Master of Professional Accounting

Faculty

Dr. Thomas T. Amlie's teaching interests are in the area of financial accounting and reporting. His research interests center on the proper disclosure of accounting information, the assumptions underlying that accounting information, and the effects of those assumptions on business decisions and reporting.

John C. Cameron, associate professor of management and organization, held corporate positions in health care administration and corporate law. He is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey. Currently, he serves as the co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Health Care Law Committee. He teaches courses in leadership development, business ethics, bioscience management, and negotiations. His research interests are in the areas of corporate governance, bioethics, leadership, and regulatory compliance.

Dr. Patrick Cusatis, CFA, is an associate professor of finance. Prior to joining Penn State, he was an institutional portfolio manager at CoreStates National Bank, First Union National Bank, and Tucker Anthony. Prior to that, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers in New York City, specializing in new product development. His research interests include corporate restructuring, portfolio management, derivative securities, and municipal bonds.

Dr. Ashutosh Deshmukh is a professor of accounting and MIS at Penn State Behrend. He holds certification in public accounting, information systems auditing, management accounting, and fraud examination, and has served as an expert witness in the U.S. House of Representatives, estimating the potential for fraud, waste, and abuse of grant money awarded over a five-year period by the U.S. EPA. He is the associate editor of the Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Performance Evaluation, and an author of the book Digital Accounting: The Effects of the Internet and ERP on Accounting.

Dr. Lydia Didia, CPA, is an assistant professor of accounting. Prior to joining Penn State, she was an auditor for the Mississippi Department of Revenue for more than 13 years. She taught at Jackson State University and at Belhaven College in Mississippi. Her research interests include effects of rules and regulations on decision behaviors of different stakeholders in the US and developing countries, audit quality and audit risk, outsourcing and offshoring of business activities.

Richard Scheib is an instructor of law, tax, and accounting. Prior to teaching and, simultaneously with his consulting practice, he worked in private accounting for corporations, public accounting with Big Five accounting firms, state government, and large and small law firms handling a variety of both accounting and legal issues.