Harrisburg accounting faculty member selected as Fulbright Scholar

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Renee Flasher, associate professor of accounting in the Penn State Harrisburg School of Business Administration, has been selected as a 2024-25 Fulbright Scholar and will travel to Portugal next summer to research the enforcement of data privacy regulations around the globe.

Flasher will travel to ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon, Business Research Unit in May, staying through August 2025. Flasher is one of 12 Penn State faculty to receive a Fulbright Scholar Award for 2024-25.

"As data security is fundamentally a global issue, I'm grateful for the opportunity to gain an on-the-ground immersive experience around the European perspective for data privacy and how they enforce their directives," Flasher said. "I'm excited to spend time researching in Portugal."

Fulbright awards are prestigious and competitive fellowships that provide opportunities for U.S. academics to continue their professional activities and build connections between nations.

Flasher's research will focus on Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enforcement.

The European regulations were one of the first comprehensive, multi-country regulations issued around data privacy that are applicable to any company doing business in the European Union or storing data concerning any European person, Flasher said. The regulations address an individual's right to see, change or request their information be deleted, and companies should be explaining why and how they will use any of the data they collect from each individual.

"My research focus will be on studying the multi-year enforcement of these regulations, as they were pioneering when they were issued," she said.

Flasher's broader research examines the societal evolution of fraud as standards and acceptable business practices evolve. Her past research has explored two main themes: standard setting and fraud detection/deterrence with articles in the Journal of Accounting Education, Current Issues in Auditing, Journal of Business Ethics, and many others.

Flasher joined Penn State Harrisburg in August 2018. She previously taught at Ball State University and received her doctorate from Penn State with bachelor's and master's degrees from Case Western Reserve University. She worked in industry as an external financial and information technology auditor and internal auditor before transitioning to academia. Her current professional affiliations include the American Accounting Association, the Institute of Management Accountants, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.