Paul Polinski

Associate Lecturer
Paul Polinski
Faculty
Location
245 RBB
Phone
850-644-3067
Academic Specialty
Accounting
Education

Ph.D. Accountancy, University of Alabama (2000) 
B.B.A. Accounting, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (1987)

Areas of Expertise

 Financial Reporting and Auditing

Dr. Paul Polinski is an associate lecturer in the Department of Accounting at Florida State University’s College of Business. At the undergraduate level, he has taught a variety of courses, including financial accounting and report classes. He also teaches accounting theory and forensic accounting in the department’s Master of Accounting program. Polinski’s research focuses on financial reporting and auditing, especially on issues related to audit and earnings quality.

His industry experience includes working for several years as an internal auditor and corporate accountant for two Fortune 500 companies. He also worked on XBRL and audit quality issues for Grant Thornton LLP in its national office.

Polinski earned his B.B.A. in accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama. He is a CPA in the state of Illinois and is a member of the American Accounting Association and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Selected Published Research

Earley, Christine, Karen Hooks, Jennifer Joe, Paul Polinski, Zabihollah Rezaee, Pamela Roush, Kerri-Ann Sanderson, and Yi-Jing Wu. “The Auditing Standards Committee of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association’s Response to the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s Invitation to Comment: Enhancing Audit Quality in the Public Interest.” Current Issues in Auditing, Spring 2017, Volume 17 Issue 1, pp. C1-C25. 

Anderson, Urton, Marcus Doxey, Marshall Geiger, Willie Gist, Diane Janvrin, and Paul Polinski. “Comments by the Auditing Standards Committee of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association on FASB Exposure Draft of Proposed Accounting Standard Update Notes to Financial Statements (Topic 235): Assessing Whether Disclosures Are Material.” Current Issues in Auditing, Fall 2016, Vol. 10 Issue 2, pp. C1-C9. 

McHugh, Marion and Paul Polinski. “Bellwether Garden Supply: Revising Purchase and Disbursement Processes and Controls in the Implementation of a New Accounting Application.” Accounting Information Systems Educators Journal, 2014, Volume 9, Number 1, pp. 14-24. 

McHugh, Marion and Paul Polinski. “Audit Firm Changes Post Sarbanes Oxley: Impact on the Market for Public Company Audits.” The CPA Journal, May 2012, Volume 82, pp. 24-31. 

Interesting Facts

Paul has no aunts, uncles, or first cousins (both his parents were the only children in their respective families). His wife Bonnie's family more than makes up for this. Paul has lived in 11 different states, including Florida.

Honors and Awards
  • Elijah Watt Sells Award (High Distinction), November 1987 C.P.A. Examination. 
  • George Krull / Grant Thornton Innovation in Teaching Award, 2013, for “Bellwether Garden Supply: Revising Purchase and Disbursement Processes and Controls in the Implementation of a New Accounting Application.”
  • Best Paper Award, 2006 American Accounting Association Ohio Region Meeting, for “Earnings Quality, Ratio Analysis, and the Statement of Cash Flows: Information Lost From Use of the Indirect Method.”