COLUMNIST: STEPHEN KWAMENA AIKINS

Dr. Aikins is a Fulbright scholar and a Professor of government technology, public budgeting and finance, and political economy at the Univeristy of South Florida. He has practical experience in both private and public sectors working in various capacities in management, accounting and auditing for . More Dr. Stephen K. Aikins is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of South Florida (USF), USA. He has practical experience working in various capacities in management, accounting and auditing for nearly twenty years, ten of which were spent in the financial services industry. He joined USF from Bank of the West in Omaha, Nebraska USA where he was an Assistant Vice President of internal audit. Prior to being at the bank, he was a state government revenue auditor. Dr. Aikins was honored in the 2008-2009 edition of Madison Who is Who Registry of Executives and Professionals for his exemplary contribution to the business community. During the 2016/2017 academic year, Dr. Aikins served as a Fulbright Scholar at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration where he taught graduate-level courses and co-trained government of Ghana procurement officers on international best practices. His teaching and research interests include government technology, public budgeting and financial management, government auditing, financial crisis and regulatory governance, and political economy. He has published in various academic journals, including Public Finance and Management, Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting, and Financial Management, and International Journal of Public Administration. He is the editor of Managing E-government Projects: Concepts, Issues and Best Practices, and the co-editor of Web 2.0 Technologies and Democratic Governance: Political, Policy and Management Implications. Dr. Aikins holds a BSc degree in accounting from the University of Ghana, as well as an MBA in accounting and finance, an MS in management information systems, and a PhD in public administration from the University of Nebraska, USA. He also holds multiple professional certifications, such as Certified Public Accountant and Certified Information Systems Auditor. Additionally, he is a member of the National Honor Society for Public Administration and several other professional associations.