Michele D. Meckfessel

Michele D. Meckfessel, CPA (NC), Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Accounting Department of the Ed G. Smith College of Business at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL). A former U.S. Navy SH-60B helicopter pilot who attained the rank of Commander, she transitioned into academia after extensive public-accounting experience with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP and Grant Thornton, LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Business Administration, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2012)
• M.S. in Accountancy (Tax Concentration), Appalachian State University (2003)
• B.A. in Mathematics, Illinois Wesleyan University (1991)

Research Interests: Dr. Meckfessel’s scholarship centres on the capital-market consequences of financial reporting choices and the economic effects of income-tax disclosure. Current projects examine the textual content of tax footnotes and the determinants and market reaction to tax-related financial statement restatements. Methodologically, she employs difference-in-differences designs, logistic regression, and mixed-methods evaluation techniques using Stata, Compustat, CRSP, and Audit Analytics data.

Publication Trajectory: Her recent articles (2021–2024) cluster around three themes: (i) tax-related restatements and corporate tax-avoidance behaviour, (ii) the usefulness and consistency of non-GAAP disclosures, and (iii) innovative pedagogy including the deployment of AI chatbots in accounting assessment. Collectively, this body of work bridges financial-reporting quality, taxation, and accounting education.

Scientific Awards & Scholarships:

• Appalachian State University Accountant of the Year (2004)
• Floyd A. Beams Scholarship (2008)
• KPMG/Phillip W. Wilson Memorial Scholarship (2003)
• North Carolina Association of CPAs Scholarship (2003)
• Pamplin School of Business Graduate Student Teaching Award (2010)

Service & Grant Activity: Dr. Meckfessel is an active member of the American Taxation Association and has served on curriculum-review and faculty-hiring committees. While specific grant awards are not detailed in the provided text, her research agenda is supported by access to restricted datasets (Compustat, CRSP, Audit Analytics) and aligns with funding priorities in taxation and financial-reporting policy.

Labs & Teams: Although no formal research lab is mentioned, her collaborative networks include co-authorships spanning more than 300 scholars in the 2023 Issues in Accounting Education article, indicating broad engagement with the global accounting-research community.