Isenberg Accounting Professor Yoon Ju Kang Named KPMG Faculty Fellow

Yoon Ju Kang, PhD, associate professor of accounting at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, has been appointed KPMG Faculty Fellow for 2025-2027. As fellow, she will report to KPMG U.S. Department of Professional Practice (DPP) leadership and serve a two-year term.

One of the Big Four accounting firms, KPMG acknowledges the central role faculty play in the academic process by sponsoring academic conferences, providing research support, and funding KPMG faculty fellowships.

Kang’s recognition reaffirms that the Isenberg Accounting Department is highly regarded and has attracted and fostered academic leaders in the field, according to Isenberg Accounting Department Chair and Professor G. Bradley Bennett, PhD, CPA, the Ronald C. Mannino Faculty Fellow.

“This is an outstanding national honor and opportunity for Dr. Kang, and it’s a testament to her hard work, high-quality research, and reputation as a researcher and academic,” he said. “KPMG, the profession, and Isenberg students will greatly benefit from her work in this role.”

The fellowship will impact her research, teaching, and the accounting profession in positive ways, according to Kang, such as enhancing her understanding of new tools and technology—which will, ultimately, benefit her students at Isenberg.

“As a result, it will help me to better identify research areas that will contribute to the profession in a meaningful way,” she said. “It will also help me think about what skills Isenberg students should develop to better succeed in the profession as well as help enhance their understanding of the current topics in the profession.”

The academic fellow’s responsibilities include overseeing the KPMG competitive grant program (KARP), assisting the firm with ad-hoc research participation requests, and contributing to internal U.S. DPP projects. (DPP is responsible for ensuring the firm’s high quality of audit and accounting services.)

Kang said that being named the KPMG Faculty Fellow means she will have a chance to give back to KARP—a program from which she has benefited.

“I have been the recipient of the KARP grant and now will have a chance to help other researchers benefit the same way I have from receiving the grant, as well as help the firm identify interesting and meaningful research projects for the program,” she said. “The fellowship will impact the accounting profession as I will be able to serve as the bridge between academic research and practice.”

As KPMG’s Faculty Fellow, Kang will be able to share with Isenberg students and faculty how KPMG is creating new opportunities for their employees and meeting their clients’ needs in today’s marketplace.

“I will be able to provide insight from academic research findings related to the areas of interest to the firm,” she said. “Serving as the KPMG Faculty Fellow will allow me to gain knowledge on the most current areas that the firms are interested in and working on. This will translate into the classroom by allowing me to convey that knowledge to my students.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) and the increase in private equity acquisitions of accounting firms will create both challenges as well as opportunities in the accounting field, and her fellowship will open doors to research in these areas, according to Bennett.

“This is especially important as we consider how accounting professionals use and leverage technology, such as generative artificial intelligence (GenAI),” he said. “This will benefit our students as we integrate these insights into our curriculum and prepare them for their careers.”