Sara Kern, Ph.D.

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs & Professor of Accounting

Sara Kern, PhD, CPA, CFE is a Professor of Accounting at Gonzaga University’s School of Business Administration. Sara’s teaching areas include financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing, forensic accounting, internal controls (fraud...

Sara Kern

Contact Information

Education & Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D., Management, State University of New York at Buffalo

B.S., Applied Economics and Business Management, Cornell University

Courses Taught

ACCT 260: Principles of Accounting I (Financial Accounting)

ACCT 261: Principles of Accounting II (Managerial Accounting)

ACCT 362: Accounting Information Systems

ACCT 464: Auditing

MACC/MTAX 664: Professional Ethics

MACC 665: Audit Research and Practice

MACC 670/671: Fraud Examination and Forensic Accounting


Sara Kern, PhD, CPA, CFE is a Professor of Accounting at Gonzaga University’s School of Business Administration. Sara’s teaching areas include financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing, forensic accounting, internal controls (fraud prevention), and professional ethics. Sara’s research interests include forensic accounting, professional ethics, corporate governance, and accounting education. Her work has been published in Accounting Horizons, Issues in Accounting Education, Journal of Accounting Education, Journal of Accountancy, and Fraud Magazine. She has previously served as President of the Western Region of the American Accounting Association. Sara has previously served as President of the Western Region of the American Accounting Association (AAA) and Chair of the AAA Forensic Accounting section's Education committee, and she currently serves as Chair of the AAA Teaching, Learning and Curriculum section's Awards committee and as a member of the AAA Lifetime Achievement Awards committee. She also previously served for 10 years as the Chair of Gonzaga University's Faculty Elections Committee. Sara is a CPA in New York and Washington and is also a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Brody, R., Sara Kern, and Ogunade, K. (2020), “An insider's look at the rise of Nigerian 419 scams”, Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 29, No. 1, January 2020, pp. 202-214. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-12-2019-0162

Dow, Kevin E, Watson, M.W., Shea, V.J, and Sara Kern An Accounting Ethics Case from Multiple Perspectives” Journal of Accounting Education, Vol. 43, June 2018, pp 63-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccedu.2018.04.003

Sara Kern and Gary Weber, “Implementing a Real-World Fraud Investigation Class: The Justice for Fraud Victims Project” Issues in Accounting Education Vol. 31, No. 3, August 2016, pp. 255-289.

Rich Brody, Virginia Cox, Sara Kern “Gender Equity in the Accounting Profession: An Update” The Accounting Educator’s Journal Vol. 25, December 2015, pp. 131-147.

Cindy Bolt-Lee and Sara Kern Highlights of Forensic Accounting Research Journal of Accountancy, pp. Vol. 220, Issue 5, November 2015, pp40-45.

Kern, Sara et al. “Framework for Taxonomy of Fraud” white paper, Stanford Center on Longevity, Aug. 2015. Available for download at: http://longevity3.stanford.edu/framework-for-a-taxonomy-of-fraud/

David DeBoskey and Sara Kern “Effect of Deregulation and Capital Market Incentives on Voluntary Disclosure in the Electric Utility Industry” International Journal of Economics and Business Research, (Special issue: "Business Globalisation: Accounting and Auditing, Corporate Governance, Ethics and Management") 2015, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2015 p. 186-220.

Rich Brody, Sara Melendy and Frank Perry, “Commentary from the American Accounting Association’s 2011 Annual Meeting Panel on Emerging Issues in Fraud Research” Accounting Horizons, September 2012, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 513-531

Gerhard Barone, Sara Melendy, and Gary Weber, “CFEs in the Classroom” Fraud Magazine, Vol. 27, No. 1, January/February 2012, pp. 12-14.

Sara Melendy and Ronald J. Huefner, “Monitoring Legal Compliance: The Growth of Compliance Committees” Accounting Perspectives Volume 10 issue 4, December 2011,pp. 241–263.

Dan Law and Sara Melendy, “Paper Airplanes, Inc.: Utilizing an In-class Case to Demystify Process Costing,” Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, Vol. 17, Numbers 5-6, August 2011, pp. 131-133 and 107-111.

Martha Doran, Sara Melendy, and Richard Riley “Service Learning Activities: Students Putting Their Skills on the Line to Assist Real Companies,” Fraud Magazine, Vol. 26, No. 4, July/August 2011, pp 14-16.

Marinilka Kimbro and Sara Melendy, “Financial Performance and Voluntary Environmental Disclosures during the Asian Financial Crisis: The Case of Hong Kong,” International Journal of Business Performance Measurement, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2010, pp. 72-85.

Ronald J. Huefner and Sara Melendy, “Multiple Dipping for Dollars,”Fraud Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 3, May/June 2009, pp. 20-23.

Sara Melendy and Ronald J. Huefner, “The Role of the CPA in Corporate Compliance Committees,” The CPA Journal, Vol LXXVII, No. 2 (February 2007), pp. 64-68.