Accounting Faculty Member Norma Montague Honored for Auditing Research

Norma Ramirez Montague, Assistant Professor of Accounting, earned the Emerging Scholar Award at the KPMG PhD Project Accounting DSA Conference on Aug. 1 in San Francisco.

The award recognizes excellence in innovation, research and scholarship. Criteria include information content, contribution to literature, research methods, support of hypotheses, conclusions and presentation skills.

Montague’s dissertation is titled “The Effects of Directional Audit Guidance on Auditor Confirmation Bias and Professional Skepticism When Evaluating Fair Value Estimates.” Peers awarded her research because of its relevance, timeliness, and potential to change future auditing standards. “I argue in my dissertation that if you tell the auditor to disconfirm management’s estimate, maybe we will get to a more reliable number when determining fair value,” Montague explained. “My research has practical implications for auditors and regulatory implications for standard setters.”

Montague is the recipient of both the KPMG Foundation Accounting Doctoral Scholarship and the American Institute of CPAs Fellowship for Minority Doctoral Students. She received a BA and MA in Accounting from NC State and has worked as a public accountant in Burlington, NC and an accounting instructor at Central Carolina Community College and the University of South Florida. Montague was born in Puerto Rico and has taught courses in both English and Spanish. She is a PhD candidate at the University of South Florida and joined Wake Forest University in July.