Herman Van Brenk

Herman van Brenk (1982) received his Master’s degree in Accounting at Nyenrode Business University in 2008. His Master’s thesis was on the topic of innovation in auditing and was supervised by Prof. Dr. Barbara Majoor RA. After obtaining his certification as an auditor (i.e., ‘Register Accountant’) in 2011, Herman started writing a research proposal for a dissertation. His dissertation is focused on the effects of auditor compensation incentives and personality traits on auditor judgment and decision making. In 2012, he started his part-time PhD research at Nyenrode. He likes all the aspects of doing research (i.e., reading, designing, analyzing, and writing) and received a full-time position at Nyenrode in 2014.
  
Herman started his career in auditing practice at BDO in 2005. In 2008, he moved to KPMG and worked at the Department of Professional Practice (DPP). Furthermore, he was involved in the financial audit of two large audit clients. After one year, Herman moved to a small audit firm (Van Harberden). He was responsible for the audit engagements and professional practice, and was involved in several automation projects. In 2014, Herman left auditing practice.

Other activities    
Herman serves as a reviewer of research papers for international conferences, such as the AAA Auditing Section Midyear Meeting and the ABO Research Conference. Moreover, he served as a reviewer for the Journal of Accounting Literature. Herman presented his research at several national and international conferences and workshops. He contributes to auditing practice by publishing articles in practitioners’ journals.
   
Besides his research activities at Nyenrode, Herman serves as a lecturer of the research course in Auditing (i.e., ‘Onderzoeksvak Auditing & Assurance’) at the Master’s level. He is also involved in supervising and examining Master’s theses. Herman chairs the Bachelor’s thesis and is member of the thesis committee and exemption committee.