Antoinette Smith is a Worlds Ahead professor in the College of Business School of Accounting.

Her areas of interest include fraud detection, healthcare, information systems, data analytics, and auditing, all of which require people skills and critical thinking. “It’s a lot of connecting dots in ways that aren’t obvious, so for those people who are thinking about accounting and enjoy being creative, thinking outside the box, and discovery, these fields work well,” she says.

“Your mind is constantly challenged because you’re solving a puzzle each time…some puzzles will be easy and fun and others will be more challenging, but also fun. “The notion that accountants are bookkeepers, excellent in math, and prepare taxes…well, nothing could be further from the truth. Accountants are advisors, investigators, FBI and CIA agents, auditors, researchers, entrepreneurs, world-travelers, consultants, analyst, and more, that work in all industries.”

She’s currently working on a research project that examines the career progression of chief information officers (CIOs), a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in a company who works with information technology and computer systems, and how differing skill and experience sets impact various success outcome factors for both the firm and the CIO. “Not all CIOs are created equally. Some become more sought after and are offered assignments to prestigious boards and placements in Fortune 500 companies. We want to look at how and why this happens.”

Smith became interested in accounting after taking a career assessment questionnaire, the results of which indicated she’d excel in the areas of computer science, interior design, and accounting. Smith, a fan of Robert Frost had memorized the poem “The Road Not Taken.” She found meaning in this poem and has always been interested in taking the road “less traveled by,” and was cognizant that by going into accounting, a field not saturated with African-Americans, she would help pave the way for others.

The desire to blaze a new path is an integral part of Smith’s character. She is one of the original Office to Advance Women, Equity & Diversity Faculty Fellows, a program where FIU faculty make valuable contributions to increasing diversity and improving the climate at FIU. The purpose of the office, achieving and sustaining faculty equity and diversity as an essential element of FIU’s academic excellence, was work she enjoyed doing.  “I felt I had been at FIU long enough to understand and make a broader assessment of the needs of the university, and wanted to contribute at a broader level.”

Smith is also dedicated to helping students succeed. “Every single person in this world deserves the chance to go to college, an education, and a professor who is passionate about their success beyond the classroom.” Her beliefs are matched by her actions. She wrote a book, “Insider Secrets to College Classroom Success,” which helps students understand the importance of connections and which was developed after years of watching the students in her class.

“When you’re a professor, you have some students who come into the classroom and just know how to be successful, whether it’s a natural talent or a learned one, and you also have students who perhaps lacked such resources or the insights that the classroom is a place to practice your professionalism. Skills like arriving on time and developing connections with the professor and with other students are the skills that will take students to the next level in their careers.”

Smith’s passion for helping students isn’t confined to authorship. For many years, she taught seminars for the Ph.D. Pipeline, a College of Business program that increased the number of Hispanics and African-Americans pursuing Ph.Ds at FIU. She is currently serving as the first black president of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy, an organization that is committed to the promotion and support of high-quality accredited graduate accounting programs.

Smith is the first black woman at FIU to become a full professor in accounting, an accomplishment she hopes will send a message to others.

“Who you are as an individual is unique, so use your natural talents and be yourself instead of trying to imitate someone else in order to succeed. Imitate, if necessary, to learn and get through, but you must never underestimate your own talents and self-worth. And do not be afraid of failure. It’s easy to give into self-doubt, to look at an organization and think that because no one there looks quite like you or has a similar story to yours, you cannot succeed. You have to be self-motivated, and anything that you want, you have to go for it.”