Joseph Brazel, Jenkins Distinguished Professor of Accounting and University Faculty Scholar in the NC State Poole College of Management, was awarded the Notable Contribution to the Auditing Literature Award at the 2018 AAA Auditing Section Midyear Meeting, held January 11-13 in Portland, Oregon. The award was in recognition of his 2010 publication in The Accounting Review titled “Auditors’ Use of Brainstorming in the Consideration of Fraud: Reports from the Field,” co-authored with Tina Carpenter, University of Georgia, and Greg Jenkins, Virginia Tech, both of whom also received the award.
Brainstorming is a required component of the planning process for firms that are responsible for detecting corporate fraud. In this study, the researchers wanted to see if there was variation in how these firms conducted their brainstorming sessions, and whether those variations affected the quality of their work. The study found that there are 21 specific best practices that contributed to successful brainstorming efforts, and that the benefits of high quality brainstorming could be attained when at least 10 to 11 of those practices are put into place – such as the inclusion of subject-matter specialists and an openness to input from all team members.
Read the full story about this research, published in 2010.
