Dr. Kimberly Church has assumed the role of president for the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA) Educational Foundation. Since 2020, Church has served as the director of the School of Accountancy in the College of Business at Missouri State University. She is also a professor in accounting with a specialization in emerging technologies.  

The MOCPA Educational Foundation facilitates collaboration between Missouri’s accounting educators and firms, attracts candidates into the state’s accounting programs, and helps accounting programs ready students for success on the CPA exam and in their CPA career. The Foundation is also responsible for a large scholarship endowment fund that gives out scholarships worth thousands of dollars to Missouri students in accounting programs. Missouri State students receive significant scholarships every year 

As president, Church will be involved with raising scholarship money. She will also launch initiatives to further the accounting field in the state.  

The selection process for president is by nomination. Then, MOCPA leaders and members take a final vote.  

“It’s a huge honor to be involved in such an initiative, let alone be asked to chair it,” Church said.  

Church’s position is a two-year commitment and has a legacy of strong leaders. 

“I feel like I’m getting to walk among the giants,” she said.

Leading the way 

This appointment carries a special distinction, as it is an honor not only for Church, but also for the College of Business. No one from Missouri State has held this position before. 

Church has a clear vision for how she would like to steward her time as president. She will focus on what she calls “the accounting pipeline.” 

“I want to make sure we get more people in the pipeline for the accounting profession,” she said.

Her projects will involve inviting people into the field of accounting and increasing the appeal of the field to more prospective students.  

“For example, at Missouri State, we’re applying for a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) certification that provides a lot more opportunities for international students and help change the accounting perception of prospective high school students,” Church said. “We’re also improving the way we teach by adding gamification strategies and experiential learning into the intro classes.”  

Church’s inspiration for this type of initiative was the stereotype that the field of accounting; is “boring” and “just bookkeeping.” Her drive to work on teaching strategies and casting a wider net to prospective students, specifically first-year students, will help expand the field and break the stereotypes.  

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