Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Acting Chairman Daniel L. Goelzer recently announced that Professor Michael Stein has been named as PCAOB's inaugural Academic Fellow.

Stein will be assigned to the Office of Research and Analysis (ORA) for the academic year 2010-2011. He will provide analytical support and expertise to ORA and other PCAOB staff. ORA identifies and analyzes emerging accounting and auditing issues, and other risk areas that may contribute to audit failures.

Stein will undertake projects in support of both the board's strategic plan and ORA's work plan. Such projects may include research on accounting and auditing matters, risk-assessment research, and/or other research and work relating to PCAOB activities.

"I am pleased to announce Professor Michael Stein as inaugural Academic Fellow. His depth of experience, technical research expertise, and focus on education will translate well to the mission and duties of the PCAOB," said Daniel L. Goelzer, PCAOB acting chairman. "He is clearly suited for the fellowship, and we believe that the PCAOB will greatly benefit from the insights of Professor Stein."

Stein is a professor of Accounting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. He has published articles in leading academic journals on topics such as: audit quality and audit market competitiveness; the pricing of litigation risk in audit fees; the measurement and identification of factors contributing to auditor productive efficiency; the estimation of auditors' materiality assessments; auditor changes and auditor tenure; and the measurement of the value of audits.

He has completed multiple appointments as an editorial board member for The Accounting Review and Contemporary Accounting Research publications. He recently finished a term as an associate editor for the journal Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory.

Stein's fellowship will begin on July 26, and is for a term of 12 months.