WFU expert on accounting stardards named first Merrill Lynch Professor in Accounting

Duchac, an expert in financial accounting, has been an accounting professor in the Calloway School since 1993. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his doctorate in accounting from the University of Georgia. He will receive summer scholarship and research support, funds for classroom projects and professional development, and other benefits during his three-year appointment.

The professorship is the first of its kind for Merrill Lynch. John Fosina, a 1981 Calloway School graduate who is first vice president and legal and regulatory controller with Merrill Lynch, has fostered the relationship between the firm and his alma mater. He invited Duchac to complete a sabbatical with Merrill Lynch during the 2000-2001 academic year.

“Jon was a great member of our team,” said Fosina, who serves on the Calloway School board of visitors. “The success of his sabbatical contributed to the continued relationship we now have with the Calloway School.”

During his sabbatical with Merrill Lynch, Duchac introduced training courses for employees, briefed employees on accounting updates and researched the firm’s position on the proposed changes to accounting standards.

Duchac played a key role in voicing the views of Merrill Lynch at the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s public hearings in February 2000 and during presentations to the board in September 2000. His group proposed a model- the “impairment testing model”- for determining a company’s value after a business combination. Their testimony helped shape the board’s current proposal on the issue.