Study examines the role that financial statement audits and regulatory focus can have in equity crowdfunding decisions

Posted on December 2, 2024 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For nearly a decade, startups and small enterprises have turned to equity crowdfunding as a way to raise capital quickly and cost effectively. Equity crowdfunding is a form of crowdfunding that allows private companies to seek funding from amateur investors without the rigorous listing requirements of traditional public stock offerings.

Since the introduction of Regulation Crowdfunding in the United States, the popularity of equity crowdfunding for startup entrepreneurs and amateur investors has surged. Despite this growth, there remain questions about how funders make decisions on equity crowdfunding platforms and what role platforms should play when it comes to assurance services and financial statement requirements.

Many companies currently seeking capital through equity crowdfunding are early-stage ventures with limited or no historical financial track record. While potentially advantageous to both investors and small enterprises, equity crowdfunding investments, like all investments, have inherent risks.

A recent study published in Small Business Economics evaluates the role that financial statement audits and regulatory focus can have in equity crowdfunding decisions.

Regan Stevenson

The paper is co-authored by Regan Stevenson, the Larry and Barbara Sharpf Professor at the Kelley School; Brad Lang, assistant professor of accountancy at Mississippi State University; and Jared Eutsler and Jesse Robertson, accounting professors at the University of North Texas. The researchers ran a between-person field experiment and discovered, as expected, when ventures provide audited financial statements on equity crowdfunding platforms, they are significantly more likely to be funded.

However, audits are costly for new ventures. Entrepreneurs therefore might want to consider when audits are most likely to provide value for investors and ventures. The research study described above explored such scenarios. The findings indicated that promotion-focused individuals were more likely to invest in equity crowdfunding opportunities overall.

However, the results also suggested that when equity crowdfunding campaigns featured audited financial statements, investors with prevention-focused dispositions were more likely to invest. This effect was amplified when prevention-focused investors viewed a pitch that emphasized the importance of being cautious and calculated in the business (a more prevention-focused pitch).

This was the first research paper to systematically explore the interaction between audits and investor dispositions in an equity crowdfunding setting. It demonstrates how assurance services and investor mindsets can jointly influence investor decisions.

“Given the high failure rate of early-stage small and medium-sized enterprises, it may be advantageous in some cases for equity crowdfunding ventures to undergo an audit to increase investor confidence in their offering, especially since equity crowdfunding investors often lack the expertise of accredited investors,” Stevenson said. “Equity crowdfunding investors might have difficulty identifying risk factors that suggest a venture will be unable to provide a return to investors.”

The authors further indicated that although equity crowdfunding is in its nascent stage, it is growing rapidly and has high potential to be an economic enabler for under-financed sectors and for entrepreneurship in general. As a result, there is a critical need for more research on equity crowdfunding for new ventures.

Entrepreneurs who take funding from close family and friends are more likely to pursue lower-risk growth options

Posted on December 2, 2024 by George Vlahakis

“Family and friends” financing is among the most commonly sourced startup funding.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Entrepreneurs often lack resources and funding needed to launch a venture and reach out to family and friends for initial support. But is it always good for a startup when individuals close to the founder are asked if they want to “be on the ground floor of something good?”

Donald F. Kuratko

New research from three Indiana University Kelley School of Business professors finds that such close ties to investors can lead founders to make more conservative venture growth decisions and make them more hesitant to take risks.

“In this study we were seeking to understand how accepting funds from these individuals influences an entrepreneur’s risk-taking preferences,” said Donald F. Kuratko, Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship and executive and academic director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

“When an entrepreneur’s relationship with an investor strengthens — like with family and friends — the entrepreneur is more likely to anticipate guilt associated with venture decisions as a founder considers whether those decisions could cause a venture to fail,” added Greg Fisher, professor of entrepreneurship. “This often prompts a founder to make more conservative venture growth decisions which can sometimes be antithetical to acting entrepreneurially.”

Greg Fisher

“Family and friends” financing is among the most commonly sourced startup funding.

The paper, “Funding-source-induced bias: How social ties influence entrepreneurs’ anticipated guilt and risk-taking preferences,” is forthcoming in the Journal of Business Venturing. Other authors are Regan Stevenson, associate professor of entrepreneurship and management; and Emily Neubert, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Texas Christian University and Kelley Ph.D. alumna, who led the project.

Using a sample of 193 entrepreneurs actively involved in incubator and accelerator programs, the researchers tested a model in which an entrepreneur’s strength of tie with an investor – if they were family or friends – impacted the entrepreneur’s anticipated guilt when making strategic decisions, which in turn correlated with that entrepreneur making less risky strategic growth choices.

Regan Stevenson

The research introduces the concept of a “funding-source-induced bias,” which is a bias in entrepreneurial decision making stemming from an entrepreneur’s relationship with an investor, leading to anticipated guilt when making risky decisions. Hence, entrepreneurs who take funding from close family and friends are more likely to pursue lower-risk growth options to avoid such anticipated guilt.

There are advantages to receiving early-stage funding from family and friends – it is often more accessible than other types of funding and offered up with more flexible terms than funding from other types of investors. However, family and friends funding comes with hidden costs. Personal relationships can be strained if venture growth and success expectations are unmet. It is a concern for these strained relationships that prompts entrepreneurs to make more conservative growth choices.

This study draws attention to the less explored side of the investor-entrepreneurship relationship: it examines how funding sources impact entrepreneurial decision making. Since entrepreneurs may pursue investment from a variety of resources, the results help entrepreneurs (and people mentoring or teaching them) understand how their decision making might be affected by their investors.

“By investigating entrepreneurs’ funding-source-induced bias, we shed light on how funding sources influence entrepreneurs’ decisions and actions,” Neubert said. “We hope this study motivates future research into this side of the investor-entrepreneur exchange relationship.”

Kelley School’s expanded Institute for Corporate Governance and Ethics acquires Ethical Systems from NYU Stern

Posted on November 21, 2024 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Over the past 20 years, the Institute for Corporate Governance at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business has gained national prominence.

Dean Ash Soni

To reinforce the broader impact and interrelationship of corporate governance and ethics, the Institute for Corporate Governance is formally changing its name to the Institute for Corporate Governance and Ethics (ICGE).

“This expansion and new name for the institute reinforce the importance of ethical business practices for long-term successful corporate governance,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor. “It also signals a new, broader mission for the institute to foster more interdisciplinary research on corporate governance.”

As part of this expansion, the Kelley School acquired NYU Stern’s Ethical Systems, a business ethics organization started by Jonathan Haidt in 2013. Ethical Systems, previously located at NYU Stern School of Business, makes academic research accessible to business people, helps them assess their company cultures, and guides them in applying research-based strategies to improve trust, integrity, and cooperation. Ethical Systems will be housed under the ICGE.

Todd Haugh

“Business ethics is a key aspect of corporate governance. The renaming of the institute reflects its expanded mission to advance all aspects of corporate governance research, as well as student advancement and corporate engagement in this area,” said Todd Haugh, director of the ICGE and associate professor of business law and ethics and Arthur M. Weimer Faculty Fellow in Business Law at Kelley.

The vision for the Institute for Corporate Governance and Ethics is to be recognized as a world class center for research and learning that has a positive impact on society. To achieve this goal, it will foster rigorous interdisciplinary research and make it accessible to a broad constituency.

“The Institute for Corporate Governance and Ethics also is fostering more collaboration across disciplines — from law, ethics, finance, accounting, management, marketing and other areas – to become a hub for innovative solutions to challenges faced by today’s businesses,” Haugh said.

Research: Be cautious in following crypto-influencers’ investment advice; most gains disappear within days

Posted on November 21, 2024 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – As cryptocurrency continues to grow in popularity, so have so-called crypto-influencers who offer advice about how to invest in crypto through their growing social media channels. But is their information of real investment value? Research from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business suggests that it isn’t.

Writing in a recent issue of the Review of Accounting Studies, three professors at the Kelley School, Ken Merkley and Brian Williams, professors of accounting, and Mark Piorkowski, assistant professor of accounting, are co-authors of the paper, “Crypto-influencers,” along with former Kelley faculty member Joseph Pacelli, now the Gerald Schuster Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University.

Ken Merkley

“The primary results of the paper indicate that crypto influencers’ tweets are initially associated with positive returns, consistent with them getting investors’ attention,” Merkley said. “However, these tweets are followed by negative longer-horizon returns, consistent with pump and dump schemes but at a minimum suggesting influencers’ advice has little long-term investment value.

“What is also troubling is that these effects are most pronounced for tweets issued by crypto-influencers proclaiming to be crypto experts and for self-described experts with many Twitter followers.”

These findings are especially relevant when considering the billions of dollars that investors have lost in crypto scams. In September, the FBI reported that Americans lost $5.6 billion to crypto scams in 2023, a 45% jump from the year before. Several recent high-profile cases suggest that figure is rising exponentially.

Mark Piorkowski

The researchers examined the returns associated with about 36,000 tweets issued by 180 of the most prominent crypto social media influencers, covering more than 1,600 crypto assets over a two-year period ending in December 2022. Their efforts differ from past research involving celebrity endorsements, as it only focused on information provided by people directly and prominently involved in the crypto market.

They obtained lists of available crypto currencies and daily price data from the data aggregator CoinGecko. Through internet searches they obtained lists of the most prominent crypto-influencers accounts and merged them with data on tweets posted on Twitter. Their unit of observation was an individual mention of a crypto currency in an influencer’s tweet on a certain day. They focused on short term results from the first to second day and then to up to 30 days later.

The mean one-day return for crypto-influencer tweets was 1.83% (and 1.57% for two days). But analysis of subsequent returns shows they begin to decline substantially as early as five days after the tweets. The mean return from day two to day five is -1.02%, suggesting that over half of the initial positive returns are eliminated within five days.

The returns continue to become increasingly negative, as average cumulative returns ending 10 and 30 days after the tweet are -2.24% and -6.53% respectively.

Brian Williams

“Back-of-the-envelope estimates suggest an individual buying small, lesser-known crypto tokens on the tweet date and holding the investment for 30 days would incur losses of 7.9%, generating an annualized loss of 62.8%,” Piorkowski said. “Post-event returns are more negative when the influencer self-describes as an expert and even more negative for experts who have a higher following.

“One can only profit from cryptoinfluencers’ advice by exiting the position shortly after the initial tweet, a strategy that is often not viable,” Piorkowski added.

Merkley, Williams, Piorkowski and Pacelli also used machine-learning methods to classify tweets. They found that this pattern of results strengthens when the tweets have a more positive sentiment or relate to buy recommendations, suggesting that crypto-influencers are usually sending positive signals in their tweets.

“Overall, the evidence in our study suggests that investors should be cautious in following crypto-influencers’ investment advice, as most gains dissipate soon after the tweets,” Williams said. “Some crypto-influencers may simply be chasing trends or promoting crypto-assets that will gain them the most visibility and followers, without a regard to the actual future performance of the asset.”

Kelley School of Business honors five alumni for their professional achievements

Posted on November 4, 2024 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Five alumni of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business were honored for professional achievement and volunteer leadership during the 2024 Kelley Alumni Awards Ceremony on Nov. 2 at IU Bloomington.

The Kelley Academy of Alumni Fellows recognizes alumni who have earned the stature of exceptional leaders by their demonstrated successes in organizations and their contributions to management philosophies and practices. This year’s class of fellows includes:

Khunying Natthika Wattanavekin Angubolkul, MBA’77, chairman and CEO of Eastern Sugar Group and president of the Federation of Business and Professional Women of Thailand
Scott Etzler, BS’75, former president of West Unified Communications Services and former CEO of InterCall.
Maria M. Quintana, BS’84, former executive vice president and managing director of JPMorgan Chase and a utilities director, board member and advisor in education and not-for-profit sectors

The Distinguished Entrepreneur Award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated the ability to establish a new business or turn around or significantly grow an established business. This year’s award was presented to Matthew J. Rubin, MBA’08, founder and CEO of True Essence Foods, and co-founder and technical lead of Tau Motors.

Andrew M. Allard, BS’90, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Indiana University Credit Union, received the Volunteer Leadership Award. He is recognized for extraordinary involvement with and investment in the Kelley School and for inspiring and impacting future generations of alumni leaders.

“The success of every Kelley alumnus enriches our school and its reputation, and inspires those who follow in their footsteps,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and The Sungkyunkwan Professor. “We celebrate a group of exceptional alumni who truly represent the excellence, professionalism, and innovative thinking that are part of the Kelley School.”

The Kelley School of Business Alumni Association selects and confers members of the Academy of Alumni Fellows, which now includes 261 individuals. Read more about this year’s award recipients. (more…)

IU, Kelley students, faculty and staff team up with Whirlpool Corporation to build Habitat home with sustainable features for a Bloomington family

Posted on October 10, 2024 by George Vlahakis

Each fall, Kelley School students, faculty, and staff partner with other IU students, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, Habitat for Humanity International, and Whirlpool Corporation employees to build a home for a Bloomington family.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Angelique Nesbitt turned 40 years old this year. She recently looked back at a diary entry and was reminded by a goal she had set for herself – to be a licensed practical nurse and a homeowner by the time she reached that milestone.

She plans to graduate with her nursing degree in December and later this month will see her new five-bedroom home nearing completion, through a partnership between Whirlpool Corporation, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County.

The build continues a collaboration with Whirlpool Corporation, a key corporate partner for Kelley, which began in 2010. This is the fourth home in Osage Place – and 14th overall – that has been built through the partnership.

Leaders from Whirlpool Corporation, Kelley and Habitat for Humanity International on Oct. 19 will celebrate the dedication of Nesbitt’s new home. More than 3,200 IU students, staff, faculty, and alumni have come together over the years to build this house and previous homes alongside Monroe County families.

Jeff Fettig, a Kelley alumnus and retired CEO of Whirlpool Corporation, led the company’s collaboration with Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County for several years and returns annually for home dedications.

The dedication ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the building site and the public is welcome. The day before, students, faculty and staff from IU and the Kelley School and Whirlpool employees will work together on Nesbitt’s home, which she hopes to move into soon.

Local volunteers will be joined at the dedication by Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor, and current and retired Whirlpool Corporation executives. They include those with strong ties to Kelley, such as retired CEO Jeff Fettig, who earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA from IU before joining the company in 1981; and Jim Peters, a 1998 MBA graduate who is the company’s executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer.

A new home with sustainable features

Nesbitt’s new home will be climate-resilient and energy efficient and is one of the homes being built through the BuildBetter with Whirlpool initiative, which aims to deliver an average of 45% predicted energy cost savings per family (compared to code-built homes) and a 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per home.

As a result of prior efforts through the initiative, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County recently received a $250,000 grant from the City of Bloomington to install solar panels on other homes. Combined with private donations, the organization has raised nearly $300,000, which will enable it to put solar on 30 homes. The solar panels come with monitors, which allow homeowners to manage the electricity usage in their homes.

“We’re thrilled the BuildBetter with Whirlpool program is delivering energy efficient homes and inspiring even more sustainable actions like the city’s grant to support solar panels,” said Jim Peters, Whirlpool Corp. executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer. “And as an IU grad, working side-by-side with the homeowners, students and community members to build sustainable homes makes me incredibly proud of the work Whirlpool has done and continues to do in Bloomington.”

Nesbitt and her family will symbolically receive keys to their home after the dedication, on the field at Memorial Stadium before IU’s homecoming football game against the University of Nebraska.

For one Bloomington family, homecoming takes on new meaning

Families qualify for the Habitat program based on three criteria: need for housing, ability to pay back their affordable mortgage and a willingness to partner. Each adult member living in a Habitat home must invest 250 hours of volunteering, called “sweat equity,” before closing on their house.

Angelique Nesbitt, center, and her family

It’s been quite a year for Nesbitt. As she’s met those requirements, she also worked toward completing her nursing degree and its clinical requirements, held a part-time job and simply being a mother – all to meet her goal.

“At first, I thought, ‘Do I really want to do this?’” she recalled. “But then I reminded myself, ‘It will be done by 40.’” Despite the hectic days and sleepless nights, Nesbitt remains motivated. “I have no idea how I am doing all of this, but I am doing it—me and God. … This time next year I’ll thank myself for it.”

Many students participating in the build are involved with the Kelley Institute for Social Impact, which serves as a hub within the school for socially conscious undergraduate students who want to make a difference in local and global communities through education, service, career development and leadership opportunities.

“This build provides our students, faculty and staff with an opportunity to put into action the values that we stress at the Kelley School and rewards us when we see the impact that it has on a local family,” Soni said. “Whirlpool Corp. is one of today’s most socially responsible companies. This experience enables our students to see how a company that cares and has a commitment to principles can positively impact the lives of others.”

(more…)

Kelley School launches cutting-edge “AI Applications in Marketing” course, empowers marketers with Gen AI tools for immediate impact and competitive advantage

Posted on October 9, 2024 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Indiana University Kelley School of Business is launching a live-virtual course, “AI Applications in Marketing,” designed for marketing professionals eager to harness the transformative power of artificial intelligence.

This course equips participants with a comprehensive Generative AI tool set to drive growth, reduce cycle times, and cut costs.

Paul Acito

In an era where AI is reshaping the marketing landscape, the course offers a timely opportunity for chief marketing officers and other c-suite executives, directors, managers, and high potential marketers to gain early advantages in AI adoption.

Participants will dive deep into market analysis, employ advanced analytics, create compelling content, and leverage GenAI tools for automation and agentic workflows.

“We aim to chart the course for next level marketers and marketing departments with a trust and safety-first application of GenAI workflows and a sharp customer focus,” said Paul Acito, course director at Kelley Executive Education Programs. “Our approach will keep marketers apace with this rapidly changing toolset and give them immediate ROI for their brands.”

Acito is CEO of Lyftbridge, an AI-infused marketing agency, and also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota and St. Catherine University. He has four decades of experience leading technology, health care, industrial, and safety businesses across four continents. He was president of 3M’s multi-billion dollar Personal Safety, Traffic Safety, Aerospace, and Infrastructure Protection divisions. He later served as 3M’s worldwide chief marketing officer, as well as marketing chief for Medtronic’s Diabetes Business Group. He earned his MBA at Kelley.

Among the course highlights:

Master industry-leading GenAI tools: Gain proficiency in major industry players, language models and the leading “wrap-around” applications.
Transform content creation: Utilize GenAI tools to enhance content consistency and significantly reduce production cycle times.
Go beyond prompting techniques: Apply sophisticated prompting methods and develop CustomGPTs, API calls and agentic workflows.
AI-Driven analytics: Analyze the impact of GenAI on marketing analytics democratizing access to complex methodologies for persona development, brand mapping, churn analysis and more.
Assistant/Agents/Avatars/Automations/APIs: Streamline virtual Marketing workflows to stream “light” new opportunities and marketing efforts.

The live-virtual online classes are designed to accommodate busy professionals.No quizzes, tests or 12-week commitments are required, just a quick start and a continuous feed to keep students a breast of developments and connected to their cohort, The course is delivered through two 90-minute sessions per week over four weeks. The course fee includes a ChatGPT team subscription, providing an inclusive benefit. Special rates are available for IU alumni, staff, non-profits and groups of three or more participants.

Registration is now open. To enroll or learn more about the “AI Applications in Marketing” course, click here or contact Laura Nicholson at laurnich@iu.edu.

Former Kelley Dean John Rau returns to the school to serve as Poling Chair

Posted on September 26, 2024 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — John Rau, the eighth dean of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, will return as its Poling Chair of Business and Government during the 2024-25 academic year.

John Rau

Since its establishment in 1993 by the late Harold “Red” Poling, a Kelley School alumnus and Ford Motor Co. chairman and CEO for nearly a decade, the Poling Chair has been held by a variety of business and government leaders.

While Rau led the school from 1993 to 1997, he also fits into the Poling Chair’s tradition of inviting those who share professional insights and experiences with students in matters of public policy, enterprise competitiveness, business and finance. He has nearly 40 years of executive and managerial experience.

Rau served as president and CEO of the private investment and holding company Miami Corporation for more than two decades, and previously as president and CEO of Chicago Title Corporation and of the LaSalle and Exchange National Banks. At the age of 35, he was the youngest of the top 100 bank presidents in the United States.

An 11-time corporate director, including six times as lead or chair, Rau also has held leadership positions at numerous business, civic, and philanthropic organizations.

In addition to leading and teaching at Kelley, he also taught in the graduate and executive education programs at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He also is a frequent contributor to Forbes.

“We are thrilled to welcome back someone whose legacy at Kelley includes initiatives that continue to be impactful today,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor. “John appointed our first two Poling Chairs – a former White House chief of staff and a former Indiana governor who later served as a U.S. senator. But he also introduced important ideas at Kelley, such as our distinctive, foundational academies, which have evolved into workshops that provide experience to complement what our students learn in the classroom.

“His vision has not dimmed, and I look forward to hearing from our students and faculty how the discussions he leads are meaningful,” Soni added.

The chair was established through a gift from Kelley alumnus Harold A. Poling, seen here in 1990, during his tenure as CEO and chairman of the Ford Motor Company. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

The first two Poling Chairs were Samuel Skinner, who served as chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush and as secretary of transportation in Bush’s cabinet, and Evan Bayh, Indiana’s 46th governor and the state’s U.S. senator from 1998 to 2010.

“I am honored to serve as the Poling Chair of Business and Government Leadership at Indiana University — a place that was once and still truly feels like home. I look forward to sharing perspectives and experiences with the next generation of policymakers and business leaders,” Rau said.

“Carrying on ‘Red’ Poling’s unwavering belief in the open, unbiased pursuit of knowledge, the Kelley School is a model of candid, serious, and respectful academic dialogue, and I hope to build on that tradition during my time as the Poling Chair,” Rau added. “Today’s students need to hear and learn from leaders who have been in the actual rooms where pivotal decisions are made, and I will try to keep paying that forward in the spirit of Red Poling.”

Rau follows a long line of successful leaders, many of them Kelley alumni, who have served as Poling Chairs.

They have included top executives at major companies, including Janet Foutty, former chair and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP; Jeff Fettig, former chairman and CEO of Whirlpool Corporation; Elizabeth Acton, retired chief financial officer of Comerica and a former vice president and treasurer of Ford Motor Co.; Randall L. Tobias, chairman emeritus of Eli Lilly and Co., and former vice chairman of AT&T Corp; and Bob Eckert, former CEO of Mattel Inc. and Kraft.

They also have included two former state governors –Maryland’s Martin O’Malley and Bayh — Hollywood producer Kristin Hahn, Indian parliamentarian Deepender Singh Hooda, the Countess of Frederiksborg in Denmark Alexandra Christina, former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and Mae C. Jemison, the first African American female astronaut.

Rau holds a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and mathematics from Boston College.

Arrangements have been made for Rau to attend undergraduate and MBA classes and meet with student leaders and faculty. During his initial visit Oct 13-17, he will be at IU Bloomington, but he will meet with Kelley Indianapolis students and faculty when he returns in the spring.

U.S. News ranks Kelley School undergraduate program and seven specialties in the top 10

Posted on September 24, 2024 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business consistently delivers a quality experience for undergraduate students, as shown through another top 10 ranking among all business schools in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.

The Undergraduate Program at the Kelley School in Bloomington is ranked ninth overall and No. 1 in the state of Indiana. Seven specialty programs are ranked in the top 10 and 10 are in the top 20. Kelley is tied for fifth overall among public institutions.

Ash Soni

“The success of our undergraduate program rankings is reflected in the success of our students and alumni – and results from our long history of consistency providing a high-quality business education,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor.

“After more than 100 years of offering innovative business programs, Kelley students are connected to one of the world’s largest business school alumni networks – with more than 130,000 living alumni who work at leading companies around the globe,” Soni added. “Our school’s undergraduate program has consistently been ranked among the very best, along with many of our disciplines.”

Kelley is one of only four business schools that are ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News in 10 specialty areas.

The school’s marketing program is ranked third; accounting was fourth; entrepreneurship, fifth; management; seventh; information systems, eighth; production and operations management and finance, each 10th; business analytics, 11th; supply chain management, 15^th; and international business, 17th.

Bridget Stomberg

“Kelley’s Undergraduate Program distinguishes itself from others through innovative offerings such as workshops, which provide an augmented academic experience to give students industry-specific knowledge to jump start their careers,” said Bridget Stomberg, Undergraduate Program faculty chair, professor of accounting and the Glaubinger Chair for Undergraduate Leadership. “Kelley places graduates in jobs around the globe; 98% of graduates report full-time jobs or planned graduate studies.”

The school also offers a portfolio of extracurricular activities – including over 80 student organizations – and extensive support services for students, including a one-on-one mentoring program offered to every incoming student, and academic and involvement coaching.

Kelley’s offering of integrated core business courses helps students attain an understanding of the cross-functional relationships between finance, marketing, operations and leadership. The Kelley curriculum allows students to customize their academic plan and choose from among 20 majors and co-majors.

U.S. News only ranks undergraduate programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and results are solely based on surveys of deans and senior faculty. Its peer-assessment score is based on two years of data about programs that are considered the best in a variety of specialty areas.

Overall, IU has seen strong growth in key priority areas of student success and opportunity and transformative research and creativity, according to the 2025 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges rankings. IU scored 34th among public universities in the Best Colleges rankings.

Message from the Dean: Looking forward by looking back

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Jeni Donlon

More than 48 years ago in late 1975, I arrived in Bloomington from Great Britain to teach for six months at the IU School of Business, as the Kelley School was known in those days. While I wasn’t sure what a Hoosier was, and I didn’t understand why everyone in Indiana was obsessed with basketball, I could tell immediately that the business school and its community was very special.

Those six months turned out to be a life-changing experience for me. One thing led to another, and I ended up staying at IU, enrolling in the doctoral program and earning an MBA and a DBA (Kelley’s PhD degree in those days), and joining the faculty in 1981. And the IU Basketball Team that year went on to win the 1976 NCAA Championship with an unbeaten 32-0 record, and I became hooked on IU Basketball, just like every other Hoosier.

Ash Soni

As we begin the new academic year nearly half a century later, I look at where we are today and where we’re going, and I see how everything that has gone before has helped build the Kelley School of Business into a top business school with world-class faculty, exceptional students, alumni who are known for their hard work and innovative leadership, and a dedicated staff committed to ensuring Kelley is the best that it can be.

When I started here, the business school in Indianapolis had only been around for two years; now we’re celebrating its 50th anniversary. In the past year, we’ve celebrated the 25th anniversaries of two groundbreaking programs: our Graduate Accounting Programs and our Kelley Direct Online MBA – the first online MBA from a top 20 business school.

Last fall, we celebrated 10 years of our Kelley Indianapolis Physician MBA, the country’s first and only MBA for physicians from a top-ranked business school. This year, we’re celebrating 10 years of incredible impact created by the Hodge Hall Undergraduate Center at Kelley Bloomington.

In the years to come, we’ll celebrate the anniversaries of the programs we’re launching now: our Business Plus Program at Kelley Indy, a new residential MS in Management degree at Kelley Bloomington, and our reimagined online MS degrees in Business Analytics and Finance, with other specialist online master’s degrees on the way.

We are always reviewing our curricula, monitoring trends, and listening to our students, alumni, corporate partners, and advisory boards to keep our courses and experiences on the forefront of business education. For example, we’ve just made some innovative changes to K201, the Computer in Business course you all know, and the course that I taught in my first semester at IU in 1975! K201 now includes broader relational database concepts and is introducing students to Power Query and Power Pivot in Excel, and Power BI Desktop.

We’re also creating some innovative courses and joint degrees with other schools, creating new ways students with non-business majors can connect with Kelley and creating stronger foundations for success. And we’re strengthening our focus on ways Kelley can make substantive societal impact worldwide.

My first impression of the business school 48 years ago was correct: our community IS very special. Beyond our faculty and staff, the support we get from our alumni and corporate partners – from meeting us at events to serving on advisory boards or helping to fund our many special initiatives – helps elevate everything we do.

Our community propels us forward, inspires us to think bigger, to work more creatively, and to find solutions to new challenges so that we can continue to fulfill our mission: transform the lives of students, organizations, and society by providing excellent business education, driving innovative research, and supporting impactful service enabling economic empowerment and prosperity in Indiana and beyond.

I am very proud of the impact the Kelley School has made since it was launched in 1920, and I’m very excited about where we are going. As we begin a new academic year, let’s do so with a renewed commitment to make an impact for our students, our community, and the communities we serve around the globe.

Onward!

Ash Soni
Dean, Kelley School of Business
The Sungkyunkwan Professor

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