Benjamin C. Ayers is the Director of the J.M. Tull School of Accounting at the University of Georgia. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and a M.T.A and B.S. from the University of Alabama. Prior to entering the Ph.D. program at the University of Texas, Professor Ayers was a tax manager at KPMG in Tampa, Florida, and a contract manager with Complete Health, Inc. in Birmingham, Alabama.

Professor Ayers teaches tax planning and research courses in the undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Georgia. He is the recipient of eleven teaching awards at the School, College, and University levels, including the Richard B. Russell Undergraduate Teaching Award, the highest teaching honor for University of Georgia junior faculty members. Professor Ayers’ current research interests include the effects of taxation on firm structure, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets and the effects of accounting information on security returns. He has published articles in journals such as the Accounting Review, Journal of Finance, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Contemporary Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of the American Taxation Association, and National Tax Journal. Professor Ayers was the 1997 recipient of the American Accounting Association’s Competitive Manuscript Award and the 2003 and 2008 recipient of the American Taxation Association’s Outstanding Manuscript Award.

John Robinson is the C. Aubrey Smith Professor of Accounting in the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and is currently serving as an Academic Accounting fellow at the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation Finance. Professor Robinson received his J.D. (Cum Laude) from The University of Michigan in 1979, and he was awarded his PhD in accounting from The University of Michigan in 1981. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas in 1985, he taught at The University of Kansas where he was The Arthur Young Faculty Scholar from 1982-1984. John teaches introductory taxation, corporate tax, taxation of partnerships, and tax planning. He is the recipient of the Henry A. Bubb Award For Outstanding Teaching, the Texas Blazer’s Faculty Excellence Award and the MPA Council Outstanding Professor Award. John conducts research in a broad variety of topics involving financial accounting, mergers and acquisitions, and the influence of taxes on financial structures and performance. His scholarly articles have appeared in Accounting Review, Journal of Finance, National Tax Journal, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of the American Taxation Association, The Journal of the American Bar Association, and The Journal of Taxation. In addition, John was the editor of The Journal of the American Taxation Association, from 2002 through 2005, and he was a co-author of the articles honored with the 2003 and 2008 ATA Outstanding Manuscript Awards.

Ed Outslay is a Professor of Accounting and the Deloitte / Michael Licata Endowed Professor of Taxation in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at Michigan State University, where he has taught since 1981. He received a B.A. from Furman University in 1974 and an MBA and PhD from the University of Michigan in 1977 and 1981. Ed currently teaches graduate classes in corporate taxation, multiunit enterprises, accounting for income taxes, and international taxation. In February 2003, Ed testified before the Senate Finance Committee on the Joint Committee on Taxation’s Report on Enron Corporation. MSU has honored Ed with the Presidential Award for Outstanding Community Service, Distinguished Faculty Award, John D. Withrow Teacher-Scholar Award, Roland H. Salmonson Outstanding Teaching Award, Senior Class Council Distinguished Faculty Award, MSU Teacher-Scholar Award, and MSU’s 1st Annual Curricular Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Award in 2008. Ed received the Ray M. Sommerfeld Outstanding Tax Educator Award in 2004 from the American Taxation Association. He has also received the ATA Outstanding Manuscript Award twice, the ATA/Deloitte Teaching Innovations Award, and the 2004 Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award from the Michigan Association of CPAs. Ed has been recognized for his community service by the Greater Lansing Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants, the City of East Lansing (Crystal Award), and the East Lansing Education Foundation. He received a National Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2003 from AFLAC and was named an Assistant High School Baseball Coach of the Year in 2002 by the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Ron Worsham is currently an associate professor in the School of Accountancy at Brigham Young University. He teaches taxation in the graduate, undergraduate, MBA, and Executive MBA programs at Brigham Young University. He has also taught as a visiting professor at the University of Chicago. He received both B.S. and M.Acc. (tax emphasis) degrees from Brigham University before working as a tax consultant for Arthur Young & Co. (now Ernst & Young) in Dallas Texas. While in Texas, he became licensed to practice as a CPA. After his professional work experience, Ron earned his Ph.D. at the University of Florida. He has been honored for outstanding innovation in the classroom at Brigham Young University. Ron has published academic research in the areas of taxpayer compliance and professional tax judgment. He has also published legal research in a variety of areas. His work has been published in such journals as The Journal of the American Taxation Association, The Journal of International Taxation, The Tax Executive, The Journal of Accountancy, and Practical Tax Strategies.

John Barrick is currently an associate professor in the Marriott School at Brigham Young University. He served as an Accountant at the United States Congress Joint Committee on Taxation for the 110th and 111th Congresses. He teaches taxation in the graduate and undergraduate programs at Brigham Young University. He received both B.S. and M.Acc. (tax emphasis) degrees from Brigham University before working as a tax consultant for Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). After his professional work experience, John earned his Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Professor Barrick was the 1998 recipient of the American Accounting Association, Accounting, Behavior, and Organization Section’s Outstanding Dissertation Award. John researches issues relating to professional tax judgment and tax information search. His research has been published in such journals as Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Contemporary Accounting Research, and the Journal of the American Taxation Association., John teaches continuing education courses for three of the big four accounting firms and other CPA firms.

Connie D. Weaver is an associate professor of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University and a certified public accountant.  She holds a Ph.D. from Arizona State University, a Masters of Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.  Prior to obtaining her Ph.D., Professor Weaver was a tax manager at Ernst & Young in Dallas, TX.

Professor Weaver teaches introductory taxation in the undergraduate program at Texas A&M University. She has also taught undergraduates and graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  She is the recipient of several teaching awards, including the 2006 American Taxation Association/Deloitte Teaching Innovations Award.  Connie’s current research interests include the effects of tax and financial incentives on corporate decisions and reporting.  She has published articles in journals such as the Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of the American Taxation Association, and Tax Notes.  She serves on the editorial board of The Journal of the American Taxation Association and was the 1997 recipient of the American Taxation Association/Price Waterhouse Outstanding Dissertation Award.  Connie teaches continuing education courses for two of the big four accounting firms.