and the Advisory Council overseeing the COSO Enterprise Risk Management—Integrated Framework project. He served over 7 years as a member of the COSO Board, representing the AAA. He currently serves on the United Nations Internal Control Advisory Group.
Chris Hogan joined us as a coauthor starting with the 16th edition. Chris is the Russell E. Palmer Endowed Professor of Accounting in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. She served as Department Chair from 2017 to 2022. We are thrilled to continue the Michigan State connection started by Al Arens. Chris teaches graduate auditing and her research focuses on internal controls and integrated audits, audit firm client portfolios, and the impact of regulation on audit markets. Chris has auditing experience with Price Waterhouse, one of the predecessor firms to PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. She has served in multiple leadership roles within the American Accounting Association, including serving as President of the Auditing Section and on the Audit Committee of the AAA.
