Leadership: CBE Co-Directors Dan Heitger and Brian Ballou.

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Brian Ballou, Ph.D. and Dan Heitger, Ph.D. have extensively taught, researched, and worked with students and executives in integrating integrity in corporate governance and executive decision-making, leadership in strategy and risk management, and transparency in stakeholder engagement, including sustainability since 1999. They co-instruct the only course series of its kind in the United States that integrates these topics. These courses are delivered to a variety of audiences, including undergraduate and graduate students and executives. Ballou and Heitger have performed joint research projects with executives from the following organizations: AICPA (SVP Technical Standards); Cincinnati Works (Co-Founder); Cleveland Clinic (Chief Integrity Officer); Costco (Executive Team); Crowe Horwath (Sustainability Partners); Ernst & Young (Global Vice Chair), KPMG (Head of Research); Miami University (Athletic Director); and U.S. Congress (Michael Oxley). Their publications have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Journal of Managerial Accounting Research, Journal of Accountancy, Issues in Accounting Education, International Journal of Accounting Management Accounting Quarterly, and Strategic Finance.

They are internationally recognized as international thought leaders in accounting for sustainability:

• U.S. delegates representing the AICPA on HRH Prince Charles’ Accounting for Sustainability Project based in Great Britain.
• Members of the inaugural Chief Responsibility Officer Association’s Board of Governors. The CROA is sponsored by CRO Magazine, which publishes the Top 100 Corporate Citizens List.
• Participants in the University of Arkansas’ Applied Sustainability Center’s Project Assurance Project that involves leading public accounting firms and leading companies, such as Wal Mart.
• Members of the Jury Panel for the 2009 Globe Sustainability Awards presented by the Globe Forum in Stockholm. Awards are given in the areas of environmental protection, economic growth, innovation, and social development.
• Commissioned by the AICPA to write an article for the Journal of Accountancy titled, The Role of Accounting in Improving Sustainability Effectiveness.

Key initiatives developed through the Center for Business Excellence (CBE) include:

• Annual CBE Executive Conference. Conferences bring together international business leaders and students to discuss governance, risk management, and sustainability. Past Keynote speakers include Schneider Electric North American CEO Chris Curtis, Northern Trust CEO EMEA Biff Bowman, COSO Chair Larry Rittenberg, Former Congressman Michael Oxley, and NADAQ OMX CEO Robert Greifeld, and Fidelity Investments Managing Director Bruce Johnstone. Sponsors for the Conferences include Duke Energy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Western & Southern Financial Group.
• KPMG Curriculum Development Initiative. The initiative, funded by KPMG LLP, involves developing the integrated course sequence described earlier and provides competitive funding for curriculum development that links academic topics (both inside and outside of business) to integrity, leadership, and transparency.
• Ernst & Young Business Excellence Student Summit. The Summit, funded by Ernst & Young LLP, brings top undergraduate business students from across North America to participate in cases in which integrity, leadership, and transparency issues are discussed across a variety of career stages.
• Department of Homeland Security Grant. Exploring cyber security issues in the financial services sector.

Dr. Ballou also specializes in business risk based auditing—leading training sessions for KPMG, co-authoring a textbook utilizing a global ERM approach to auditing, and serving on the AICPA Risk Assessment Task Force. His publications have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Journal of Managerial Accounting Research, Journal of Accountancy, Issues in Accounting Education, Management Accounting Quarterly, and Strategic Finance. Dr. Ballou received his BSBA from The Ohio State University and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He also served a one-year internship with the Financial Accounting Standards Board and worked as a CPA for Ernst & Young.

Dr. Heitger also specializes in performance measurement issues—co-authoring three introductory textbooks on financial and managerial accounting that emphasizes performance measurement and transparency. He was the only academic to be named as one of the initial Yale University Millstein Center Rising Stars of Corporate Governance. He co-founded Indiana Executive Systems, an organization that provides executive education for large international organizations. His publications have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Issues in Accounting Education, Journal of Accountancy, Management Accounting Quarterly, The International Journal of Accounting, and Strategic Finance. Dr. Heitger received his BS in accounting and mathematics from Indiana University and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He interned with Ernst & Young.

Last modified on 2/15/12 | Content maintained by CBE