Years ago, Terry Warfield was invited to give a talk on accounting standards and compliance to an audience of UW–Madison staff accountants.
Following the event, one of the attendees surprised him. “He said, ‘You know, I never thought of it this way—but I guess my job is pretty important.’” Absolutely, Warfield told him; from the bookkeeper to the CFO, “everything you do, you’ve got to do it accurately and you’ve got to do it well.”
It’s a simple, authentic wisdom he’s lived by and imparted to generations of students and colleagues.
Set to retire from WSB later this month after 35 years, Warfield, PwC Chair in Accounting and a professor of accounting and information systems at the Wisconsin School of Business, leaves an exceptional legacy of excellence, achievement, and service.
Over a distinguished career, Warfield has served under seven WSB deans and interim deans, taught thousands of students, published 40 articles and three books—one of which is a bestselling textbook on intermediate accounting—and participated in roughly 200 service committees. He’s a recipient of awards across teaching, scholarship, and service, including the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award and the UW–Madison Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
“While Terry’s professional successes are impressive, it is his commitment to and support of individuals that truly set him apart,” says Kristen Fuhremann, deputy chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems. “He is an inclusive leader and the type of team member everybody wants on their side. He is a mentor to so many, supporting and advising on both professional and personal matters. He is compassionate and beyond generous with his time, never turning away a colleague or student in need. He is unwavering in his commitment to ethics and inclusivity, always leading by example. Terry is good to the core and makes those around him better.”
A lifelong learning mindset
Raised in Richmond, Indiana, Warfield attended Indiana University, where he received a BS in finance and went on to get his MBA in 1981. During this time, he worked at a bank in Hammond, Indiana, as an assistant cashier and internal auditor. There, he cultivated an interest in bank accounting, and a passion for lifelong learning.
“Every experience you have is part of lifelong learning,” says Warfield. “You should approach every endeavor, job, service, with an eye toward ‘I might learn something here that’s going to be relevant for the future.’ And that’s played out for me personally.”
Warfield also met his wife, Mary, at the bank. The young couple married, had children, and moved to Iowa, where he earned his PhD in accounting at the University of Iowa in 1989. His doctoral advisor, Tom Linsmeier, encouraged him to apply to UW, a school he’d considered for his PhD, but couldn’t attend due to other constraints. Warfield applied and was appointed that same year at WSB as an assistant professor of accounting and information systems. Ironically, Iowa had cleared the way for Madison.
“Talk about serendipitous. Had I come here, I wouldn’t have been able to get a faculty job because we don’t hire our own PhD students—we push our graduates out the door to go someplace else and make a name for themselves,” Warfield says.
“We in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems have been blessed to have Terry as a colleague and friend for 35 years,” says Linsmeier, Thomas G. Ragatz Accounting and Law Distinguished Chair, Richard J. Johnson Chair, and professor of accounting and information systems. “His selfless servitude to faculty, staff, students, and alumni has made us all better through his scholarship, teaching, leadership, and service. His career epitomizes one of the longest and deepest traditions surrounding the University of Wisconsin–Madison—the Wisconsin Idea—which signifies that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Terry has had an outstanding and lasting effect on our department, Wisconsin School of Business, university, state, nation, and world. We rejoice in recognizing such impactful accomplishments and wish him the best for a fulfilling next phase of his life and career.”
The Wisconsin Idea
His first year, Warfield attended the Wisconsin Idea seminar—a multiple-day bus trip around Wisconsin to demonstrate the impact of the university on the rest of the state. “It reinforced the ideas and philosophy I had carried with me throughout my life about giving back.”
He began to join committees, one after another, as he started to learn more about the university. The faculty leadership model at UW–Madison was also attractive to Warfield: It was flat, not hierarchical, as faculty members took turns being administrative leaders, an attractive notion to Warfield, who consistently sought opportunities to be of service to the campus community.
Reflecting now, “being at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in the Wisconsin School of Business, in the accounting department, the research, teaching, and service—all of those things were interrelated and mutually reinforcing in different ways over the course of my career.”
WSB growth and expansion
As WSB continued to grow, Warfield’s career did as well, making full professor in 2011.
Serving as the department chair, a position he held for nearly nine years under former dean François Ortalo-Magné, was his favorite position during his time at WSB.
“We were able to really do a lot of exciting things,” Warfield says. “Department chairs are true servant leadership roles because you are stepping away from some of the things you like to do and contributing at the school level a bit more. My accounting colleagues really stepped up and supported me.”
Warfield says he’s proud of the growing number of women in accounting faculty positions—part of his legacy as department chair—particularly since women now make up a majority of the accounting student body.
“We punch above our weight in terms of female faculty, and they’re not just faculty—they’re leaders,” says Warfield.
In 2021, Warfield was asked by current dean, Dean Vallabh “Samba” Sambamurthy, to take over the senior associate dean, faculty, and research role. He then moved into the senior associate dean position until he retires later this month.
His next chapter
Not one to slow down, Warfield has plenty to keep him busy in retirement. He will continue serving on the boards of UW Credit Union and the Catholic Diocese of Madison Foundation, and as chair of the investment committee for Wisconsin Public Radio. He has several consultancy projects lined up with former students who have startups, and also plans to lend his time to charitable and volunteer work.
There will be plenty of relaxation too, with more frequent visits to see his five grandchildren and playing golf when he can.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity that the State of Wisconsin gave me to join this faculty at the Wisconsin School of Business,” he says. “It provided a platform made up of many things: the mentors I have had coming up, the donors, the alums who provided resources—it’s been a great run. I’m kind of humbled by it, actually.”
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