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Kenneth Merchant

Deloitte & Touche LLP Chair of Accountancy
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

 

Kenneth Merchant likes school. Scratch that—loves school.

After high school, he sailed through college and earned his MBA and CPA certification. Then he decided to try his hand in the workforce. Kenneth started at Texas Instruments, Inc. and then became a consultant for a Big 4 firm.

After a few years out of school, Kenneth got an itch to go back. So he decided to get the only degree there was left, a PhD. “I thought I would go back to my consulting job and career,” he says. But when he was in the program, he “got socialized into the world of research and teaching. I have been doing that ever since.”

He’s an accounting professor at the University of Southern California and he loves it. Kenneth says teaching “provides the ultimate in freedom and challenge.”

Kenneth describes his choice to go into accounting as “a historical accident that worked out serendipitously.” When he started working, Kenneth discovered “accounting is where the jobs were.” And they still are. Whether working in public accounting, not-for profit, government or, in Kenneth’s case, teaching.

When he’s not with students in the classroom, Kenneth is coaching them on the softball field or basketball court.

Nearly 40 years after getting his CPA certification, Kenneth admits he’s still hooked on accounting and teaching. “A CPA has a challenging, interesting and rewarding job for life. What more could you want?”

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