Jenelle Conaway
Exploring Private Equity in Accounting

Jenelle Conaway likes structure in all aspects of her life, so it’s no surprise she found an affinity for accounting. “I like rules and order,” shares Conaway, assistant professor of accounting, who joined the faculty in 2024.

But she also enjoys exploring an idea and seeing where it will lead. That drives her research into international financial and audit issues. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Accounting Research, Contemporary Accounting Research, the Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, and Issues in Accounting Education.

Conaway is currently studying a relatively new phenomenon in accounting: private equity investment in accounting firms. “This is a big shift in the ownership structure of accounting firms. The industry has not experienced anything like this at this scale in the past. It’s an exciting new area of inquiry.”

Conaway is investigating three key issues, including how financial markets respond to the announcement that an accounting firm has taken on private equity investment. She also is examining whether private equity investment shifts an accounting firm’s work focus and client base, and if private equity investment impacts the accounting firm’s auditing work. Her research will provide early evidence on the effects of this ownership structure as the trend of private equity investment in accounting firms emerges globally.

Looking at the work of accounting firms from a different perspective, Conaway, who previously worked for a public accounting firm, is following up on incidents in which a number of firms around the world have been sanctioned for misconduct related to continuing professional education. Specifically, she’s studying “whether instances of taking the easy way out on trainings reflects underlying issues that could hinder the audit quality being produced at those accounting firms.”

With an interest in other cultures that she traces back to an experience as an exchange student in high school, and an appreciation for the global nature of today’s world, Conaway is particularly interested in researching issues with international ramifications.

“I do not always use multinational samples. I may study a topic or issue in the United States that’s also informative to other countries, or the reverse,” she notes. “But my goal is to ask research questions with international relevance and impact.”

A past research project that ties together Conaway’s interests in financial accounting, auditing and international issues was whether U.S. equity market investors are aware of the work of foreign component auditors — the accounting firms performing the audit for overseas operations of U.S. multinational companies — and how investors respond to the work of such auditors. The key findings: “Investors are aware of component auditors and do factor their participation in the audit into the share price.”

Conaway found her passion for accounting as an undergraduate at the University of South Carolina. While working as an auditor for a public accounting firm and earning her MBA in finance at Loyola University Maryland, she also discovered a talent for teaching. “I was volunteering to lead education programs at the firm. It got me thinking that I would enjoy teaching.” She earned her PhD in accounting from Boston University, discovering there an affinity for research, too.

“I like having an idea and then being able to pursue it to see what the data reveals,” she says. “It’s really rewarding.”

Conaway, who previously was on the faculty at George Mason University, was drawn to Wake Forest University because of its reputation and size. “I was looking for a school that was smaller, where I could really feel like I’m involved and part of the campus community. And the students here are top-notch, high achieving and super engaged. They think deeply about the topics and ask thoughtful questions, which pushes me to be a better instructor.”