J. Edward Ketz

J. Edward Ketz, Ph.D., a member of the Penn State faculty since 1981, has authored and edited 17 books as well as numerous articles. His book Hidden Financial Risk (Wiley, 2003) examines the corporate culture and the institutional setting that engendered recent accounting scandals, informs investors how to protect themselves, and suggests improvements for the profession. Accounting Ethics (Routledge, 2006) investigates the accounting profession over the last century by scrutinizing its positions on ethics and its roles in myriad accounting scandals and by exploring how to reduce the number of accounting frauds. Fair Value Measurements (BNA, 2007), co-authored with Mark Zyla (Managing Director at Acuitas, Inc.), summarizes the FASB’s efforts in this area, supplies the conceptual ideas behind this topic, describes methods employed by valuation assessors, and reviews criticisms of fair value measurements.

Professor Ketz has been cited in the popular and business press, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Business Week, Bloomberg News, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune, on topics such as accounting for stock compensation, business combination accounting, accounting for derivatives, the meltdown in the subprime mortgage sector and related CDOs, and evaluations of specific corporate accounting practices at Enron, Tyco, Rite Aid, HealthSouth, AIG, CVS, Starbucks, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and other corporations. He also has appeared as an accounting commentator on CNBC, CNNfn, and National Public Radio. Some recent citations are:

• Benner, “Why Investors Should Steer Clear of Blackstone,” CNNMoney.com (March 11, 2008).

• Weil, “Lehman Brothers Should Come Clean on R3 Capital,” Bloomberg (July 31, 2008).

• Gordon and Bernard, “Banks Want to Suspend Accounting Rule in Bailout,” Associated Press (September 28, 2008).

• Beck, “Meltdown 101: ‘Goodwill’ During Bad Recession,” Associated Press (March 4, 2009).

• Healy, “Losses in Good-Will Values Compound Bank Troubles,” New York Times (April 27, 2009).

• Gordon, “U.S. Accounting Board Tightens Loan Rules,” Associated Press (May 19, 2009).

• Henry, “Faulty Numbers,” Business Week (May 19, 2009).

• Freed, “General Electric Debt Rating Still Looks High,” The Street.com (July 8, 2009).

Dr. Ketz writes a column about financial reporting issues, “Accounting Cycle.” Some recent essays are (http://accounting.smartpros.com/x28479.xml):

• “Enron and the Banking Fiasco,” (October 13, 2008).

• “Goodwill Impairment Losses for Fiscal 2008,” (November 10, 2008).

• “Representatives Perlmutter and Lucas: Accounting Truth or Consequences,” (March 16, 2009).

• “Citigroup Remains in Critical Condition,” (May 11, 2009).

• “CVS Caremark Leases,” (September 7, 2009).