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DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING, ECONOMICS & FINANCE

We offer three undergraduate degrees and a graduate degree in the Department of Accounting, Economics & Finance that will prepare you for a successful career. Learn about how to maintain financial accounts through auditing, reporting, budgeting, and tax regulations as well as how money is managed, the actual process of acquiring needed funds, how to allocate scarce resources and the ability to explain and evaluate social phenomena. Minor are also available in accounting, economics and finance.
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Programs

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

➤ B.S.B.A. in Accounting

➤ B.S. in Economics

➤ B.S.B.A. in Finance

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GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

➤  Master of Accountancy (MAcc)

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Our People

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Lee Kersting
Department Chair
Associate Professor
BC 374
(859) 572-7568
kerstingl1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Lee Kersting is an Associate Professor of Accountancy. He earned his Ph.D. in accounting from the University of South Florida. Dr. Kersting completed his B.A. in accounting and his MBA at the University of Louisville. His teaching specialties are data analytics and cost/managerial accounting. His research interests center on incentive compensation and management accounting systems and their impact on employee and firm performance. Dr. Kersting’s research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Management Accounting Research, the Journal of Accounting Education, and the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. He
has presented his research at numerous American Accounting Association meetings and has received research grants from the Institute of Management Accountants and the other sources.

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Abdullah Al Bahrani
Associate Dean, Graduate Programs
Associate Professor
BC 314
(859) 572-5799
albahrania1@nku.edu

Biography

Abdullah Al-Bahrani is an Associate Professor of Economics at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in 2010. He also holds a Masters of Economic Theory from American University, Washington, D.C and a B.S. in Business Economics from the University of Louisville. Abdullah's research focuses on financial literacy education, and financial behavior. He also is passionate about economic education. In 2016 he received the Award for Excellence in Teaching and Instruction at Northern Kentucky University and the Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Teaching at the Haile College of Business in 2015. His teaching and research focuses on innovative teaching methods and making economics more accessible to today’s students. He realizes that students today are in a constant state of multi-tasking and often have several things competing for their attention at once. To address this issue, he incorporates social media, TV, movies and music to encourage student engagement in the classroom. His methods rely heavily on the use of active learning techniques and live classroom demonstrations and students have been receptive to his teaching methods and classroom projects like Econ Beats, HONYEcon, and EconSelfies.His research has been published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs, International Review of Economic Education, Journal of Economic Education, Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research, Journal of Housing Research, Journal of Housing Economics and Southern Economic Journal.

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Kathleen Carnes
Lecturer II
Director, Alternative Dispute Resolution Center
BC 229
(859) 572-7571
carnesk2@nku.edu

Biography

Kathleen is a lecturer of Business Law and has been with NKU since 2011. Prior to joining NKU, Kathleen practiced law for 12 years in various capacities. Her current practiced primarily includes all aspects of labor and employment law in defense of employers. Kathleen specializes in advising Companies regarding compliance with Title VII, the National Labor Relations Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and various other state and federal employment statutes and regulations. Kathleen also worked as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, where she investigated and prosecuted unfair labor practices and as the Director of Personnel for a large state agency/cabinet where she oversaw all aspects of human resources. In 2016 Kathleen became the Director the College of Business' Alternative Dispute Resolution Center. In this role she oversees the ADR Center's annual Labor/Management Conference, the student programming, and community outreach. Kathleen graduated cum laude with a BA in Political Science from the University of Louisville and her law degree from the University of Cincinnati where she was an executive member of the Moot Court Board.

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Linda Dynan
Professor
BC 330
(859) 572-5158
dynanl@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Linda Dynan is a Professor of Economics at Northern Kentucky University. She earned her B.A. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and her MA, MPhil and doctorate in economics from Columbia University in the City of New York. She completed a post-doctoral Crosby Research Fellowship with the Hospital Research and Educational Trust of the American Hospital Association.  Dr. Dynan's research interests and grant writing activity focus on health economics. She maintains an appointment as Adjunct Research Associate Professor at the Anderson Center for Health System Excellence of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Dynan’s work has been published in leading health services research and medical journals such as Health Affairs,
Pediatrics, Medical Care Research and Review, and Health Services Research. She examines the organization, delivery, and quality improvement of health services as well as exploring the intersection of behavioral economics and health as it relates to childhood obesity. Her teaching interests include health, labor and development economics, econometrics, and research methods. 

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Teressa Elliott
Professor
BC 341
(859) 572-1539
elliottte@nku.edu

Biography

Teressa L. Elliott, J.D., is a Professor in the Department of Accounting and Business Law. Her teaching specialties are business law and business ethics. Professor Elliott also taught courses in London through the Cooperative Center for Study Abroad (CCSA) from 2005 - 2014. Prior to joining Northern Kentucky University, she had thirteen years experience practicing law which included serving as an Assistant Campbell County Attorney and working in her own private law practice. Professor Elliott has published in law reviews on the topics of the Federal Arbitration Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act and has published in the Journal of Business Ethics. Professor Elliott received the Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Teaching in 2005, the Dean's Citation for Organizational Citizenship in 2006, Faculty of Distinction from Student Support Services in 2006 and 2007, the Outstanding Business Law/Finance Faculty Award from the Finance and Accounting Student Organization (FASA) in 2011, the MBAA International Distinguished Paper Award for the Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business with co-author Professor Catherine Neal in 2013, and the Phi Mu sorority Wellness Wednesday Award for positively contributing to student wellness in 2018. Professor Elliott graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Northern Kentucky University and received her J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law.

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Darius Fatemi
Professor
BC 314
(859) 572-7724
fatemid1@nku.edu

Biography

Darius Fatemi has taught introductory, intermediate, and advanced financial accounting, managerial accounting, and governmental/not-for-profit accounting. Dr. Fatemi's research has been published in American Accounting Association and other grade 'A' journals, including Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Current Issues in Auditing, eJournal of Tax Research, The Journal of the American Taxation Association, and Journal of Business Ethics, a Financial Times Top 50 journal. While at NKU, he has been the recipient of both the Sandra Easton Outstanding Teaching award and the Finance and Accounting Student Association’s Outstanding Teaching in Accounting award. He holds terminal degrees in accounting (PhD, Indiana University), taxation (MT, Villanova University), and physics (PhD, University of Virginia).

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Edmund Fenton
Professor
Director, International Business Program
BC 334
(859) 572-5911
fentone1@nku.edu

Biography

Edmund D. Fenton, Jr. DBA, CPA, CMA, CRFAC, CFF is Professor of Accounting in the Department of Accounting and Business Law. Dr. Fenton received his DBA degree in accounting and taxation from the University of Kentucky, and his MBA degree from Murray State University. He has published numerous taxation and forensic accounting articles in such periodicals as the Journal of Accountancy, Journal of Forensic & Investigative Accounting, The Tax Adviser, Taxes – The Tax Magazine, Oil Gas & Energy Quarterly, The Ohio CPA Journal,and the ABA Journal. He has written chapters in several professional resource books, including Handbook of Financial Management for Banks and The Handbook of Estate Planning.  He is also a co-author of a textbook, Forensic and Investigative Accounting, as well as a co-author of a novel, The Big R: A Forensic Accounting Action Adventure. Dr. Fenton has also testified as a forensic accounting expert witness in several business damage cases.

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Chad Greenfield
Lecturer
greenfiela1@nku.edu

Biography

Alfred C. Greenfield Jr. is an instructor at Northern Kentucky University, teaching ACC 610 in the MBA Online program, which has a special emphasis on accounting for managers. He currently serves on a couple committees, including the MBA Curriculum Committee and the MAC Curriculum Committee and his research has been published in a variety of journals. Before joining NKU, Dr. Greenfield held multiple professor positions, the first at Bryant & Stratton College, a career college in Richmond, Virginia. Upon completion of his doctorate, he joined the School of Business with University of Texas of the Permian Basin. In addition, he spent some time as a professor and executive director of the MBA program at High Point University.

Education: PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University

Honors and Achievements: Two time Professor of the Year Award (University of Texas of the Permian Basin); additional teaching, service, and research honors 

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Hassan HassabElnaby
Dean
Professor
BC 305D
(859) 572-7720
hhassab@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Hassan R. HassabElnaby joined the Haile College of Business at Northern Kentucky University in 2019. Prior to his appointment as Dean of the Haile College of Business, he spent 16 years at the University of Toledo where he served as the interin dean, the associate dean for Graduate Studies and Research, the chair of the Accounting Department, the director of the Master of Science in Accountancy and the director of the Ph.D. Program in Manufacturing and Technology Management.

An award-winning researcher, Dr. HassabElnaby, specializes in the areas of financial reporting and corporate governance. He has received many research awards such as the Outstanding Paper Award from Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence in 2013, the Best Paper Award from the American Accounting Association - Ohio Region in 2009 and 2007, the COBI Outstanding Research Award in 2008 and the COBI Research Award in 2014. He has over twenty-five publications in leading accounting and business journals such as Review of Accounting Studies, Journal of Management Accounting Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, and Critical Perspectives on Accounting, among several others.

Dr. HassabElnaby wrote and received many research grants from the United Arab of Emirates University, the USAID, and the University of Toledo. He also has been a financial consultant and served on boards of several non-for-profit organizations. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in accounting from Cairo University.

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J Human
Director, MAcc
Lecturer
BC 363C
(859) 572-5467
humanj1@nku.edu

Biography

J Human joined the Haile College of Business in 2017 as an advisor where he would assist students on their path to graduation. In 2019 he transitioned into an accounting lecturer. J earned his B.S. in economics from the University of Kentucky and his MAcc from Northern Kentucky University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

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Jang-Chul Kim
Professor
BC 320
(859) 572-1486
kimj1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Jang-Chul (JC) Kim is an Associate Professor of Finance. He earned his BBA and MS in Finance from Iowa State University and his Ph.D. in Finance from University of Memphis. His teaching and research interests are in the area of investments, international finance, corporate finance, and market microstructure. Dr. Kim’s research has been published in leading finance journals including the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA), Financial Management (FM), Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking (JMCB), Journal of Financial Research (JFR), and Financial Review (FR). Before joining NKU, Dr. Kim taught finance at North Dakota State University.Since spring 2011, Dr. Kim has been teaching FIN 450, Advanced Investment Analysis. In this class, Dr. Kim leads a select group of Haile College of Business students who manage the Haile Student Investment Fund (HSIF). The HSIF was launched in spring 2011 as part of a $15 million gift from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation. Under Dr. Kim’s leadership the HSIF consistently outperformed its benchmark, growing from its initial $465,000 to a total of $1,150,000 by the end of summer 2020. Based on its performance, the Haile Student Investment Fund was awarded a 5 star rating from Morningstar.

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Young Kim
Professor
BC 331
(859) 572-5160
kimy1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Young Kim is Professor of Finance. He earned a Ph.D. in finance from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, an M.S. in finance from Georgia State University, and a B.A. in Accounting from Chung-Ang University in Korea. His teaching interests are in the area of corporate finance, international financial management, and investments. His research and publications focus on agency theory, corporate diversification, merger and acquisitions, corporate governance, and risk management. In addition to Dr. Kim's academic experience, he was a fund manager for Oxy Co, Ltd. in Seoul, Korea. He is a PRM Certified Risk Manager and a Certified Financial Risk Managers.

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Nancy Lang
Associate Professor
Associate Director, Center for Economic Education
BC 339
(859) 572-5155
lang@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Nancy Lang is Associate Professor of Economics. Her primary teaching areas are microeconomics, international business and economics, and economics for teachers. Dr. Lang's research interests include instructional strategies for teaching economics, learning and teaching styles, and attitudes toward economic issues. She is co-author of a high school economics textbook and conducts professional development programs in economic and financial education for teachers. She is actively involved in a variety of internationally-focused programs that have taken her to countries such as Estonia, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Ukraine, Mexico and Quebec. She earned her doctorate in economic education at the University of Georgia.

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Erin Masters
Assistant Professor
BC 386
(859) 572-5199
masterse1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Erin Masters is an Assistant Professor of Accountancy. She currently teaches financial accounting courses in the undergraduate and Master of Accounting programs. Her research interests are primarily in behavioral managerial accounting—specifically focusing on incentives, budgeting, and management information systems. She is also interested in researching pedagogical issues regarding the advancement of accounting education. Dr. Masters completed her B.S. in accounting and Ph.D. in accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Sharif Mazumder
Assistant Professor
BC 336
(859) 572-5523
mazumderm1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Sharif Mazumder is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Haile College of Business. He earned BBA from University of Dhaka, MS in finance from University of Wyoming, and his Ph.D. in finance from Oklahoma State University. His teaching and research interests include corporate Finance, corporate governance, culture and finance, investment, international finance and trade, and banking. Dr. Mazumder’s research has been published in Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Finance Research Letter, Journal of Financial Services Research, and so on. His research presented in many national and international conferences including the Financial Management Association, Southern Finance Association, World Finance
Symposium, University of North Texas, and Oklahoma State University. Before
joining NKU, he taught finance at Laramie County Community College, Wyoming. He also worked as a foreign trade analyst in Southeast Bank Ltd, a reputed Commercial Bank of Bangladesh, for 6 years.

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Catherine Neal
Associate Professor
BC 374
(859) 572-5156
nealc1@nku.edu

Biography

Catherine S. Neal is an Associate Professor of Business Ethics and Business Law in the Haile College of Business at Northern Kentucky University. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law where, as a Corporate Law Fellow, she focused on corporate law, corporate finance, tax law, and securities law.After law school, Neal was an attorney in Cincinnati; her work included tax and estate planning matters, business law, maritime law, and federal litigation. Neal left the private practice of law in 2002 to become an Assistant Professor of Legal Studies at the University of Cincinnati’s Clermont College where she received two teaching awards.Professor Neal joined the Haile/US Bank College of Business at NKU in 2005, received the Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Teaching in 2010, and was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in 2011. Professor Neal teaches business ethics and business law in both the undergraduate and MBA programs. Her research interests include white-collar crime, corporate governance, executive compensation, and the U.S. legal system’s ability to adjudicate complex business matters. Professor Neal is also an attorney licensed in the state of Ohio. When researching her book “Taking Down the Lion,” Neal was granted unprecedented access to former Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski, his papers, attorneys, family, friends, and former Tyco colleagues as well as transcripts and evidence from two criminal trials. Neal’s research included interviews with former Tyco directors, CEOs, and executives, former Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau, and the foreman of the jury that convicted Kozlowski. Neal has appeared on Fox Business News, on Forbes.com, and other national media outlets.

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Vincent Owhoso
Professor
BC 389
(859) 572-7548
owhosov1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Vincent Owhoso is a Professor of Accountancy. His teaching specialties are accounting information systems, auditing, fraud examination, and intermediate accounting. Prior to coming to NKU, he taught at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Dr. Owhoso has extensive publications in accounting and business journals. Dr. Owhoso received a BBA in accounting and MBA from Eastern Kentucky University. He also received a BA in chemistry and a BS in business administration from Berea College. Dr. Owhoso received his PhD in accounting from the University of Florida. Dr. Owhoso is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

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Robert Russ
Associate Professor
BC 227
(859) 572-7547
russr1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Robert Russ is an Associate Professor of Accountancy. He teaches financial accounting courses. His research interest center on historical accounting and corporate governance in the early United States. He also has research interest in financial distress, corporate ethics, corporate governance and international accounting differences. Dr. Russ received a BA in accounting from Marietta College and earned his Ph.D. in accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Amal Said
Professor
BC 363B
(859) 572-5499
saida1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Amal Said is a Professor of Accounting at Northern Kentucky University. Dr. Said received her Ph.D. in Business Administration with a major in Accounting and a minor in Finance from Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Said was born in Cairo, Egypt where she received the Bachelor of Accounting with honor and Master of Accounting from Cairo University. Dr. Said received the Master of Science in Accounting from Old Dominion University.

Dr. Said taught accounting at Cairo University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and University of Toledo. Her teaching interests are in managerial accounting, cost accounting, equity valuation and international accounting. She has been teaching managerial accounting at the undergraduate and MBA levels. In addition, Dr. Said has been teaching advanced managerial/cost accounting, international accounting, and business valuation at the graduate level in the Master of Science in Accounting program. Her research interests are in executive compensation, earnings management, Balanced Scorecard, lean accounting, capital markets, performance evaluations and measures of performance, corporate governance, sustainability, and international accounting. Dr. Said presented her research papers in regional, national and international conferences. Her research has been recognized regionally and nationally. She received the best paper awards from the GNP section of the American Accounting Association, Ohio regional meeting of the American Accounting Association and the Southeast Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (SEINFORMS). Her research is published in journals such as Advances in Management Accounting, Review of Accounting and Finance, American Journal of Business, Journal of Management Accounting Research, American Journal of Business Research, Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Accounting and Finance Research, International Journal of Management Accounting Research and Journal of Emerging Markets. Dr. Said is a member of the American Accounting Association, Institute of Management Accountants and Beta Gamma Sigma (Business Honor Society). She served as the President of the Ohio Region of the American Accounting Association and on the editorial board of several journals. Dr. Said served on the Board for not-for-profits.

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Robert Salyer
Lecturer II
BC 336
(859) 572-5164
salyerb@nku.edu

Biography

Mr. Robert Salyer is an Instructor of Accountancy. His teaching specialty is taxation. Mr. Salyer is a Certified Public Accountant and has thirty-five years experience in public accounting and the business community. He has served as a chief financial officer, a chief tax officer and was also a partner in a Cincinnati public accounting firm. Mr. Salyer continues to work with local business in tax planning, compliance and accounting matters. He received his BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and his MS in taxation from the University of Cincinnati.

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Qing Su
Professor
BC 338
(859) 572-6590
suq1@nku.edu

Biography

Dr. Qing Su  is a Professor of Economics at Northern Kentucky University. Her teaching interests include intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics, urban and regional economics, and managerial economics. As a researcher, her major interests are in the interdisciplinary studies in the field of urban and regional economics, energy economics, and transportation economics. 

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