Turn data into stories through hands on analytics, AI insights, and practical strategies that make courses engaging and impactful.
Students move beyond the “what” to uncover the “why” through applied analytics and data storytelling. Authors from Richardson: Business Analytics and Data Visualization demonstrate how the modern analytics toolkit works in practice, connecting exploratory visualization, AI driven insights, and real world decision making.
Hands on activities show how learners transform exploratory visualizations into compelling data stories, interpret AI generated insights with confidence, and link analytics processes to meaningful business outcomes.
The approach provides practical strategies for making courses more engaging, relevant, and impactful so students do not simply work with data but develop true analytical understanding.
Vernon J. Richardson is a distinguished professor of Accounting and the G. William Glezen chair in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and a visiting professor at Baruch College. He received his BS, Master’s of Accountancy, and MBA from Brigham Young University and a PhD in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has taught at top universities across the U.S. and internationally, including institutions in China, Denmark, Australia, and Ghana, bringing global insight to his instruction. Dr. Vern Richardson is a distinguished accounting scholar and textbook author who has served in key editorial roles and published extensively in top academic journals. He specializes in data analytics and information systems, coauthoring widely adopted textbooks that bridge theory and practice in accounting and business analytics.
Ronald N. Guymon is a Senior Lecturer in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-author of Data Visualization. He received his BS and Master of Accountancy from Brigham Young University and his PhD in accounting from the University of Iowa. In addition to his current role at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has also shared his expertise with students at Georgia State University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Iowa. He has also helped dozens of clients find insights with their own data while working outside of academia as a Chief Data Scientist at Numetric and as the Chief Data Officer at Gigg. Dr. Guymon is a recognized expert in business analytics education, having developed numerous courses—including popular MOOCs—and published research in leading accounting journals. He also applies analytics in everyday life and has received honors such as the Dean’s Impact Award and the Gies Faculty Innovation Scholar designation.
Marcia Weidenmier Watson is the Jesse H. Jones Professor Accounting in the Michael Neidorff School of Business at Trinity University. She received her BBA in accounting from the College of William and Mary, and both an MBA in information systems management and accounting and a PhD in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. She has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, TCU, Mississippi State University, UNC Charlotte, and Trinity University. Prior to receiving her PhD, Dr. Watson was a financial systems consultant for Price Waterhouse, now PricewaterhouseCoopers.
A member of the American Accounting Association, she served as newsletter editor for the American Accounting Association Information Systems section for 16 years. She serves on the editorial boards of Issues in Accounting Education and the Journal of Accounting Education. She has published articles in Accounting Horizons, Advances in Management Accounting, Issues in Accounting Education, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Accountancy, Journal of Accounting Education, Journal of Information Systems, and Strategic Finance. She also has had several cases published in Case Studies in Forensic Accounting and Fraud Auditing.