Rate My Professor Laura Rickett

Laura K. Rickett is an Associate Professor of Accounting and Interim Chair of the Department of Accounting in the Monte Ahuja College of Business at Cleveland State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Business Administration with a focus in Information Systems (Accounting) from Kent State University in 2011, with a dissertation titled 'An Analysis of the Effect of Information Activism on Capital Markets: Investor Behavior and Divergent Market Conditions.' Prior degrees include an M.B.A. with an Accounting Concentration from The University of Akron in 1997 and a B.S. in Accounting from Bowling Green State University in 1989. Rickett joined Cleveland State University as an Assistant Professor in 2014 and has progressed in her academic career, contributing to teaching courses such as ACT 587: Accounting Systems, ACT 588: Advanced Accounting Information Systems, and ACT 488: Advanced Accounting Information Systems.

Her research interests align with UN Sustainable Development Goals including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). Key publications include 'Giving with Impact: Making Corporate Philanthropy Work for Your Business' (2025, Strategic Finance, co-authored with W. Jia and D. L. Smith), 'PCAOB inspection deficiencies and audit fees' (2024, Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance, co-authored with P. Alam, Y. Cheng, and J. Skomra), 'Auditor Independence and the C-Suite’s Growing Role' (2023, Strategic Finance, co-authored with W. Jia and D. L. Smith), 'Recent Crack-Downs on Auditor Independence Violations and the Growing Role of the C-Suite' (2023, Strategic Finance), and 'Top Emerging Skills for Internal Auditors' (2023, Internal Auditing). Rickett has secured three Monte Ahuja College of Business Dean’s Faculty Development Grants: as PI for 'The Effect of Auditor Tenure on PCAOB Deficiencies' (2016-2017) and 'Using Big Data and Data Analytics to Improve the Audit Process' (2014-2015), and as Co-PI for 'Is Effective Corporate Governance Associated with Higher Audit Quality during Long Auditor Tenure?' (2015-2016). She has served in professional roles such as AAA Ohio Region Meeting FAAR Paper Section Liaison (2017), panel member on 'Using Technology in the Classroom' (2014), and reviewer/discussant at AAA meetings. Rickett received a Faculty Excellence Award recognizing her impact beyond the classroom.