Iris Stuart

Busy days of sorting out the puzzles of financial statements and pursuing audit evidence just whets my appetite for “chasing bad guys” through the dark alleys of foreign cities and following international criminals to exotic locations. (It must make sense that a staid and proper professor of accounting would also be a fanatic for murder mysteries and stories of cunning criminal types.) And since moving to Norway I have discovered that long winter nights, heavy rains and fog had hidden dozens of Scandinavian mystery writers from my vision, so it is not a giant step from the computer and spread sheets to the crime lab and streets of danger.

Did I mention that I love teaching? From following the logic of “mark to market” and examining the practice of back-dating stock options, I find excitement in the classroom and great reward in working with students and colleagues. (Enough to put mystery reading aside until the gloom of evening!) As you might guess, I particularly enjoy thinking through the problems of fraud and “creative accounting” with my ethics students. We weigh the complexities of ethics decision making and address classroom dilemmas left and right. And the cases show us the “real world” pressures that confront us all.

While I love to teach, I live to garden. Crawling and planting on my Norwegian hillside, walking proudly among my greenhouse flowers, I am fascinated by nature’s abundance. It is not difficult to exchange the business suit and calculator for muddy gloves and pruning shears. To see a leaf unfurl and a flower bloom, now there is a real mystery.

I also make time for my demanding husband (who is a teaching colleague, as well) and travel to cities around the world (including two places where my sons live and work.) And somehow there are moments to write articles and the occasional book.