KPMG Foundation establishes Faculty Fellowship in Accounting at Queen's School of Business

July 7, 2005 ,KINGSTON, ON :
The KPMG Foundation, Canada announced today that it is establishing the KPMG Faculty Fellowship in Accounting at Queen's School of Business, with a pledge of $250,000 and an additional donation of $50,000.

KPMG is proud to establish the first Fellowship in Accounting at Queen's, says William A MacKinnon, CEO of KPMG Canada. We have many exceptional employees who are graduates of the Queen's Commerce program, including more than a dozen partners, so it is very fitting that we support the School by ensuring that talented professors are there for future generations.

As part of the Fellowship, the firm recognized the strong relationship between KPMG and Queen's and in particular the leadership of KPMG Inc. Vice-Chair Doug McIntosh, who is also Chair of the Queen's School of Business Advisory Board and a Queen's Commerce alumnus, with the donation of $50,000.

Doug has been a valued supporter of the School during a time of significant expansion, says Dr. David Saunders, Dean of Queen's School of Business. During Doug's five years as Chair, two new MBA programs were launched and the University completed a fundraising campaign that raised $262 million, including $20 million for a new building for Queen's School of Business.

Larry Murray, Chairperson of the KPMG Foundation, Canada, outlined the rationale for awarding this first Fellowship in Accounting to Queen?s School of Business.

The KPMG Fellowship will support accounting research of the highest caliber within the School, says Mr. Murray.While Queen's Commerce students will benefit from this original research, so too will the business community as a whole. KPMG is committed to advancing accounting skills and practices throughout industry and we are proud to have our name associated with Queen's School of Business and their outstanding accounting faculty.

The KPMG Faculty Fellowship in Accounting will continue in perpetuity, with the annual interest earned directed to providing research funding to a faculty member the Fellow who is appointed for three years with the opportunity to renew.

Dr. Michael Welker has been named the inaugural KPMG Faculty Fellow in Accounting. Dr. Welker is an Associate Professor of Financial Accounting at Queen's School of Business with exceptional research credentials. His work examines the relationship between accounting information and firm valuation, and has been published in such top academic journals as The Accounting Review; Contemporary Accounting Research; Accounting Organizations and Society, and The Journal of Financial Research. Researchers from Harvard, Wharton, MIT and the University of Michigan, among others, have cited Dr. Welker's findings. He serves as an Associate Editor of Canadian Accounting Perspectives and on the editorial board of Contemporary Accounting Research.