Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of R. Davis Taylor and do not necessarily represent the views of any employer or other entities with which he is associated.
When business students think of careers that an accounting degree can lead to, a few options immediately come to mind—auditing and financial analysis, for instance. However, the opportunities available to accounting students at Kogod range even further, and the skills they pick up while earning their degree can be utilized in fascinating ways. For Kogod School of Business accounting professor R. Davis Taylor, part of the job includes ensuring his students know their wide range of options.
“A degree in accounting and a CPA license can lead to many varied and interesting career paths, especially in forensic accounting and fraud investigation, which, in my case, allowed me to combine my technical accounting and auditing knowledge with my interest in the investigative process,” Taylor said. “This led me to opportunities to investigate potential fraud and financial misconduct in companies worldwide.”
As a professor at Kogod, Taylor teaches a course in forensic accounting, a specialty that focuses on identifying and investigating financial misconduct. Forensic accountants often play major roles in investigating businesses and individuals for misreporting, contract breaches, and fraud. Though forensic accounting is a relatively young discipline, it has developed rapidly, particularly as technology has influenced the investigative process. Taylor is confident that more students will be drawn to the field in the years to come.