Cynthia Simmons

Dr. Cynthia Simmons, a member of the Haskayne School of Business since 1988, received her PhD in Accounting from the University of Houston. In addition to her PhD, Cynthia holds a Masters in Accounting also from the University of Houston and a Bachelors in Philosophy from the University of St. Thomas. Cynthia has taught managerial accounting in the Undergraduate, MBA, PhD and Executive Education programs. She has been a visiting professor in New Zealand and has worked with Haskayne’s Masters programs in Ecuador, Iran and Peru.

Cynthia’s research interests focus on the influence that the creation and use of accounting information systems have on individual and group behavior. She has published papers that deal with the history of the CA profession in Canada, accounting for the environment, initial public offerings, and the way businesses go about selecting an auditor. Her current work is focused on budgeting processes in public institutions.

Dr. Simmons received the first Chartered Accountants’ Award for Teaching Excellence, has been awarded a Distinguished Service Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta, and has recently been selected to serve on the board of the CA School of Business. Cynthia has been the Head of the Accounting Area, the Special Advisor to the Dean on Budgetary Matters, and the Associate Dean Academic Planning and Priorities for the Haskayne School of Business.

Research & Publications

Higginson, Nancy, Cynthia Simmons and Hussein Warsame, "Environmental Disclosure and Legitimation in the Annual Report - Evidence from the Joint Solutions Project", The Journal of Applied Accounting Research, (Volume 8 Issue (ii), December 2006).

Simmons, Cynthia, Michael Wright and Vern Jones, "Full Costing of Business Programs: Benefits and Caveats", The International Journal of Education Management, (Volume 20, No. 1, 2006).

Warsame, Hussein, Dean Neu and Cynthia Simmons, "Responding to "Discrediting" Events: Annual Report Disclosure Responses to Environmental Fines", Accounting and the Public Interest, (Volume 2, 2002).

• Courses