Title: Assistant Professor of Accounting
Company: Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Erik Olson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Accounting at Vanderbilt University, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in Higher Education.
Dr. Olson is distinguished for his expertise in academia and is currently affiliated with the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, as an assistant professor of accounting. Since 2020, he has been an inspirational educator, teaching Intro to Financial Accounting and Reporting with an emphasis on valuation for Master of Business Administration students on campus. Heavily focused on the classroom experience when lecturing, Dr. Olson also offers tutoring and one-on-one coaching sessions for students when necessary. Additionally, he serves as a faculty representative for the dean of scholars of the Master of Business Administration students and is involved in recruiting and alumni events.
Having spent several years in the industry before pivoting into higher education, Dr. Olson was an accounting intern at Turner Construction Company in Miami, Florida, in 2011 and a staff member at Georgia Pacific/Koch Industries in Atlanta in 2014. Subsequently, he worked as a tax associate at KPMG LLC in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area from 2014 to 2015. While at KPMG, he worked primarily on work related to international tax and transfer pricing, which he found fascinating. Dr. Olson’s expertise in corporate finance, agency theory, financial reporting, institutional investing and other areas of the industry have been paramount to his continued success as an accountant and educator.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Dr. Olson received a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Master of Science in accounting with a specialization in taxation in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Accepted to the prestigious Yale University, he continued his studies, earning a Master of Arts, a Master of Philosophy, and a Doctor of Philosophy in management with a focus on accounting between 2019 and 2020 with the assistance of a Yale University graduate school fellowship. Dr. Olson is highly qualified in his field, earning credentials as a certified public accountant in 2015.
Active in her professional community, Dr. Olson is a member of the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Besides his work-related ventures, he enjoys volunteering for local causes. Most of his volunteer time is spent participating in school and community activities.
Throughout his professional career, Dr. Olson has researched the impact of disclosure on firm capital allocation decisions. He has also maintained an interest in taxation, corporate governance and institutional investors, among other areas of the field. Lauded for his expertise, Dr. Olson has presented numerous times before various organizations, including for the AAA/Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium, The Impact the Future Conference, the Yale SOM Fall Accounting Research Conference, The Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Accounting PhD Rookie Recruiting and Research Camp, all in 2019. He has also participated in numerous conferences over the past decade.
Dr. Olson has been recognized several times for his work ethic. He received an American Accounting Association FARS Excellence in Reviewing Award in 2019, was a Thanks Teach Vanderbilt-OGSM Award Winner for Teaching Excellence for the 2020-2021 academic school year, and was named to the Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors for 2024.
Dr. Olson attributes much of his professional success to her character and perseverance. Eager for future opportunities, he intends to continue researching his field and publish as much as possible.
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