Three join OSU’s School of Accounting

Thursday, May 30, 2013

The School of Accounting in Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business is proud to announce the additions of three new professors for the 2013-14 school year. Joining the Spears School faculty are Lance Fisher, Leah Muriel and Lela “Kitty” Pumphrey.

“The School of Accounting is thrilled to be able to add such high quality professors to the faculty,” said Robert Cornell, head of the School of Accounting. “All three have earned doctorates in accounting from prestigious institutions and a wealth of wide-ranging professional experience.

“The School of Accounting remains committed to excellence in undergraduate and graduate-level education. Each of these professors will make an immediate impact in the classroom and will help in maintaining our reputation for world-class scholarship.”

Fisher will rejoin the Spears School’s accounting faculty this fall after spending time in the not-for-profit sector in Fort Smith, Ark. Previously, he had been an assistant professor with the School of Accounting from 2007 to 2010 after receiving his doctorate degree from the University of Arizona.

Fisher’s professional experience includes positions in assurance and consulting with Price Waterhouse (Honolulu) and with Arthur Andersen (Seattle) as well as senior accounting and finance positions in the private sector. His academic interests center on variables that influence the cost of capital.

Muriel has a doctorate degree in business administration (accounting concentration) from the University of Tennessee, and earned her  bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in finance from Texas A&M University.

She has professional experience in public accounting with Grant Thornton and also as an internal auditor at a publicly traded company. During her public accounting career she focused primarily on not-for-profit and governmental clients. During her time as an internal auditor she worked on a variety of special projects for management, Sarbanes-Oxley testing, and other operational audits. Muriel is also a licensed CPA in the state of Texas as well as a licensed Certified Internal Auditor.

Pumphrey has been an educator for more than 30 years. She taught at Idaho State University from 1988 to 2013 (with two absences to teach abroad). Prior to ISU she taught at University of Arkansas at Little Rock and at Arkansas State University. Her international experience includes Waikato University in New Zealand (one year) and Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (three and a half years).

She teaches primarily in the areas of financial accounting and auditing, specializing in governmental accounting and auditing. Prior to becoming an academic, she worked in public accounting for 10 years and served as a bank internal auditor for one year. During her public accounting career, Pumphrey served primarily government and non-profit clients. 

Public service is important to Pumphrey as she served on the Idaho State Board of Public Accountancy for five years. She is an active member of several professional associations including the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and the Association of Government Accountants She is a frequent presenter at professional meetings in the United Steates and abroad.  She is the author of several professional publications.