Chanyuan (Abigail) Zhang Parker

Assistant Professor, Accounting

Chanyuan "Abigail" Zhang Parker

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Bio

Personal Faculty Website

Abigail serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Accounting at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) since July 2023. Prior to joining UTSA, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She earned her Ph.D. in Accounting from Rutgers Business School in May 2022.

Specializing in the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and accounting, Abigail's research focuses on the transformative impact of AI on accounting and auditing practices. Her work has garnered the attention of key accounting regulators such as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), as well as industry practitioners.

Abigail has taught an array of courses, including Accounting Information Systems, Introduction to Managerial Accounting, and Auditing at the undergraduate level; Robotic Process Automation for master’s programs; and Information Technology at the MBA level. She is also a co-author and instructor for the AICPA's audit automation course modules.

Research Interests

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, Explainable AI
  • Machine Learning
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Auditing
  • Financial Reporting Quality
  • Disclosures
  • Accounting Information Systems

Degrees

  • Ph.D. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA
  • B.S. Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China

Publications

  • “Robotic Process Automation Implementation Case Studies in Accounting: A Beginning to End Perspective,” with H. Issa, A. Rozario, and J. Soegaard, Accounting Horizons, 2023. Research selected as relevant by the profession and included by the California CPA as a one-credit course for CPE. (ABDC Ranking: A)
  • “Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in Auditing,” with S. Cho and M.A. Vasarhelyi, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Vol. 46, 2022, Article 100572. (ABDC Ranking: A)
  • “How to Teach a 14-Week Robotic Process Automation Course for Accounting Students,” with M.A. Vasarhelyi, Issues in Accounting Education, Vol. 37, Issue 3, 2022, pp. 21–39. (ABDC Ranking: A)
  • “Attended Automation in Audit: A Framework and a Pilot Implementation,” with C. Thomas and M.A. Vasarhelyi, Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 36, Issue 2, 2021, pp. 101–124. (ABDC Ranking: A)
  • “Intelligent Process Automation in Audit,” Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, Vol. 16, Issue 2, 2019, pp. 69–88. (ABDC Ranking: B)