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USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute

  • The USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute

    The USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute

    The USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute brings together policy makers, academic scholars, and business and accounting executives to facilitate purposeful discussion on current, complex economic and financial issues. Through its signature annual conference, sponsored research, and topical workshops and roundtables, the Institute supports professional and business leaders with strategic insights and diverse perspectives for informed, ethical decision making.

USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute

  • USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute Conference

  • The USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute Conference provides an annual West Coast forum for interaction between business and accounting executives, as well as policy setters from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The conference regularly attracts the foremost industry thought leaders and financial executives across the nation.

    This year’s 44rd Annual USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute Conference was held on June 4-5, 2026 at the Town and Gown Ballroom on USC’s University Park Campus in Los Angeles. For further details on this year’s conference, visit the official page HERE.

Projects and Impact

  • Research and Scholarship

    The Institute sponsors research into various current issues of interest in the accounting profession and financial reporting landscape, and remains committed to advancing these efforts.

  • Workshops and Roundtables

    The Institute hosts a variety of workshops and roundtables that bring together key stakeholders in the accounting and financial reporting industries. These events feature insights from regulators, standard setters, and industry leaders, fostering meaningful discussions on pressing issues.

    In 2022, the Institute hosted the Accounting for Sustainability Roundtable, featuring Paul Munter, then Chief Accountant of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Attended by key U.S.-based financial executives, the roundtable was arranged with the assistance of the A4S - Accounting for Sustainability Project of the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund.

    The Institute continues to consider roundtable offerings, including potential collaborations with the USC Capital Campus in Washington, D.C. to convene regulatory staff from the SEC and PCAOB, standard setters from the FASB and leaders from the broader accounting profession to address issues of current relevance.

INSIGHT + ANALYSIS

CORE TEAM

  • Anthony V. Aaron

    Anthony V. Aaron
    • Professor of the Practice of Accounting
    • Director, USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute

    Tony Aaron is currently serving as Professor of the Practice of Accounting in the Leventhal School of Accounting, Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Professor Aaron has also been appointed as Director of the USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute. He has spent over 45 years in valuation, financial analysis and academia with the majority of his career taking place at Ernst & Young LLP. Prior to EY, he served as a securities analyst with a Southern California-based Registered Investment Advisory Firm. Professor Aaron holds the Chartered Financial Analyst Charter, is a Fellow with the American Society of Appraisers and is a Fellow with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Tony has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Appraisal Foundation in Washington, DC, as well as serving in many other roles with the ASA, the AICPA and the Appraisal Foundation. He received his BS from USC and his MBA from UCLA.

  • Andy Call

    Andy Call
    • Interim Dean, USC Marshall School of Business
    • Dean, USC Leventhal School of Accounting
    • Alan Casden Dean’s Chair
    • Professor of Accounting

    Andy Call is interim dean of USC Marshall School of Business and dean of the Leventhal School of Accounting, and the Alan Casden Dean’s Chair at the University of Southern California. Professor Call’s research focuses on the activities of Wall Street analysts and their impact on the capital markets, managers’ forward-looking earnings guidance, the role of the media in disseminating accounting information, and the involvement of employee whistleblowers in the discovery of financial misreporting. His research has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, and Review of Accounting Studies, and has been featured in many prominent media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg, CFO Magazine, The Motley Fool, and CNBC. Professor Call currently serves as an editor at The Accounting Review, has taught financial reporting topics to both undergraduate and graduate students, and has received numerous teaching and research awards.

  • Tracie Majors

    Tracie Majors
    • Associate Professor of Accounting
    • Assistant Director of the USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute

    In Tracie's research, she employs theories from psychology and economics to delve into the effects of facets of auditors’ day-to-day environment on their judgment and decision making. Her research also incorporates individual attributes and proposes interventions to address identified problems. Tracie currently teaches introductory accounting, and also has experience teaching graduate-level auditing. She earned her doctorate at University of Texas at Austin, and has served on the faculty at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to her doctorate, she worked in auditing and transaction services at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

ADVISORY COUNCIL

The USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute is enriched by the expertise and guidance of its Institute Advisory Council – a distinguished group of approximately 20 leaders in the accounting profession. Meeting monthly, the council plays a key role in supporting the Institute’s initiatives, including planning the annual conference and other key activities.

CURRENT

  • Anthony V. Aaron
    • Professor of the Practice of Accounting
    • Director, USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute

    Tony Aaron is currently serving as Professor of the Practice of Accounting in the Leventhal School of Accounting, Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Professor Aaron has also been appointed as Director of the USC SEC and Financial Reporting Institute. He has spent over 45 years in valuation, financial analysis and academia with the majority of his career taking place at Ernst & Young LLP. Prior to EY, he served as a securities analyst with a Southern California-based Registered Investment Advisory Firm. Professor Aaron holds the Chartered Financial Analyst Charter, is a Fellow with the American Society of Appraisers and is a Fellow with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Tony has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Appraisal Foundation in Washington, DC, as well as serving in many other roles with the ASA, the AICPA and the Appraisal Foundation. He received his BS from USC and his MBA from UCLA.

  • John White

    • Chair, SEC and Financial Reporting Institute Advisory Council
    • Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore

  • Thomas Barbieri

    • Partner-Chief Accountant, PWC LLP

  • Paul Beswick

    • Partner-Chief Accountant, EY LLP

  • Andy Call
    • Interim Dean, USC Marshall School of Business
    • Dean, USC Leventhal School of Accounting
    • Alan Casden Dean’s Chair
    • Professor of Accounting

    Andy Call is interim dean of USC Marshall School of Business and dean of the Leventhal School of Accounting, and the Alan Casden Dean’s Chair at the University of Southern California. Professor Call’s research focuses on the activities of Wall Street analysts and their impact on the capital markets, managers’ forward-looking earnings guidance, the role of the media in disseminating accounting information, and the involvement of employee whistleblowers in the discovery of financial misreporting. His research has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, and Review of Accounting Studies, and has been featured in many prominent media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg, CFO Magazine, The Motley Fool, and CNBC. Professor Call currently serves as an editor at The Accounting Review, has taught financial reporting topics to both undergraduate and graduate students, and has received numerous teaching and research awards.

  • Paul Chen

    • Partner-Los Angeles Assurance Leader, EY LLP

  • Brandon Coleman

    • Partner-Chief Accountant, Deloitte LLP

  • Liz Crowe

    • Professional Accounting Fellow, Financial Executives International

  • Mark DeFond
    • A. N. Mosich Chair in Accounting
    • Professor of Accounting

    Professor DeFond is the A. N. Mosich Chair of Accounting, Leventhal School, University of Southern California. His research investigates issues in auditing, international accounting, and earnings management.

  • Anthony Ferguson

    • Partner, BDO Siedman

  • Elaine Harwood

    • Senior Vice President, Cornerstone Research

  • William Holder
    • Professor Emeritus of Accounting

    William Holder is an expert on financial accounting and reporting, and auditing. His research has been published in The Journal of Accountancy, The Accounting Review, the Financial Executive, and The CPA Journal. He is a recipient of the Gold Medal Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award. Professor Holder served as a member of the American Institute of CPAs and chaired its audit committee.

  • Cathy Hyodo

    • Partner - Los Angeles Office, Managing Partner, Grant Thornton LLP

  • Kristen Jaconi
    • Executive Director Peter Arkley Institute for Risk Management
    • Professor of the Practice of Accounting

  • Zoe-Vonna Palmrose
    • Accounting Circle Professor Emeritus of Accounting

    Zoe-Vonna Palmrose has published and spoken extensively on financial reporting and auditing, including restatements, materiality, audit litigation, and pricing of audit services.

  • Lori L. Smith
    • Professor Emeritus of Clinical Accounting

    Prior to joining the faculty of the Leventhal School in 2011, she spent two decades with Deloitte, and served as the Director of Accounting for Bergen Brunswig Corporation. Additionally, Lori has served as the Executive Director of the Forum for Corporate Directors and was actively involved for 10 years on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society. Lori served with distinction as the Director of the SEC and Financial Reporting Institute at Leventhal. Another important role that Lori plays in the Leventhal School is that of Assistant Dean of Academic Administration.

  • Norman Strauss

    • Executive Professor in Residence, CUNY - Baruch College

  • Scott Taub

    • Managing Director, Financial Reporting Advisors LLC

  • Kirk Thorell

    • Partner, PWC LLP

  • Joe Ucuzoglu

    • Chair, Board of Councilors

    Joe Ucuzoglu is the Deloitte Global CEO leading the largest professional services organization in the world. He frequently speaks on a broad range of current issues facing the business community. Joe received a BS in accounting from USC Leventhal.

  • Landon Westerlund

    • Partner-National Office, KPMG LLP

EMERITI

  • Jerry Arnold

    • Professor, USC Leventhal School of Accounting

  • Randolph Paul Beatty
    • Professor Emeritus of Accounting

    Professor Beatty's scholarship spans accounting, finance, and management, with articles published in The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting Horizons, Journal of Law & Economics, Journal of Financial Economics, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Strategic Management Journal.

  • Dennis Beresford

    • Executive-in-Residence, University of Georgia

  • Chris Cox

    • Former Chair, SEC

  • Christine Davine

    • National Managing Partner - Q,R & R, Deloitte LLP

  • Roger Molvar

    • Director, PacWest Bancorp

  • Patrick Niemann

    • Former LAO MP, EY LLP

  • Charles Noski

    • CFO (retired), Bank of America

  • Samuel Herbert Perlmutter
    • Adjunct Professor of Accounting

    Professor Herb Perlmutter retired from Deloitte in 2019 after 41 years, including 31 years as a partner. During that time, he served as lead audit partner for clients in the technology, life sciences and consumer products industries.

  • Thomas Ryan

    • Adjunct Professor (retired), USC Leventhal School of Accounting

  • John Stewart

    • Managing Director, Financial Reporting Advisors LLC

  • Dana Sullivan

    • Partner - Retired Chief Quality Officer, Deloitte

  • James Talevich

    • Board Member - Audit Committee Chair, BIOLASE

  • Curt Weller

    • Partner (retired) - former Chief Accountant, Deloitte LLP