Retiring PwC Professor of Accountancy Kim Key says she’s in Auburn to stay

Most people aren’t particularly fond of talking about taxes, but for 26 years, Kimberly Key spent her time convincing students how satisfying it is to make a career of it.

Key joined the faculty at Auburn University’s School of Accountancy, in what is now the Harbert College of Business, in 1999. She is retiring this summer, after which she plans to stay in the community, keep active in her church and keep attending Auburn baseball games.

“I am from Iowa and attended the University of Iowa. I went to Michigan State University for the Ph.D. program, where two Auburn undergraduates were also in the program. Their love for Auburn started to rub off on me,” she fondly recollected when asked how she discovered an interest in Auburn. “I was excited to have the opportunity to join Auburn’s School of Accountancy.”

And her interest in taxes?

“I think my mom lured me!” she said. “I grew up wanting to go to law school, and she figured out a solid business degree was good background. I majored in accounting right from the start of college. My interest in tax arose because of the intersection of many aspects of tax, including its technical nature, economic importance, and political process.”

One thing led to another, and a few years later Key discovered a passion for teaching. What most has changed with that over the past two-and-a-half decades?

“Technology has changed, which is an obvious answer,” she said. “As someone who does not teach a topic that is technology-focused, the changes I have seen are in students. They have been adept at using their tools like laptops and iPads to meet their needs in particular classes, including tax.”

She doesn’t just teach

Mollie Mathis, a Harbert associate professor in accountancy, has worked with Key the past eight years and praised her for being an early influence.

“Dr. Key is always looking out for the best interests of others, especially assistant professors. She made sure that my time was protected as a young faculty member, so I could focus on teaching my classes and research,” Mathis said. “She always has an encouraging word, and she is not afraid to stand up for what is right even when she may be in a minority.

“She also gives a lot of thought to her words before expressing an opinion. She sets an excellent example of how a full professor should function within a department.”

Mathis called Key “the backbone of our tax group, and she will be greatly missed... She always acts in the best interests of students, prioritizing their learning over their desire for the path of least resistance, and I find this particularly admirable.”

However, Key’s expertise wasn’t limited to the classroom or working with students. 

“Something that should be mentioned, is Dr. Key conducts excellent research,” Mathis said. “In addition to her dissertation being in Journal of Accounting & Economics, she solo-published a paper titled ‘Taxes and asset prices: The case of thoroughbreds,’ which is published in the Journal of the American Taxation Association and demonstrates the effects that taxes have on the pricing of the thoroughbred auction market.

“I have had several faculty from other universities mention to me that this paper is the most creative and interesting paper they have read. She is well known for this paper in the tax community.”

‘Little did I know...’

Harbert College Advisory Council Professor Kerry Inger has worked with Key since 2012, “when I started as a brand-new assistant professor. She has been a wonderful mentor and I appreciate her friendship.

“Kim is truly an expert in taxation,” Inger said. “She has taught every tax class at Auburn and been a part of significant growth in the accounting programs.

“Kim is known for being genuine and approachable. Her students comment on her deep technical knowledge and inclusion of current events in class. She has positively impacted a generation of tax professionals that are now working all over the country, and the world!”

Inger, like Mathis, also pointed to Key’s research as a standout quality during her Harbert career.

“Kim is known for having research that examines research questions in unique ways. For example, in my Ph.D. seminar at Virginia Tech we read one of her papers that examined a tax issue in the horse-racing industry,” she said. “It struck me as such a clever way to examine this research question.

“Little did I know I would be working with her at Auburn a few years later.”

Key also took her tax expertise into the community, Inger said, something she hopes will be continued.

“We will maintain our strong engagement with the accounting profession and Auburn alumni. Kim has been leading our volunteer income tax assistance program collaboration with Goodwill, which is an important outreach service that we will continue going forward,” she said.

More than that, she’s fun

Ellen Cates works with Deloitte, a major global accounting firm, in its mergers and acquisitions tax group, but before that she was an Auburn student under Key’s tutelage.

“I met Dr. Key in spring 2016 when I took her Tax II class during undergrad. Throughout that semester, I frequented her office hours many times and continued stopping by whenever I saw her door open,” she said. “After graduation, Dr. Key has remained an important influence in my life.”

Cates fondly recalls the willingness of Key to listen as well as teach.

“They say that the greatest gift you can give someone is your time, and Dr. Key has been so gracious to extend the gift of her time to me many times since I first sat in her classroom,” she said.

More than that, “she’s fun.”

“Dr. Key loves traveling and has been to so many interesting places. She enjoys reading. She’s great at games and is exceptionally fun and funny at game nights,” Cates said. “She’s humble, generous, and a very faith-centered person. And she’s an extremely devoted mother to her son, Michael.

“It’s impossible to sum up her legacy in a few mere words, but I know that she will be very missed.”

Jonathan Stanley, KPMG professor and director, School of Accountancy, echoed the tributes to Key and her impact on programs at Harbert.

“She has contributed so much to the School of Accountancy.  She has done it all, including being a cornerstone for all things related to our undergraduate and graduate tax curriculum and tax research efforts,” he said, and “providing leadership across all areas of our mission.

“Nationally, she’s brought significant recognition to Auburn through her leadership within the American Taxation Association,” having once served as its president. “To say that we’re going to feel her absence is a significant understatement.”

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