Teresa S. Polley was president and chief operating officer of the Financial Accounting Foundation from 2008 to 2019. The FAF is the private, non-profit organization responsible for administration and oversight of the

Financial Accounting Standards Board The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a private standard-setting body whose primary purpose is to establish and improve Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) within the United States in the public's interest. The Secur ...

, the

Governmental Accounting Standards Board The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the source of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) used by state and local governments in the United States. As with most of the entities involved in creating GAAP in the United Sta ...

, and their advisory councils.

Biography

Early life and education

Ms. Polley earned a B.A. degree, summa cum laude, in accounting and French from

Saint Francis University Saint Francis University (SFU) is a private Catholic university in Loretto, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1847 and conducted under the tradition of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. The university is situated ...

Loretto, Pennsylvania Loretto is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census it had a population of 1,302. Like the rest of Cambria County, it is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Johnstown Metropolita ...

Career

certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

in the state of Pennsylvania and a member of the

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States, with more than 428,000 members in 130 countries. Founded in 1887 as the Americ ...

and the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants, Polley was a senior accountant with

Arthur Andersen Arthur Andersen LLP was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corpo ...

prior to joining the

in 1987. She was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility, and was instrumental in the administration and operation of its Emerging Issues Task Force and in the development of the inaugural edition of EITF Abstracts, first published in late 1987. Polley served from 1990 to 1999 as Controller of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the independent, private-sector organization responsible for the oversight, administration and finances of the FASB, the FASAC, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, and the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council. As Controller, she was responsible for all aspects of the FAF's financial operations, including budgets, financial statement presentations, audits, payroll, tax reporting and investments. From 2000 to 2007, she was executive director of Advisory Groups for the FASB, in which she served as the primary liaison between the Board and its constituent organizations that provide input into its decision-making processes. In August 2007, she was made interim COO of the Financial Accounting Foundation; the position was made permanent in May 2008. Polley received a CTCPA Women's Awards Distinguished Service Award in 2022.https://www.ctcpas.org/news/37692fbb-becf-4673-9fca-35c6b60b2abd:meet-teresa-s-polley-ctcpa-women-s-awards-distinguished-service-award-winner Meet Teresa S. Polley – CTCPA Women’s Awards Distinguished Service Award Winner, December 22, 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polley, Teresa S. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American accountants American women accountants Saint Francis University alumni American women nonprofit executives Women in finance American chief operating officers