Board Observer

Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope

Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope is the Dr. Barry Jay Epstein Endowed Professor of Forensic Accounting at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. Pope is a nationally recognized expert in risk, forensic accounting, and white-collar crime research, and an award-winning educator, researcher, author, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. Pope teaches managerial and forensic accounting both at the undergraduate and graduate level.

In 2020, the AICPA and the CPA Practice Advisor named Dr. Pope among the top 25 most powerful women in accounting. Her area of expertise lies in understanding and identifying financial fraud risk within financial statements, assessing corporate culture and compliance systems designed to confront internal control challenges. Pope’s research on executive misconduct culminated in directing and producing the award-winning documentary, All the Queen’s Horses which explores the largest municipal fraud in U.S. history. Pope’s TED Talk entitled “How Whistle-blowers Shape History” has been viewed over 1.6 million times, translated into 20 languages, and serves as a resource to help organizations and individuals embrace internal whistleblowing.