Zlatinka Blaber

Zlatinka Blaber is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Salem State University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Essex, United Kingdom in 2016 and her M.S. in Accountancy from San Diego State University, CA in 2008. She also has a M.A. in French from UCLA (2001) and a B.A. in European Studies and French from Mount Holyoke College, MA (1999). She has been a CPA with the Illinois Board of Accountancy since 2009. Prof. Blaber has taught accounting in Bulgaria in Eastern Europe, Singapore in South-East Asia, and the United States. 

Classes taught in Fall 2024

FYAF 100-01, First-Year Seminar;

Acc 202-01, Managerial Accounting;

Acc 350, Forensic Accounting;

Acc 407, Auditing Theory and Practice;

Acc 800-S1, Accounting Analysis for Decision Making.

Riipen.com experiential learning "micro-internship" team projects for:

    Fall 2024

FYAF 100-01:

   1) PickEco Refills (zero waste store), Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada;

   2) Minoa Home (organic cotton fabrics), Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 

   3) Blink Earth (carbon credits entity), Kigali, Rwanda.

Acc 202-01: CTS Incentives (tax credits entity), Toronto, Ontario, Canada;

Acc 350: CTS Incentives;

Acc 407: TBD;

Acc 800:

   1) CTS Incentives;

   2) Lazy Metrics (digital marketer), New York, NY.

   Spring 2024

Acc 106, Savi Finance (personal finance planning SaaS application), Toronto, Canada,

Acc 202, Pawsome Concierge (pet care startup), Quebec, Canada,

Acc 306, MentaMorph (financial game App startup), Austin, Texas, USA and Grey-Box (social innovation startup), Montreal, Canada,

Acc 710, Millennium Global Business Solutions (financial advisory), California, USA,

Acc 800, DansPharmaRoot (ginseng farm and energy drink manufacturer), Toronto, Canada.

Collaborative online international learning (COIL) partnerships with:

   Fall 2024

Yarmouk University, Jordan (Acc 202) (grant-funded by the HIVER Program of the Stevens Initiative/Aspen Institute);

Nakamura Gakuen Daigaku University, Fukuoka, Japan (Acc 407);

An-Najah National University, Neblus, Palestinian Territories (Acc 350) (grant-funded by the HIVER Program of the Stevens Initiative/Aspen Institute).

   Spring 2024

Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt (Acc 106) (grant-funded by the HIVER Program of the Stevens Initiative/Aspen Institute);

   Fall 2023

Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Campinas, Brazil (Acc 202),

Poltava State Agrarian University, Ukraine (Acc 306),

Helwan University, Egypt (First-Year Seminar) (grant-funded by the HIVER Program of the Stevens Initiative/Aspen Institute).

   Fall 2022

Kansai University, Japan (Acc 202-01),

Saga University, Japan (Acc 202-02),

Johannesburg Business School, South Africa (Acc 202-02),

Poltava State Agrarian University, Ukraine (Acc 306),

Panawipiwat Institute of Management, Thailand (Acc 800).

   Fall 2021

Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina, Colombia (Acc 306),

Poltava State Agrarian University, Ukraine (Acc 800).

   Spring 2021

King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia (Acc 202),

Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan (Acc 306).

Grants, fellowships, and awards:

2024 Outstanding Educator of the Year Award, Massachusetts Society of CPAs (Mass CPAs);

China Studies Institute (CSI) Zhi-Xing China Academic Impact Fellowship in Shaghai, Shandong, and Beijing, China (7-17 July 2024).

$16,000 federal grant sub-recipient, Stevens Initiative/Aspen Institute of the US Department of State (Harnessing Innovation through Virtual Exchange for Enhanced Results (HIVER) Program), with Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 2023-May 2025;

$1,000 Scholarship Support Grant, Center for Research and Creative Activities, Salem State University, for cartoon copyright purchase for book chapter entitled, "Cartoonathons as a Leadership Tool to Inspire and Guide Accounting Teams" (December 2022);

$1,500 stipend for Bertolon School of Business' Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Projects' Coordination for Spring and Fall 2023;

Faculty Fellow (2021-2022), American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Global Civic Literacy Project and World101;

$1,000 Salem State University internal grant for research publication image copyrights purchase, 26 May 2021;

Five hours of statistical support for research findings analysis on environmental accounting. Internal grant from Salem State University, 20 April 2021;

Equiv. $4,500 grant for participation in "Incorporating Japanese studies in the undergraduate curriculum" awarded by the Nippon Foundation, San Diego State University, CA, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), 3-16 June 2019. Project summary available at: https://aascu.sdsu.edu/2019JSI/Fellows&Projects.html;

$4,000 summer research grant for project entitled “IT startups in Bulgaria: Management accounting and institutional entrepreneurship" awarded by the Center for Research and Creative Activities, Salem State University, June-August 2016.

Research interests:

Healthcare accounting in England and the United States; management accounting and IT entrepreneurship in Bulgaria; the National Health Service commissioning in England; visual methods in accounting research; sustainability accounting, the Bloomberg terminal, etc.

Submissions reviewer for the following journals:

Accounting Education, USA

Journal of Business and Economic Studies, USA

Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting, USA

Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU) Commerce & Economics Review, Pakistan.

Honorary member:

Board of Studies, Department of Commerce, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

Service and other responsibilities:

Bertolon School of Business COIL Coordinator;

Faculty Adviser of the Salem State Student Accounting Association;

Academic Adviser of accounting concentration students;

Chair, Faculty Development Committee, Bertolon School of Business;

Member, Student Success Committee, Bertolon School of Business.

Publications:

   Book chapters

Blaber, Z. and Samoilyk, I. (accepted and forthcoming) Cartoonathons as a leadership tool to inspire and guide accounting teams. Chapter in Vol. 4, Lead with a Sense of Humor. The Curious Academic Publishing. 

Blaber, Z. (accepted and forthcoming) Accounting cartoons, the Pathways Commission's vision of accounting, and advice for accounting majors. Chapter in the 2nd edition of the edited book, Accounting for the Curious High School and College Students: What Can You Do with This Major? The Undecided Student's Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career Path

Blaber, Z., 2021. Accounting classroom contests: Cartoons in need of captions and captions in need of cartoons. In: Teach Accounting with a Sense of Humor: Why (and How to) Be a Funnier and More Effective Teacher and Laugh All the Way to Your Classroom. K. Vaidya (ed.), Chapter 1. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Accounting-Sense-Humor-Effective-ebook/dp/B098MB39F6 

   Professional articles

Palatnik, B. and Blaber, Z., 2022. Choosing between public and corporate accounting. New Jersey Society of CPAs. Available at: https://njcpa.org/article/2022/02/28/choosing-between-public-and-corporate-accounting

Blaber, Z., 2021. What skills stand out on business specialist resumes? Zippia.com. Available at: https://www.zippia.com/business-specialist-jobs/trends/

Palatnik, B. and Blaber, Z., 2021. Can non-financial ESG reporting have an impact on stock price or profitability? New Jersey Society of CPAs. September. Available at: https://www.njcpa.org/stayinformed/explore/topics/full-article/2021/09/16/can-non-financial-esg-reporting-have-an-impact-on-stock-price-or-profitability        

   Peer-reviewed journal articles          .

Mahmoud, Z., Blaber, Z. and Khan, M. (2024). Institutionalisation of sustainability reporting in Pakistan: The role of field configuring events and situational context. Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management Journal, 21(2), pp. 219-251. Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QRAM-01-2022-0019/full/html 

Blaber, Z., Gougoumanova, G. and Samoilyk, I., 2023. International tele-collaboration in the “Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) World:” Facilitating equity and inclusion (EI) in business education. Diversity Abroad's Global Impact Exchange, spring 2023. Available at: https://www.diversityabroad.org/DIVaPublic/GIE-Archives/GIE-Sp2023/GIE-Sp23-Article-2.aspx

Blaber, Z., Gougoumanova, G. and Palatnik, B., 2021. COVID-19 editorial cartoons: Theories of humor perspectives. The Israeli Journal of Humor Research. 10(1), pp. 6-42. Available at: http://www.israeli-humor-studies.org/media/2-covid-19_cartoons.pdf 

Guven-Uslu, P., Blaber, Z. and Adhikari, P., 2020. Boundary spanners and calculative practices. Financial Accountability and Management. 36(4), pp. 439-460. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faam.12266

Blaber, Z., Brady, D. and Gougoumanova, G., 2020. Stereotypical representations of the accountant in The New Yorker cartoons through time. Visual Studies. 35(4), pp. 359-373. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/4RRCG6NRWUMXNARQZHXV/full?target=10.1080/1472586X.2020.1809508  

Tschakert, N., Blaber, Z. and Chen, L., 2019. Using engagement triggers in forensic accounting and fraud investigation classes. Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting. 11(3), pp. 465-483. Available at: http://web.nacva.com/JFIA/Issues/JFIA-2019-No3-6.pdf

Blaber, Z. N., Coleman, L. J., Manago, S. and Hess, K., 2019. Supply and demand of fake news: Review and implications for business research. Journal of Applied Business and Economics. 21(4), pp. 11-28. Available at: https://search.proquest.com/docview/2271749028/fulltextPDF/C0F3DC3D7FD843DDPQ/1?accountid=13661

Blaber, Z. and Brady, D. 2018. Student attitudes toward academic dishonesty at an American-style liberal-arts university in Bulgaria. Educational Alternatives. Vol. 16, pp. 69-89. Available at: https://www.scientific-publications.net/get/1000033/1538207555956499.pdf

Invited presentations:

Blaber, Z. (2023) The “how” of doing secondary data analysis research: The editorial cartoon method. An online presentation at the 2023 Ph.D. Student Orientation at Johannesburg Business School, South Africa

Blaber, Z. (2022-2023) The “how” of doing secondary data analysis research: The editorial cartoon method. A series of six online presentations for economics faculty and Ph.D. and Master's students at Poltava State Agrarian University, Ukraine.

Blaber, Z., Tschakert, N., Alhassan, A. and Ahmad, A. (2020) The imagery of corporate looting in editorial cartoons: Rhetorical and semiotic analysis. To be presented on 3 February 2021 to the Accounting Research Group of Aston Business School, Birmingham, England

Ph.D. in Commerce (Finance or Accounting) theses reviewer:

Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. Reviewed five Ph.D. thesis submissions.

Ph.D. in Digital Transformation proposal reviewer:

Johannesburg Business School, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Reviewed two Ph.D. thesis proposals.

Conference presentations:

Blaber, Z. and Gougoumanova, G. (accepted and forthcoming). Enhancing student employability prospects and fostering inclusion via experiential learning in-class projects: Riipen.com in business education. Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS) Conference, Salem, MA, June 2024.

Blaber, Z. and Gougoumanova, G. (accepted and forthcoming). Exposing business students to international perspectives via the Harnessing Innovation through Virtual Exchange (HIVER) Program with Middle East and North African (MENA) Classes. Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS) Conference, Salem, MA, June 2024.

Blaber, Z. and Palatnik, B. (2023) The Ledger Mania board game: Engaging students in the accounting classroom through active learning. Financial Education Association Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX, 28-30 September 2023. 

Blaber, Z. and Gougoumanova, G. 2023. Analytical thinking in accounting education: Student use of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Navigator database. International Conference of
Accounting and Business (i-CAB) 2023, Johannesburg Business School, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, 29-30 June 2023 (virtual)

Blaber, Z. and Cotes, D., 2023. Virtual Exchange (VE) between a U.S. and a Colombian class on the sustainability of the coal mining industry in Colombia: Instructors’ auto-ethnography reflections. Learning, Teaching and the Student Experience Conference, Wales, the UK, 22-23 May 2023 (virtual)

Blaber, Z., Samoilyk, I. and Mahmoud, Z., 2023. Virtual Exchange (VE) between Pakistan, the U.S., and Ukraine: Instilling intercultural competencies among business students. Learning, Teaching and the Student Experience Conference, Wales, the UK, 22-23 May 2023 (virtual)

Pan, Y., Blaber, Z. and Moloi, T., 2023. The digital divide in higher education: A text-mining approach. Northeast Decision Sciences Institute 2023 Annual Conference. 30 March - 1 April 2023

Blaber, Z. and Gougoumanova, G., 2023. A Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Navigator database team project class assignment: Instructor's reflections. Reinforcing ESG Practices in the 21st Century Conference (online), Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 15-16 March 2023

Blaber, Z. and Gougoumanova, G., 2022. Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Navigator database: Autoethnography on teaching environmental and social accounting. Qualitative Research Conference (online). Universiti Utara Malaysia. 29 November - 1 December 2022

Blaber, Z. and Samoilyk, I., 2022. Collaborative online international learning (COIL) projects: Supporting disadvantaged and underrepresented business students as a substitute for study abroad. Youth in Science in a Time of War Online Conference, Lviv, Ukraine, 18 May 2022. https://lpnu.ua/news/rada-molodykh-uchenykh-pry-mon-orhanizovuie-nich-molodizhnoi-nauky-2022-v-umovakh-viiny

Blaber, Z. and Samoylik, I., 2022. Collaborative online international learning (COIL) projects: Supporting disadvantaged and underrepresented business students as a substitute for study abroad. Chartered Association of Business Schools' (CABS) Learning, Teaching, and the Student Experience Conference, Belfast, Ireland, 24-25 May 2022

Blaber, Z., Palatnik, B. and Arnaoutakis, D., 2022. The experiential learning platform Riipen.com in accounting and business education. Chartered Association of Business Schools' (CABS) Learning, Teaching, and the Student Experience Conference, Belfast, Ireland, 24-25 May 2022

Palatnik, B. and Blaber, Z., 2021. Riipen.com as a platform for experiential learning in accounting and business education. Northeast Business & Economics Association, Stockton University, NJ, 4-6 November 2021

Palatnik, B., Blaber, Z. and Braverman, H., 2021. Output from a comprehensive research paper assignment in accounting classes: Grading rubrics-based outcomes. Northeast Business & Economics Association, Stockton University, NJ, 4-6 November 2021

Braverman, H., Palatnik, B. and Blaber, Z., 2021. Sustainability disclosures of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Faculty-Student Collaboration Symposium, American Accounting Association's Annual Meeting, online, 2-5 August 2021

Palatnik, B. and Blaber, Z., 2021. Classroom and experiential learning – utilizing Riipen.com to educate and motivate, Management & Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS) Conference, online, 16-19 June 2021

Blaber, Z., 2021. Accounting classroom contests: Cartoons in need of captions and captions in need of cartoons. 2nd Games and Simulations in Accounting and Finance Education Virtual Conference, Aston Business School, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 20 April 2021

Braverman, H., Palatnik, B. and Blaber, Z., 2021. Sustainability disclosures of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 35th Eurasia Business and Economics Society Virtual Conference, Rome, Italy, 7-9 April 2021 

Arnaoutaki, D. and Blaber, Z. 2021. Toyota Motor's sustainability reporting: A Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Navigator perspective. 34th Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES) Conference, Athens, Greece, 6-8 January 2021