The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) in the US has named the recipients of its 2026 Accounting Education Research Grants.
The association backed three projects that focus on AI in auditing and the effects of private equity investment in accounting practices.
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From Virginia Commonwealth University, Aarati Nepal and Lindsay Andiola received a $6,770 grant for their project titled ‘Audit Client Inquiry: The Effects of Generative AI and Auditor Rank on the Client’s Persuasive Communication’.
Their study will look at how generative AI changes communication between audit clients and auditors.
The findings are intended to help companies strengthen auditor professional scepticism and improve training and review practices.
At the University of Connecticut, Tuan Doan, Steven Utke, Ying Zhou and Youli Zou were awarded $14,115 for their research, ‘The Consequences of Private Equity Investment in Accounting’.
This project examines how private equity is impacting accounting practices’ audit quality, efficiency, growth, mergers and acquisitions, profitability and talent acquisition.
The team’s findings are expected to provide insights to industry professionals and regulators.
Additionally, Joseph Reid and Kelley Duncanson from Alabama A&M University and Cynthia Lloyd of Grambling State University received a $14,115 grant to study how organisations’ use of AI in financial reporting processes influences audit risk, audit quality and auditor decision-making.
The results aim to inform future auditing practices, AI-related continuing professional education and regulatory policy.
Launched in 2011 under NASBA’s Education Committee, the annual grant programme supports research that advances accounting education and offers insights for educators, regulators and practitioners in a rapidly changing profession.
Since its inception, the programme has provided around $325,000 in funding for academic research across the US.
