Anthony W. Smith
Anthony Smith joined the Ball State University Foundation Board of Directors in 2010 and is presently a past chairman.
Smith received a bachelor of science in business administration/accounting from Ball State in 1968. Upon graduation, he joined Ernst & Ernst, a predecessor firm to Ernst & Young. Shortly thereafter, he interrupted his career to spend two years with the U.S. Army, which included a one-year tour in Vietnam. Upon his discharge, he rejoined Ernst & Ernst and embarked on the remainder of his 42-year career with the firm. He was admitted to the partnership in 1983 and held several leadership positions through 2005.
In 2005—just months before his scheduled retirement from a distinguished career—he accepted an unexpected and remarkable assignment. He was asked to create and oversee a Capital Markets Center for Ernst & Young in São Paulo, Brazil, serving all of South America. Prior to accepting this assignment, in which he was to oversee services to Securities and Exchange Commission foreign private issuers in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru, Smith was assigned to the national office of Ernst & Young, with a focus on managing the firm’s risk and consulting with engagement teams.
A member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Smith has served as president of the Indiana CPA Society and chairman of the Indiana CPA Licensing Board. He was named a Sagamore of the Wabash and has volunteered in a number of leadership capacities, including as chairman of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of the United Way of Central Indiana, tournament director of the RCA Tennis Championships in Indianapolis for three years, and treasurer of the Indianapolis Jazz Fest. Smith is secretary of the board of My Personal Network, Inc. doing business as Sherish, which is a designer, developer, and distributor of mobile smart phone apps, Internet-based web and desktop applications, and supporting systems. He is also a member of the board of directors of Peerview Data, a company founded by alumnus Glenn Dunlap, that provides comparative analytics for CPAs and their clients.
A member of Ball State’s Miller College of Business Executive Advisory Board, he also received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002, was inducted into the Miller College of Business Hall of Fame in 2006, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Department of Accounting of the Miller College of Business in 2013. Recently, Smith served as chair of the successful Paul W. Parkison Legacy Campaign which will fund development of a master's program, establish an Executive in Residence position, and rename the Department of Accounting after its founder, Paul W. Parkison.