Big Four firm KPMG has announced that Jeff Payne, KPMG Professor in the Von Allmen School of Accountancy at the University of Kentucky, has been named the 2019 KPMG James Marwick Professor-in-Residence.

Launched in 2017, the KPMG James Marwick Professor-in-Residence program helps academics better understand the technical, regulatory and innovation challenges in the audit profession, preparing them for future challenges.

“The [Marwick] program is a concrete example of our firm’s culture of learning and how we are seeking innovative ways to enhance audit quality,” stated Jackie Daylor, KPMG national managing partner of audit quality and professional practice. “With his extensive background in auditing and support of the use of data and technology in the audit, Jeff is well-positioned to embed the innovative thinking required for auditing in the future in his students.”

The fourth academic to hold the Marwick professorship, Payne oversees academic research focused on financial accounting and auditing topics. He teaches graduate courses in auditing, fraud examination and IT auditing, and he previously researched innovative methods on collecting audit evidence for KPMG.

“As an accounting professor, it’s important to expose my students to new and emerging technologies that may impact audit processes,” said Payne in a statement. “This lays a foundation for future learning, helping them understand that technology will continue to evolve, and that they will need to evolve along with it. They are on a continual learning paradigm.”

For more on the Professor-in-Residence Program, head to KPMG’s site here.

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