Zimmerman: Exploring effects of diversity on audit quality

Aleksandra Zimmerman is an Assistant Professor and Dean's Emerging Scholar in the Department of Accounting at FSU's College of Business.
azimmerman@business.fsu.edu

A new study from Aleksandra “Ally” Zimmerman finds that firms with greater gender and ethnic diversity retain more accountants and produce better audits. 

Zimmerman, an accounting assistant professor and Dean's Emerging Scholar who specializes in auditing and taxation, said her work underscores the importance of improving diversity in gender and ethnicity in the audit profession and highlights the economic value of those efforts. The study was published online during the summer in advance of print publication by Contemporary Accounting Research.

The study continues Zimmerman’s research interest in the effect of human capital on audit quality. 
In August, she also began a selective one-year appointment as an academic liaison in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Chief Accountant, where she will analyze policy issues based on economic and accounting theories and research. "I am thrilled to be in the front and center of its vital work and look forward to infusing academic research into its policy making," she said.

Recent publications or presentations:

Condie, E. R., Lisic, L. L., Seidel, T. A., Truelson, J. M., & Zimmerman, A. B. (2023). Does gender and ethnic diversity among audit partners influence office-level audit personnel retention and audit quality? Contemporary Accounting Research, 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12882

Zimmerman, A.B., Barr-Pulliam, D., Lee, J.-S. and Minutti-Meza, M. (2023), Auditors’ Use of In-House Specialists. Journal of Accounting Research, 61: 1363-1418. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12485

Wood, D. A., Achhpilia, M. P., Adams, M. T., Margolin, M., & et al. (2023). The ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence Chatbot: How Well Does It Answer Accounting Assessment Questions? Issues in Accounting Education, 38(4), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.2308/issues-2023-013