Faculty Profile: Susan McCracken
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/McCracken_Sue.jpg” caption=”Susan McCracken, associate professor in accounting at the DeGroote School of Business. File photo.”]The following interview with Susan McCracken, an associate professor in accounting at the DeGroote School of Business, is part of a new feature on the Daily News that spotlights McMaster's newest professors. McCracken is one of hundreds of new professors to establish their teaching and research careers at McMaster this year.
Tell us about yourself: I am from Napanee, Ontario and currently reside in Oakville. I completed my undergraduate degree at Queen's University and PhD at the University of Waterloo. Following graduation, I joined Coopers and Lybrand as a chartered accountant (CA). My professional experience as a CA led me back to academia. I wanted to know how auditors make decisions. I have two daughters, Jaime, 7, and Jesse, 5, who take up most of my free time.
What is your research focus at McMaster? My research, to date, has centered on auditor decision making in difficult situations. I have concentrated on two situations: negotiation of audit litigation settlements and difficult negotiations with clients, both of which could lead to extensive harm to auditor reputations and relationships. I find reputational concerns do influence auditor decision making and one of the most important concerns auditors have when dealing with clients in difficult situations is maintaining a positive relationship with the client.
I hope to further understand auditing and auditor decision making in the new world of Sarbanes-Oxley and post Enron. My current work includes determining which client characteristics, including reputation and relationships, influence the timing of auditor switches and how calls for increased transparency in accounting, which should help raise the profile of auditors, are influencing the many players involved in financial reporting.
Why did you want to work here? The accounting group at McMaster has a lively research focus. I believe my research interests will fit extremely well with the current faculty and I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues. The DeGroote School of Business supports my professionally focused stream of research, and thus will provide me with plenty of opportunities to continue my studies.
