Andrey Simonov receives tenure at UH Hilo’s College of Business and Economics

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Associate Professor of Accounting Andrey Simonov’s teaching, mentoring, service, and research all address issues that directly impact the community.

Group of a dozen students and faculty stand for photo. Students are holding their scholarship award papers.
UH Hilo Associate Professor of Accounting Andrey Simonov (back row, third from left), stands with faculty colleagues and student inductees into Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society, at the College of Business and Economics’ 2023 Scholarship Awards ceremony held May 3. Simonov is chair of the scholarship committee and coordinator of the university’s chapter of the honor society. (Courtesy photo)

By Susan Enright.

Andrey Simonov, an associate professor of accounting at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s College of Business and Economics, has received tenure. The UH System announced the 2023 tenure list earlier this year.

Andrey Simonov pictured.
Andrey Simonov

Simonov says tenure is a responsibility to do more for students and the community.

“For me, it symbolizes the recognition of my contributions to the university and my field,” he says. “It provides the freedom to explore deeper research ideas. With tenure, I am better positioned to focus on long-term research projects and devote more time to mentoring and guiding students.”

Simonov received his master of science in accountancy from University of Louisville in 2007 and his doctor of philosophy in accounting from Louisiana State University in 2014. He then served as an assistant professor of accounting at Washington State University before coming to UH Hilo in 2018.

In a short five years, he is rooted in East Hawai‘i and actively involved in a wide range of activities: teaching and mentoring his business students, contributing to the university community through committees and college leadership, out in the local community primarily working with underserved youth, and conducting relevant research of benefit to the state and Hawai‘i Island business sectors.

“My work is designed to benefit our community in several ways,” Simonov explains. “By conducting research that addresses local challenges and concerns, I want to contribute to the sustainable development of our island and state. Through teaching and mentoring, I aspire to empower students with the knowledge to become active contributors to the community. I believe that building research partnerships with local organizations helps strengthen the connection between UH Hilo and the larger community, promoting a mutually beneficial relationship.”

Teaching and mentoring

Associate Professor Simonov says his most significant work at UH Hilo is in preparing a new generation of business leaders who understand accounting, which he says is the language of business.

“That knowledge helps them analyze financial information and make business decisions,” he explains.

He teaches auditing and financial accounting while also overseeing and mentoring interns in accounting and business.

“I’ve supervised interns who have gone on to successful careers in business,” he says. “I’m proud to say that our students have made significant contributions to our community, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have worked with them.”

University and East Hawai‘i community service

At the College of Business and Economics, Simonov is chair of the college’s scholarship committee and also is coordinator of the local chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society for colleges and schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

He currently serves as vice chair of the College Senate, chair of the student affairs committee, and is a member of the quantitative analysis and critical thinking assessment committee.

Red-roofed UH Hilo College of Business and Economics, covered walkway into the entrance.
College of Business and Economics, UH Hilo.

At the campus level, Simonov is a member of the Chancellor’s Executive Council, the Faculty Congress where serves on the executive committee and is chair of the budget committee, and the campus’s long range budget planning committee.

Simonov co-chaired and helped bring to UH Hilo the 2020 Hawai‘i Accounting Research Conference. “The HARC conference was a very successful event, the largest ever held on the UH Hilo campus, and ranked among the top international accounting conferences that year,” says Simonov. “We received applications from leading research universities around the world and the USA.”

The three-day conference featured presentations of 160 accounting research projects and attracted over 200 attendees. “Our student volunteers played an important role in organizing the event and had the opportunity to meet top international researchers,” Simonov says.

In the local community, Associate Professor Simonov is a board member at the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of East Hawai‘i helping abused and neglected children.

He also serves as a career mentor for workshops by Hawai‘i NexTech, a local non-profit organization that promotes science, technology, engineering and math (the STEM fields) to high school students in Hilo. This NPO relies on local professional partnerships and community relationships for volunteers and mentor support.

Research

Marcia Sakai and Andrey Simonov seated, Simonov is speaking and gesturing.
Andrey Simonov speaks at a Fireside Chat between faculty of the College of Business and Economics and members of the Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce, March 2023. At left is Marcia Sakai, a founder of the college and former interim chancellor at UH Hilo, now retired. (Photo COBE/UH Hilo)

Simonov’s published research includes national and international topics. Recent work covers company exploitation of a loophole in fair disclosure regulation, CEO career concerns and expectations management, and economic determinants of financial analysts’ promotions.

In 2019, Simonov received the Best Paper Award for his presentation, “The Effect of Board Governance and Internal Control on Investment Efficiency,” delivered at the International Conference on Applied Business and Economics held in Honolulu.

Locally, Associate Professor Simonov is currently working on several research projects that cover efficiency in investing, and quality in auditing and accounting. The projects involve collaboration between students, the UH Hilo community, and the local community at large.

One of his current projects is analyzing the loan approval decision process in Hawai‘i. “This project fosters a sense of community engagement as we seek to address issues that directly impact our community,” he says. 

Other works in progress are on the topics of managers and earnings, cash flow disclosures and credit rating agencies, auditor specialization and investment efficiency, direct method disclosures and audit quality, auditors’ promotions and social ties, and social responsibility and audit quality.

Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.

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