Through his teaching, research, and service, accounting Professor William Pasewark is educating the newest leaders in business. He lectures on a range of topics, including financial analysis and advanced accounting. His research centers on behavioral issues in the field, and along with a colleague, Pasewark is conducting research about customer payment behaviors under a grant from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Moreover, Pasewark is editor of the scholarly journal Issues in Accounting Education. As part of his service to the Rawls College of Business, Pasewark is an adviser for the audit internship program, which places accounting students at CPA firms in large cities. Pasewark is a native of Lubbock and returned to his hometown to work at Texas Tech after teaching at the University of Houston and the University of Georgia. Before joining academia, Pasewark worked in the banking and energy sectors.

Learn more about Integrated Scholar William Pasewark in this question-and-answer session.

What are your research objectives and interests?

I am currently working under a grant from PricewaterhouseCoopers to identify why corporations are inefficient at estimating whether their customers will pay. My personal feeling is that customer payments are simply difficult to predict, especially in a tough economy. My coauthor is a bit more skeptical. He believes companies purposely skew estimates for the purpose of income manipulation. It will be interesting to see what we find in our research.

How do you feel your research impacts the globe?

No one expects research in accounting to change the world. But it is amazing how people pay attention to your work now that it is accessible electronically from anywhere in the world. Our initial findings regarding the estimation of customer payments were published in a practitioner magazine. We have gotten emails from both corporations and academicians regarding how to utilize some of our findings.

What types of service projects have you been involved with?

Right now I am the advisor for our audit internship program. We send over forty graduate students to work with accounting firms, mostly in large cities. Almost all receive job offers after completing their internship. The experience provides them with a wonderful link between the academic and corporate world.

What are you currently working on?

I am the editor of Issues in Accounting Education. It is a fairly large operation with thirteen associate editors and over one hundred editorial board members. I get the opportunity to read creative work from authors all over the world.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Students, of course! Most of my students are graduate students with some work experience. They have insatiable curiosities.

What advice do you have for new faculty members about balancing the components of Integrated Scholarship—teaching, research, and service—in their careers?

Don't forget to associate with the practitioners in your field. That is your source for research ideas and research data. They are also the ones who hire your students.

Scholar Background

I received my Ph.D. at Texas A&M University and am certified as a public accountant in Texas. Previously I was a professor at the University of Georgia and the University of Houston, a financial analyst for Exxon (now ExxonMobil), and a credit analyst for the largest bank in San Antonio, Texas. I have also taught continuing professional education and in-house education programs at several major accounting firms, banks, and oil companies.

BBA Finance, University of Texas at Austin
MBA and PhD Accounting, Texas A&M University