Honing the language of business

Fraud. Environmental, societal and governance of business practices. The COVID-19 pandemic.

These are just a few major issues impacting auditors and their processes. Travis Holt, an associate professor in the School of Accountancy in Auburn’s Harbert College of Business, is back on campus this fall after a three-year academic fellowship serving as director of academic research at KPMG's Global Audit Methodology Group in New Jersey. KPMG works with organizations to mitigate risks and drive positive, sustainable change for clients and society at large.

While his time at KPMG was an amazing professional opportunity, Holt’s goal now is to use that practical understanding to better teach his accounting students. 

“As I’m teaching students, I think my experience gives a little more credence,” Holt said. “I can say, ‘I’ve been there, I’ve seen their methodology, I’ve seen their training and the things that I am teaching you now are the things that you’re going to need.’”

Holt oversaw academic research initiatives and served on the global audit methodology implementation team. His work with KPMG is in step with his current research on governance transparency, auditor independence and investor judgment and decision-making. In fact, he was the previous recipient of a grant from KPMG that resulted in numerous academic articles, and he worked on their team before entering academia.

The practical experience of how to do the work of accountancy and become fluent in the language of business is what makes his teaching applicable.

“Students need to know that what they’re learning is relevant and not dated, not stale,” Holt said. “The audit field changes very rapidly. Working with KPMG provided me with relevant insight to help both my teaching and my research. I want to produce research that’s meaningful to some of the challenges that are being faced by practitioners.”

During his three years with KPMG, Holt worked as part of a special projects team, where he provided his research expertise as they developed and updated firm-wide guidance and methodology changes for their firms in the United States and 143 countries and territories.

Now in his 10th year at Auburn, Holt is working on several new research projects, including: juror assessments of audit results; the review process for audits; and the accounting treatment of cryptocurrencies. 

“Bringing research in the classroom is essential. Just look at our students’ success in the School of Accountancy,” he said. “Over 90% of students get placed in jobs. Our students pass the CPA exam at a rate in the high 80s, well above the national average. We have a well-connected network of alumni, and our students are competitive in the market because of the education we provide here at Auburn.

“It’s a joy teaching, and I’m proud of our accountancy program.”