“ My approach to teaching comes from an attempt to solve two problems: how to keep students interested in the material and how to help them apply their knowledge to real case scenarios,” says Durtschi
Cindy Durtschi, EY Professor of Accountancy and director of the MS in Audit and Advisory Services program, was awarded the annual 2021 American Accounting Association Cook Prize. This is the highest award for teaching contributions to accounting education, given to only one individual at each level—graduate, bachelor’s and associate degree. Durtschi was selected for the category of graduate education contributions.
The AAA/J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize is the foremost recognition of an individual who consistently demonstrates the attributes of a superior teacher in the discipline of accounting. The Cook Prize serves to recognize, inspire and motivate members to achieve the status of a superior teacher. Individuals selected for this prestigious award are fulltime faculty members with at least 10 years of teaching in a U.S. accounting program. Winners attend the AAA Annual Meeting and share their knowledge and expertise at various AAA venues and events.
Each year up to three awards are made in the categories of graduate, undergraduate and two-year accounting degree programs. While AAA received numerous outstanding nominations, the selection committee enthusiastically agreed that Cindy Durtschi stood out among a list of outstanding teachers.
Durtschi created the MS in Audit and Advisory Services program in 2016. She is an award-winning teacher and researcher in the fields of financial and forensic accounting. In 2019, she published “Alpine Cupcakes, Inc.,” an Audit Case Study book, now in its second edition. She continues to publish forensic accounting cases that are used in classrooms around the world.
She received the 2006 AAA Innovation in Audit Education Award for her forensic accounting case “The Tallahassee BeanCounters: A Problem-Based Learning Case in Forensic Auditing.” She is former president of the AAA Council and past president of the Forensic Accounting section. She is also on the editorial board for both the Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting and Issues in Accounting Education. Her articles appear in the Journal of Accounting Research; Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance; Journal of Forensic Accounting; and Issues in Accounting Education as well as other accounting and finance journals.
By Brian Maj