Scott J. Boylan Professor of Accounting

Holekamp 120
540-458-8585
boylans@wlu.edu
Curriculum Vitae

Professor Boylan has been a member of the Williams School faculty since 1999. He currently holds the Ehrick Kilner Haight, Sr. Term Professorship. Prior to joining Washington and Lee, he was an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, he has taught accounting courses at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce, and at The Ohio State University. Prior to beginning his academic career, Professor Boylan was an auditor for Deloitte and Touche, LLP in Columbus, Ohio.

Professor Boylan has taught several courses on financial accounting and auditing while at Washington and Lee. In addition, he has led accounting seminars in connection with Washington and Lee's New York Internship Program; he has been a guest lecturer in the Journalism School; and, he has taught accounting to graduate students in a joint venture between Ernst and Young, LLP and the University of Virginia.

Professor Boylan's research utilizes behavioral experiments to investigate issues of interest to the accounting and tax profession. Currently, he is examining how complexity and uncertainty built into accounting and tax rules affect the decisions of investors and taxpayers. His work on these and other topics has been published the Journal of the American Taxation Association, Issues in Accounting Education, the Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, and the CPA Journal, and is forthcoming in Advances in Accounting.

Professor Boylan has served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Taxation Association, and has reviewed experimental research for journals in several disciplines, including accounting, tax, economics, psychology, and management science. He has twice been the acting head of the accounting department, and has served on several important university committees. Currently, he is a member of the board of directors of the Roanoke Valley Youth Hockey Association.

Education

Ph. D. Accounting. Minor Areas: Economics, Decision Theory, Ohio State University (1995)

Master of Accountancy, University of Wisconsin - Madison (1992)

B.S. Business Administration, emphasis in accounting, Ohio State University (Cum Laude 1987)

Research

The role of unconscious bias in the production and use of accounting information, the influence of tax complexity on investment decisions, the effect of uncertainty on taxpayer compliance, and methodological issues in accounting and tax experiments.

Teaching

Intermediate accounting, introductory financial accounting, advanced accounting, auditing, and financial statement analysis.