SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- John Hancock rallied a nation with his large autograph on the Declaration of Independence, but new research from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business shows that signature size on corporate financial statements can signal far less noble intentions.

The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland is recognized as one of the top research institutions in the world, but it is also a place where students can learn from some of the best teachers in the business. Each year, Smith awards three different honors to its faculty members who have demonstrated a passion for teaching excellence: The Distinguished Teaching Awards, the Krowe Teaching Excellence Awards and the Legg-Mason Award.

Cybersecurity analytics was the theme of the Fifth Annual Business Analytics Workshop, held in College Park, Md., on Monday, May 18, 2015. Co-sponsored by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and IBM, the day-long workshop consisted of topics ranging from calculating cybersecurity investments to applying machine learning to cyber defense. The workshop provided ample time for questions from the audience and speakers delivered real-time solutions to some of the attendees.

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business community came together to celebrate the achievements of full-time MBA students at the 4th Annual MBA End-of-the-Year Banquet on May 14, 2015, held at the College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.

On April 20, 2015, the Accounting and Information Assurance Department at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted its annual Accounting Teaching Scholars  (ATS) dinner.

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U.S. multinational corporations (MNCs) hoard approximately $2 trillion in cash, the majority of which is kept overseas, and are required to pay U.S. corporate income taxes upon repatriation of foreign earnings earned in lower tax jurisdictions. New research provides evidence that MNCs facing higher repatriation tax costs are more likely to engage in acquisitions of both U.S. targets and foreign targets.

As tax season comes to a close, the new Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) chapter at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business celebrated their first season of operation, and almost 100 returns filed successfully. The VITA program was established by site coordinator Samuel Handwerger and professor Martin Loeb, with help from Wei Wu ’13 and 12 core student volunteers.

Lawrence Gordon, professor of managerial accounting and information assurance at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, will speak at the 2015 International National Cyber Security Centre One Conference, April 13-14, in the Netherlands. 

Fraud Buster Funds New Schilit Scholars Program  Companies guilty of accounting trickery don’t want Howard Schilit, MBA ’76, PhD ’81, anywhere near their books. The CEO of Schilit Forensics and co-author of “Financial Shenanigans” has a remarkable track record of cutting through corporate spin and telling investors what they really need to know before it’s too late.  Now the Smith alumnus is passing on his techniques to undergraduates at the school through the Schilit Scholars in Accounting program.