About Needles & Powers

Belverd E. Needles, Jr., Ph.D., CPA, CMA
Ernst & Young Distinguished Professor of Accounting, Driehaus School of Business,
DePaul University
bneedles@needles-powers.com

Belverd E. Needles, Jr. is an internationally recognized expert in international financial reporting and auditing. He teaches financial accounting and auditing at DePaul University and has many years' experience in executive education. His textbooks, including Principles of Accounting (12th ed), Financial Accounting (11th ed.) and International Financial Reporting Standards: An Introduction (3rd edition) are used throughout the world. He has published in leading journals, including most recently on the subject of strategy and financial characteristics of high performance companies.

He completed two years as Vice-President-Education of the American Accounting Association in 2011 and currently serves on the Consultative Group on International Financial Reporting Standards to the United Nations and is editor of ISAR Review 2012 for the UNCTAD.

He is past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Illinois CPA Society and past-president of the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER). He served as the elected U.S. representative to the European Accounting Association and president of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy. He served on the Consultative Group of the forerunner to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). He serves on the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Ziegler Companies, Inc., a capital markets and financial services company. He received BBA and MBA degrees from Texas Tech University and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.

He has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Texas Tech University, the Illinois CPA Society Outstanding Educator Award and its Life-Time Achievement Award, the Joseph A. Silvoso Faculty Award of Merit from the Federation of Schools of Accountancy, the Ledger & Quill Award of Merit, and the Ledger & Quill Teaching Excellence Award. He was named Educator of the Year by the American Institute of CPAs, Accountant of the Year for Education by the national honorary society Beta Alpha Psi, and Outstanding International Accounting Educator by the American Accounting Association. He has received the Excellence in Teaching Award from DePaul University.

Marian Powers, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Executive Education, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
mpowers@needles-powers.com

Marian Powers serves on the faculty of the Kellogg School of Management's Allen Center for Executive Education at Northwestern University. She specializes in teaching financial reporting and analysis to executives. Since 1987, Marian has designed and delivered customized finance and accounting training for numerous corporations and organizations.

Marian earned her Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana. In addition to serving on the accounting faculty of the Kellogg School, Marian has also taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago and The Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

She is also co-author of several college accounting textbooks and in-depth cases on financial analysis. The Text and Academic Authors Association chose Financial Accounting as recipient of the 1998 Textbook Excellence Award and in 2008 Principles of Accounting received the McGuffey Award. Her research has been published in The Accounting Review, The International Journal of Accounting, Issues in Accounting Education, The Journal of Accountancy, The Journal of Business, Finance and Accounting, Studies in Managerial and Financial Accounting, and Financial Management among others.

Marian currently serves on the board of directors of the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois and the Winnetka Community House and recently served on the board of directors of the Illinois CPA Society. Marian has been active in several professional organizations including the American Accounting Association, European Accounting Association, International Association of Accounting Education and Research, the American Society of Women Accountants, and The Education Foundation for Women in Accounting.

Dr. Powers has received recognition and awards for her teaching and is a part of a team that developed and delivers The Conference on Accounting Education, an annual conference now in its 25th year.

On December 2, 2011, in recognition of her outstanding career and lifetime commitment to accounting education, Marian was honored by Chicago State University with its lifetime achievement award.

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