Wendy Tietz, Ph.D., has taught large classes since she arrived at Kent State University 27 years ago. Each of her introductory accounting sections, one face to face and one live online, has about 250 students.
"It's my thing," Tietz said. "And I could not do what I do without technology."
That approach to teaching helped earn Tietz, a professor of accounting in the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship, a 2026 Outstanding Accounting Educator Award. It is widely regarded as one of the accounting profession's most prestigious honors.
The American Accounting Association (AAA) presents the award, and PwC US Group LLP sponsors it. It recognizes educators whose sustained contributions have significantly shaped accounting education through innovation, teaching excellence, scholarship, mentorship and service to the profession. Tietz shares the 2026 award with S.P. Kothari, senior adviser at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and emeritus professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management.
Tietz said a friend told her she planned to nominate her, and she didn't think about it again until the call came.
"When they called, I was so shocked," she said. "I'm teaching faculty, so it's the goal. It was just so touching that I got it, and then to be able to be recognized at the annual conference was really cool."
Learning by doing
Tietz teaches introductory accounting courses in a variety of formats, as well as the advanced accounting analytics and technology course. She is known for bringing emerging technologies into the classroom to improve student engagement and learning.
In her classes, students mostly work on problems instead of listening to lectures. Each day, they scan a QR code to download a Word or Excel handout, then work through it with her during class.
"I've tried to incorporate technology without going too crazy," she said.
Excel plays a big part. Tietz added more of it after hearing that students in intermediate accounting were recalculating numbers by hand with calculators instead of fixing a formula in their spreadsheets.
"In business, I don't care if you're accounting or not, you have to use cell references and formulas," she said.
Hearing from 250 students at once
Tietz uses polling questions in every class. Most of her students aren't accounting majors, so she focuses on the decisions a manager has to make. For example, after she puts up an adjusting entry, she asks students whether it will increase net income, decrease it or have no effect.
The poll results show her in real time where students are struggling. She uses them to decide what to spend more time on.
About every other week, she ends class with an open poll that asks, "What questions do you have?" Then she spends 10 to 15 minutes answering them. She said this is partly for students like the one she used to be.
"I tend to be shy. I don't think I ever spoke in class willingly," Tietz said. "If you put me in a class of 250 and you asked me any questions, there's no way I'm going to raise my hand. So I feel like there's probably a lot of students like that. I get a lot more questions that way, and things that I didn't think they didn't know."
She also uses an online board with columns for assets, liabilities and equity. Students post examples in each column, and she moves any that are in the wrong place and explains why, in front of the whole class. When a guest speaker from an accounting firm visited recently, students sent in questions through the polling software and Tietz moderated them.
"I would have a hard time teaching without polling questions," she said, "because otherwise, you're just relying on the people that are brave enough to put their hand up."
Preparing students for a fast-changing field
Tietz said accounting has changed throughout her career, but the pace of change is what's different now.
"What you learn today probably will be out of date within five years," she said. "Like a doctor needs to know the basic skeleton, you need to know how to calculate net income."
She said students need critical thinking and skepticism, and she starts building those in the first intro class. She also stressed the value of learning to interact with people.
"I think sometimes that's an overlooked part of the college experience, is learning how to be a professional," she said.
For students considering accounting at Kent State, she points to the program's ties with the profession. Professionals are on campus every week, and the Meet the Accountants night has been running for more than 30 years. She also points to the department's faculty.
"We all like each other 100%, and I think that is conveyed to students," she said. "We're all trying to work towards the same goal, and any of the faculty would help the students."
Over her career, Tietz has received multiple national teaching awards, including the Michael J. Cook Prize. She has co-authored three introductory accounting textbooks and presents at conferences across North America on topics including AI, data analytics and student engagement strategies.
For Tietz, the honor recognizes work she enjoys.
"I love teaching the large classes because it's a different kind of animal than a regular class," she said. "I'm just trying to lay the foundation. Let's think about what you need as a business person. I just really like it."
Learn more about the Outstanding Accounting Educator Award and Kent State's accounting programs.
