George W. Krull, Jr.

George Krull retired from Grant Thornton LLP in 2000 and has since remained highly active in the accounting profession and academic community. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing accounting education and accreditation, consistently shaping strategy, policy, and quality standards at the highest levels.

He has held significant leadership roles with the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), including trustee, president, and immediate past president of its foundation, and contributed to national initiatives such as the Pathways Commission on Accounting Education—where he was one of four founding members—and the AICPA’s National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion.

Krull has been deeply involved with AACSB through extensive committee and accreditation service, including four terms on the Accounting Accreditation Committee (13 years between 1989 and 2022), as well as service on the Blue Ribbon Committee on Accreditation Quality and the Accounting Accreditation Standards Revision Task Force.

He most recently served on the Accounting Accreditation Policy Committee and continues to contribute as a peer review team member and chair. His service as a PRT member or chair in 42 accreditation visits—chairing 26 of them—demonstrates not only expertise but also the trust placed in him to guide diverse teams and institutions through rigorous review processes. Across his 18 years of AACSB committee service, he has had a significant impact on schools holding, or aspiring to achieve, accounting accreditation.

Earlier in his career, Krull served as a partner in the executive office of Grant Thornton LLP and as chief learning officer, where he led firmwide learning and innovation initiatives, including the implementation of automated audit and control systems. In academia, he has served as executive-in-residence, professor of accounting at Bradley University (where he received emeritus status), and interim accounting leader at multiple universities, providing stability and strategic direction during transitional periods. He has also served on numerous university advisory boards and as a board member and audit committee chair for a global nonprofit organization.

Krull is widely respected for his collegial approach, mentorship, and collaborative spirit. Colleagues value his ability to balance high standards with constructive guidance, fostering open dialogue and mutual respect in accreditation and governance work. Throughout his career, he has modeled professionalism, integrity, and partnership while advancing the shared mission of excellence in accounting education.

He holds undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees from The Ohio State University, Oklahoma State University, and Michigan State University, respectively, and has been recognized as an outstanding accounting alumnus of Ohio State and Oklahoma State, as well as an honorary alumnus of Northern Illinois University.

His honors include recognition as one of 100 distinguished graduates of Oklahoma State’s Spears School of Business, induction into its Hall of Fame, the American Accounting Association’s Outstanding Service Award, and the AICPA Gold Medal Award of Distinction.