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. Her book Fool Me Once: Stories and Lessons Inside the Trillion Dollar Fraud Industry published by Harvard Business Review Press (2023) is a riveting look at the perpetrators, victims, and whistleblowers behind financial crimes. Pope is also the author of Managerial Accounting, 1st edition published by Pearson Learning (2022).

Pope currently serves on the board of directors for the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) and chairs its audit committee. Pope is a former director and finance committee chair for Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, former director of the Illinois CPA Society, and former member of the governing council for American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

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.

Pope is a frequent international speaker to numerous corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies. Pope has appeared on news outlets such as CNBC, the BBC, and WGN-TV offering commentary on fraud, risk, and ethics. Additionally, Pope has appeared in publications such as Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, CFO Drive, Accounting Today, Forbes, The Washington Post, and The Daily Beast discussing fraud and the need for sound internal controls. Pope has earned her Bachelor of Science in accounting from North Carolina A&T State University and her master’s in accountancy and doctorate in accounting from Virginia Tech. Pope resides in the Chicagoland area.