Katherine J. Silvester

Katherine J. Silvester, Ph.D. has been a Professor of Accounting in the Department of Accounting and Business Law at Siena College since 2003. She spent her early professional career as a Management Accountant and Business Manager at entrepreneurial subsidiaries of companies such Martin Marietta and Alcoa. Subsequently, she earned her Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Maryland in College Park in 1992. She has taught both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Maryland, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and now at Siena College. Her primary teaching and research interests lie in the areas of managerial and cost accounting, pricing, quality/cost issues, and accounting pedagogy. In addition, she has previously published in journals such as the Journal of Business Case Studies, the Journal of Accounting Case Research, Journal of Higher Education  Theory and Practice,  and the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy. Her academic and pedagogical research has been presented throughout the U.S. and Western Europe at both professional and academic conferences.

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

Teaching involves much more than transmitting information to students. Teaching involves interacting with each student in an encouraging and empathetic manner. I believe that it is my responsibility to structure each lesson so that the student can see how everything fits together into the "big picture." I firmly believe that "if you can't draw it, you don't understand it."

My Favorite Courses to Teach

I love teaching ACCT 350 - Cost Accounting. I enjoy helping accounting majors develop their analytical skills by learning how to use cost flow diagrams (boxes).

My Professional Experience

Current Research

My primary teaching and research interests lie in the areas of managerial and cost accounting, pricing, quality/cost issues, and accounting pedagogy

Articles & Book Reviews

• Nina's River Street Cakes: Using Diagrammatic Problem Representation for Analyzing Activity Costs
  Journal of Business Cases and Applications, vol. 33
  March, 2022
• Visualization of Cost Variances in the Strategic Analysis of Changes in Operating Income
  International Academic Conference on Business
  August, 2017
• Manufacturing Cost Flow Diagrams as an Alternative Method of External Problem Representation - A Diagrammatic Approach to Teaching Cost Accounting and Evidence of Its Effectiveness
  Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, vol. 16
  June, 2016
• The Quilt Company: An Experiential Case in the Behavioral Effects of Accounting and Measurement Upon Manufacturing Quality
  Journal of Business Case Studies, vol. 4
  October, 2008
• Integrated Market Immersion Approach to Teaching New Product Development in Technologically-Oriented Teams
  Journal Of Product Innovation Management, vol. 19
  January, 2002
• Coffee Anyone? - Part 2: Additional Business Opportunity Statements For Unstructured Capital Budgeting Projects
  Journal of Business Case Studies, vol. 9
  Mar/Apr, 2013
• Coffee Anyone? An Unstructured Capital Budgeting Project to Encourage Critical Thinking Skills in Accounting Students
  Journal of Business Case Studies, vol. 8
  Mar/Apr, 2012
• Faith's Country Primitives: An Excel Project in Flexible Budgeting and Standard Cost Analysis
  Journal of Business Case Studies, vol. 13
  Oct-Dec, 2017
• Mr. V's Boutique: A Case in Cost Analysis and Prediction
  The Journal Of Accounting Case Research, vol. 9
  Spring, 2007
• Stock Market Reactions to Activity-Based Costing Adoptions
  Journal Of Accounting And Public Policy, vol. 18
  Summer, 1999
• Why ABC Failed and How It May Yet Succeed
  Journal Of Cost Management
  Winter, 1996

Awards & Distinctions

•  A Best Paper Award for my paper presentation in Session 218, 12/31/2019.  
  Category: Teaching-Research
  International Academic Conference on Business, Orlando, Florida, 2019
•  Annual School of Business Award to a Faculty Member.
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College School of Business, 2017
• Best Paper Award for Session in which my pedagogical Capital Budgeting paper was presented. January 2012. Orlando, Florida.
  Category: Other
  International Business and Economics Conference, 2012
• Best Paper Award
  Category: Research
  The 2009 International Association of Business Research and Teaching and Learning Conferences, 2009
• Annual School of Business Award to a Faculty Member.
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College School of Business, 2008
• Best Paper Award
  Category: Research
  European Teaching and Learning Conference, 2006
• Grant to attend the European Teaching and Learning Conference, Florence, Italy
  Category: Research
  Committee on Teaching and Development, 2006
• Selected as one of three faculty members, nation-wide, for their annual Faculty Excellence Award.
  Category: Other
  Boeing Corporation, 1994
• Selected for and attended the New Faculty Accounting Consortium, sponsored by Arthur Andersen, Chicago, Illinois.
  Category: Research
  Arthur Andersen, 1993
• Allan J. Krowe Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Doctoral Student.
  Category: Teaching
  School of Business, University of Maryland, 1991
• Superior Performance Award while employed by Martin Marietta Data Systems as a Senior Business Manager.
  Category: Other
  Martin Marietta, 1985

Books & Book Chapters

• The Performance Effects of Activity-Based Costing and Management Systems (Monograph)
  Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International (CAM-I)
  1992

Presentations

• Jackson' Guitar Company: Applying Visualization Techniques to a Strategic Accounting Case Analysis
  March, 2024
  Academy of Business Research Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Visual Techniques to Reduce Cognitive Overload in Student Learners
  May, 2020
  The Teaching Professor Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
• Using a Diagrammatic Instructional Approach to Reduce Student Cognitive Overload in A Cost Allocation and Pricing Case
  December, 2019
  International Academic Conference on Business, Orlando, Florida
• Diagramming Cost Allocations to Enhance Student Learning
  August, 2018
  Academy of Business Research Conference, Boston, Massachusetts
• Engaging Business and Accounting Students in the College Classroom
  August, 2018
  Academy of Business Research Conference, Boston, Massachusetts
• Visualization of Cost Variances in the Strategic Analysis of Changes in Operating Income
  August, 2017
  International Academic Conference on Business, New York, New York
• Faith's Country Primitives: Using an Excel Project to Reinforce the Teaching of Standard Costing and Variance Analysis
  2015
  International Education Conference, Orlando, Florida
• Cost Flow Diagrams a an Alternative Method of External Problem Representation
  October, 2014
  American Accounting Association Northeast Regional Meeting, Albany, New York
• A Diagrammatic Approach to Teaching Cost Flows and Evidence of Its Effectiveness
  August, 2013
  American Accounting Association National Meeting, Anaheim, California
• Capital Budgeting Project for Accounting Students: A New Business Analysis; Presentation DW12-424
  January, 2012
  International Business & Economics Conference, Orlando, Florida
• An Activity-Based Costing Manufacturing Simulation Using LEGO Blocks, Presentation NO11-350
  2011
  International Business & Economics Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Teaching Cost Accounting Logic Using Cost Flow Diagrams, Presentation NO11-144
  2011
  International Education Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Teaching Process Costing Theory and Technique Through Experiential Learning Exercises
  March, 2009
  The 2009 IABR and TLC Conferences, San Antonio, Texas
• Quilt Company: An Experiential Case of Accounting, Cost of Quality, and Performance Measurement in a Manufacturing Environment
  June, 2006
  European Teaching and Learning Conference, Florence, Italy
• A Teaching Workshop on the Quilt Company: An Experiential Case of Accounting, Cost of Quality, and Performance Measurement in a Manufacturing Environment
  May, 2006
  Hawaiian International Conference on Business, Honolulu, Hawaii
• Teaching New Product Development in Technologically-Oriented Teams
  October, 2002
  Product Development Managers Association International Conference, Orlando, Florida
• Assessing Team-Based Student Projects
  May, 2002
  Annual Renssealer Colloquium on Teaching and Learning, Troy, New York
• Why Activity-Based Costing Failed and How it May Yet Succeed: Recognizing Structural Barriers to Change
  October, 1994
  American Society for Competiveness (ASC) Conference, Boston, Massachusetts
• The Performance Effects of Activity-Based Costing and Management Systems
  September, 1992
  Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International, Copenhagen, Denmark
• The Performance Effects of Activity-Based Costing and Management Systems
  1992
  Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International, Boston, Massachusetts